On Tuesday, 11/29/16, NYDLC submitted testimony to the New York State Assembly Election Law Committee and Subcommittee, as part of its hearing on Ensuring the Integrity of Elections. Read NYDLC's full testimony!

Today, NY Elected Officials and NYDLC encouraged New York attorneys and others to help protect the vote in New York and the Battleground states.

For Immediate Release, Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Contact: (866) NYDLC-01; [email protected]  

NYDLC is excited to announce that longtime Steering Committee member Liz Robins will head up NYDLC's Law Student Outreach Committee, providing an organizational boost during the final months of the 2016 election cycle. 

Liz Robins is a lawyer and recent graduate of Cardozo Law School. She graduated magna cum laude and with membership in the Order of the Coif. At Cardozo Law she was a Monrad Paulsen Scholar and served as Articles Editor of the Cardozo Law Review as well as President of the Cardozo Law Democrats. She is passionate about protecting and advancing voting rights, and has participated in election day poll monitoring, poll worker training, and organizing voter registration drives; additionally, she has experience researching and writing about election law. A lifelong Queens resident, Liz previously served as Secretary of the Queens Young Democrats. She’s excited about getting more law students and new lawyers involved in the voter protection effort. 

As Chair of the Law Student Outreach Committee, Liz will head up the critical law school organizing component of NYDLC's broader 2016 integrated voter protection effort, in support of Hillary Clinton's historic campaign and critical down ballot Congressional and State Senate races. 

"Today the voter protection community officially adds a powerful advocate and organizer to its ranks", said Executive Director Jarret Berg. "NYDLC is fortunate to have rising stars like Liz as dedicated members, who are willing to stand up to protect voting rights and help bring our system of election administration into the 21st century." 

Liz Robins can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].

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For Immediate Release, Thursday, July 21, 2016

Contact: (866) NYDLC-01; inf[email protected] 

On Wednesday, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Texas’ voter ID law, thought to be the strictest such law in the country, was discriminatory and a violation of the Voting Rights Act, making this the third consecutive judicial decision against this law. In the 9-6 ruling, although the majority did not find that the law  intended to discriminate against certain voters, it had the effect of doing so.

It has been estimated that Texas' strict voter ID law could prevent 600,000 otherwise-eligible voters from casting ballots this November, and critics believe it was enacted to make voting more difficult for minority groups and lower-income voters.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found that Texas SB 14 has a racially discriminatory effect in violation of Section 2 of the VRA because the law disproportionately diminishes African American and Latino opportunities to participate in elections.

The District Court is now required to create a short-term solution that can be implemented in Texas for the November Presidential election, writing, “…we rely on equitable principles in concluding that the district court should first focus on fashioning interim relief for the discriminatory effect violation in the months leading up to the November 2016 general election.” NYDLC applauds this decision and hopes that it sets a precedent for many similar ones to come.

NYDLC applauds this decision, which recognizes what so many voting rights advocates and experts have known for years--intentionally or not, these laws make it harder for certain groups of perfect eligible American voters to exercise their fundamental right to the franchise. If states intend to raise new procedural hurdles to voting, they must fully guarantee that the rights of their citizens, especially those who have historically been marginalized, are not infringed, before these laws are permitted to take effect.

You can read the Brennan Center for Justice's background analysis of the case here.

You can read the entire Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals En Banc decision here.

For Immediate Release, Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Contact: (866) NYDLC-01; [email protected]  

NYDLC mourns the loss of Seth Rich, DNC’s Voter Expansion Data Director and a dedicated public servant who fought to ensure voting rights for millions of Americans. Rich, 27, "wanted to make a difference" and had a bright future in Democratic politics. He was killed in a senseless act of gun violence early Sunday morning in Washington D.C.

Seth worked tirelessly to protect the right to vote and supported voter protection programs around the country. Several NYDLC members who had worked with or crossed paths with Seth during past election monitoring efforts were shocked by the news and dismayed by the loss of such a patriotic young American who was committed to making it easier for eligible voters to cast a ballot.

NYDLC extends its deepest sympathies to Seth’s family, friends, and colleagues for this tragic loss. As an organization whose mission wholly aligns with Seth's work, NYDLC aspires to continue its voter protection efforts with the tremendous vigor and devotion that Seth demonstrated during his all-to-short life.

DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz released a statement which can be found here. Contributions can be made to Seth's childhood camp, Camp Ramah in Wisconsin or Beth El Synagogue. Police are asking anyone with information related to Seth's death to call 202-727-9099 or send a text message to 50411. 

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For Immediate Release: Thursday, June 23, 2016

Contact: (866) NYDLC-01; [email protected]  

During the Shelby County Week of Action, the New York Democratic Lawyers Council (NYDLC) joins civil rights advocates from across the country to call upon Congress to restore the Voting Rights Act (VRA), in order to ensure that all Americans are able to exercise their voting rights without discrimination or difficulty.

Saturday, June 25th marks three years since the Supreme Court, in its 5-4 Shelby County v. Holder decision, gutted key provisions of the VRA, rendering some of its core protections inoperative. In doing so, SCOTUS invalidated the coverage formula that required certain state and local governments with a history of discrimination to obtain federal approval before changes to voting laws could take effect.

As a result, previously active voters have been disenfranchised by restrictive new laws enacted in 17 states, while voting strength of people of color and language minorities has been diluted. Many jurisdictions have taken steps to make it harder to register or cast a ballot, have enacted strict voter ID requirements that disproportionately impact minorities and lower-income voters, and have decreased the time allotted to vote or drastically reduced the number of poll sites.

By refusing to restore the VRA, the GOP-controlled Congress has been complicit in the largest rollback of voting rights protections in 50 years. Abdicating their responsibility to address this matter ahead of the 2016 Presidential election, Republican leadership in Congress has refused to consider two bills with bipartisan support that would breathe new life into the VRA, and prevent discriminatory election law changes for suppressing the fundamental rights of eligible Americans.

NYDLC Co-Chair John Nonna said, "The Supreme Court's decision in Shelby opened the floodgates to voter suppression law in formerly covered jurisdictions. We must fight to restore [Federal] pre-clearance under criteria that would apply to all states seeking to suppress the vote through harsh legislation."

NYDLC Co-Chair Carol Schrager said, "The world looks to America to lead on expanding Democracy and protecting civil rights. Our election laws and processes need to make it easier for eligible voters to make their voices heard, not harder. VRA protections are critical toward this end."

NYDLC Executive Director Jarret Berg said, "Apart from the sorely needed federal oversight safeguard the VRA provides, the Act represents the culmination of more than a century of progress made against systemic racial discrimination and the strengthening of individual civil rights. Congress needs to come together to advance federal legislation to protect voting rights in the states and fix what the conservative wing of the Supreme Court carelessly broke."

Theo Harris, Co-Chair of NYDLC’s Minority Voting Rights Committee explained, “It is with great trepidation that we enter the summer stretch of the first presidential election in 50 years to be conducted without the full protections of the Voting Rights Act in effect. To compensate for the loss of this critical tool, we must come together and organize our communities to protect the vote for all Americans.”

The New York Democratic Lawyers Council (NYDLC) is a coalition of attorneys, law students, and voting rights advocates who share the common goal of protecting each citizen’s right to vote. NYDLC attorneys dedicate their expertise to help ensure that all eligible persons can register to vote easily; all registered voters are able to vote conveniently, fairly, and without intimidation; and, that all votes are counted accurately by transparent and reliable voting systems.

You can Join NYDLC as a 2016 member to help NYDLC protect the rights of voters in New York and key battleground states in or Make a contribution to support NYDLC's work.

Read more (http://bit.ly/28KN0Ht) about the US Supreme Court’s decision and its devastating impact. 

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For Immediate Release: Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Contact: (866) NYDLC-01; [email protected]  

NYDLC Executive Director Jarret Berg and Elizabeth Robins, President of the Cardozo Law School Democrats (CLD) presented joint testimony yesterday to the NYC Campaign Finance Board’s Voter Assistance Advisory Committee (VAAC) about much-needed reforms to reduce barriers to voter participation. The Committee sought input on voter-related issues arising out of the April 19th New York Presidential Primary, as well as the efforts of the NYC Votes Albany Voter Day and #VoteBetterNY coalition's push for modernization (Read the full NYDLC-CLD testimony by clicking here). 

NYDLC and CLD proposed several commonsense pro-voter reforms that, if enacted, would reduce barriers to participation so that all eligible New Yorkers can exercise their right to vote. “New York’s outdated registration and administration systems need to be redesigned for the modern age. As one state after another embraces modernization best-practices, New York is being left in the dust and our citizens are paying the price” said NYDLC Executive Director Jarret Berg, in regard to Tuesday's hearing. 

