New Laws Attack Democracy's Most Fundamental Right

A deluge of new laws are forcing Americans to fight for the most basic right of all in a democracy: the right to vote. In Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin and other states where GOP governors and state legislatures spent the first part of 2011 attacking workers’ rights, voter suppression was next on the agenda. Here’s what happening in three states and what CWA members and allies are doing about it.

Hypocrisy Watch

Several Republican state legislators in Maine used the state’s “same day registration law” to register to vote on Election Day, but voted to eliminate that right for ordinary citizens.

Project Maine Votes found that seven representatives and three state senators –— all of whom voted against same day registration — themselves registered to vote on or just before Election Day. The same goes for Governor Paul LePage (R) and several of his staff.

The legislature voted to eliminate same day registration in June, but Project Maine Votes gathered enough signatures for a November referendum on the issue.