Reform proposals included online voter registration, registration status tracking for electronic and paper systems, automatic voter registration, registration portability, early voting, a registration "Golden week" to cure registration defects, and no-fault absentee (universal vote-by-mail) voting. "New York law should provide a convenient voter registration process with safeguards to protect against errors and omissions, so that no student who registers to vote is disenfranchised", said CLD President Elizabeth Robins after the hearing. 

The NYC Campaign Finance Board’s VAAC holds annual hearings to give attention to challenges that New Yorkers experience at the polls. This year, attendees raised questions about New York's closed primary system and the highly-publicized reports of mass purges to the voter rolls in Brooklyn and other parts of the city. “Administrators and policymakers of all stripes need to internalize the ethos that voting is a core civil right. Due process is a safeguard, not an inconvenience,” Berg said.

The hearing also highlighted the experiences of those who advocated for election reform in Albany during Voter Day, an event NYDLC promoted and publicized widely across its network, and the success of pro-voter initiatives like Student Voter Registration Day and social media campaigns like #VoteBetterNY. 

NYDLC and CLD also offered feedback on the work of NYC Votes, as detailed in the 2015-2016 Voter Assistance Annual Report. Testimony included commentary on a “CFB case study” detailed in the report that recommended changes to the Board of Elections’ existing practice of purging so-called inactive voters, which may be partly to blame for mass purges that occurred prior to the New York Presidential Primary. Read the full NYDLC-CLD testimony by clicking here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, Mar. 21, 2016

Contact: Jarret Berg, Esq., 866-693-5201

NYDLC ENDORSES 90 FOR 90, A VIRGINIA VOTER REGISTRATION PROJECT IN RECOGNITION OF HON. WILLIAM “FERGIE” REID

NYDLC is proud to announce its endorsement of 90 for 90, an admirable and civic-minded Virginia voter registration and education project that aligns with NYDLC’s efforts to make voter registration easy and convenient for eligible voters, and to reduce the hurdle that the registration process poses to participation in elections across the United States.

The 90 for 90 project honors the 90th birthday of William Ferguson (“Fergie”) Reid, a Virginia doctor and civil rights activist who has advocated for voting rights since the dawn of the Civil Rights movement. Fergie formed the Richmond Crusade for Voters in 1956, where he worked to register and mobilize eligible black voters in a time and place when doing so was especially dangerous. In 1968, Fergie became the first black member of the Virginia General assembly where he served three terms. Fergie continues his voting rights advocacy to this day.

90 for 90 set an ambitious 2015-2016 goal of 250,000 new Virginia registrants by encouraging advocates to register 90 people per precinct. To date, 90 for 90 boasts that Virginia has registered over 90% of the persons needed to meet this target.

Voter ID and other newly enacted restrictive laws are challenging Democrats to do what it takes to help people comply with often difficult requirements.  NYDLC is ready to take on this this challenge and will continue to support 90 for 90 and other heroic programs in New York and throughout the country.

Discussing his career standing up for the civil rights of minorities Hon. William Fergie Reid has said: “The voters have to learn that they are in charge. . . . You have to do it with votes and the voters are the people and we have to motivate the people because they are the power but they don't realize that the power exists within them. ”

“Voter registration is an obstacle to participation in our democracy, and the resulting low turnout threatens the ability of our democracy to be responsive to the needs of ‘we the people’, Jarret Berg, Executive Director of the NYDLC said. "Initiatives like the 90 for 90 project, and the allies and organizations that are working tirelessly to make it successful, strengthen our society. Each newly registered voter is newly empowered to be the change.”

Reflecting on Fergie's career in service to the community Francesca Leigh-Davis, Co-Chair of the Richmond Crusade for Voters, Registration Committee has said: “We need to get back to those old grassroots of organizing, knocking on doors, getting our neighbors to the polls, as well as voicing our opinions and voicing our civil rights. . . . You have to vote, you need to be registered, and you need to know what you are voting for.”

Discussing the importance of the franchise, Hazel Reid O'Leary, former United States Secretary of Energy (1993-1997) has said: “The vote is our most mighty tool. Please use it, in memory of those who were denied the vote.” 

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In honor of National Voter Registration Day on September 22nd, as proclaimed by President Obama, we compiled a quick guide to assist you with creating voter registration/education initiatives. Please click below to find Voter Registration resources and more info on National Voter Registration Day!