Cost of Freedom Project Launches Voter Education Campaign to Help Voters Get Ready for Election Day
Philadelphia, PA – August 6, 2012 marks the 47th anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In his remarks, President Lyndon B. Johnson said, “This right to vote is the basic right without which all others are meaningless.”
Forty-seven years later, states have enacted new legal barriers that could make it harder for five million eligible voters to exercise the basic right of our democracy. The most burdensome change requires voters to show an acceptable form of photo ID in order to vote.
In Pennsylvania, for instance, 758,000 registered voters, including 186,000 in Philadelphia, do not have a PennDOT ID, the most common form of identification. A new analysis of the impact of the voter ID law found that in the birthplace of our democracy, voters in predominantly African American precincts are 85 percent more likely to lack a PennDOT ID than voters in predominantly white precincts.
“The data show that a law that’s neutral on its face has a disparate racial impact,” said Faye Anderson, project manager for the Cost of Freedom Project. “While the legal challenges to restrictive photo ID laws play out in the courts and the U.S. Department of Justice, we must help voters get ready.”
Anderson added, “Voters don’t know what they don’t know. Millions of voters across the country will be in for a shock when they show up on Election Day and find out they must show an acceptable form of photo ID before casting a regular ballot.”
The Cost of Freedom Project has partnered with the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation’s Unity 2012 Voter Empowerment Campaign and The Andrew Goodman Foundation to educate voters about the new photo ID requirements.
“The new voter ID laws, some of which are being litigated under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, are making it even more difficult for some people to vote who have no reason to get a driver’s license, and never had one,” said David Goodman, President of The Andrew Goodman Foundation.
Goodman added, “It’s kind of shocking to think that my brother, Andrew Goodman, lost his life trying to get people registered to vote. We are now ‘back to the future’ almost 50 years later. But it doesn’t have to be this way. The Andrew Goodman Foundation, through its Vote Everywhere initiative, continues to empower citizens to vote. And we are proud to support the Cost of Freedom App as a 21st century solution to voter access and information barriers presented by voter ID laws.”
Melanie L. Campbell, President & CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation said, “The National Coalition is continuing the legacy of Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner, three of the original foot soldiers for democracy.”
Campbell continued, “An integral component of our national campaign is voter protection. Unity 2012 is training hundreds of Black Youth Vote! Foot Soldiers for Democracy to become voting rights advocates, poll monitors and poll workers. The Cost of Freedom App is an effective tool to assist our Foot Soldiers in their efforts to raise awareness of the voting changes and, where necessary, help voters obtain a voter ID.”
The public awareness campaign will be powered by social media. We will provide a Cost of Freedom App widget which organizations can embed on their website. We will also use traditional media, including Public Service Announcements and community newspapers, to reach voters where they are. Voter education materials will be distributed at town hall meetings, policy forums and other community events.
About Cost of Freedom Project: The Cost of Freedom Project is a citizen-led initiative that has developed the Cost of Freedom App to help voters navigate their state’s voter ID application process. The web-based app provides photo ID requirements for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Cost of Freedom Project is a model for how civic innovation can be used to empower ordinary citizens to make a difference. For more information, visit www.costoffreedom.info.
About Unity 2012 Campaign: The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation is the national convener of Unity ’12, a unified, nonpartisan, national civic engagement and voter empowerment campaign. The Unity Campaign works with The National Coalition’s membership organizations, state-based affiliates and partners, including the A. Philip Randolph Institute, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Black Women’s Roundtable, Black Youth Vote!, Cost of Freedom Project and other groups, to ensure that black voters are prepared for the presidential election. For more information, visit www.ncbcp.org/programs/unity.
About Andrew Goodman and The Andrew Goodman Foundation: Andrew Goodman (Andy) stepped onto the world stage in 1964 when he spent the summer in between his junior/senior year at Queens College volunteering to register African-Americans to vote in Mississippi. On June 21, his first day in Mississippi, Andy went to visit a burned down church along with civil rights advocates, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner. Tragically, all three were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan. Their sacrifice, along with that of many others, led to new laws that guaranteed the right of every citizen to vote. In 1966, Robert and Carolyn Goodman founded The Andrew Goodman Foundation to carry on the spirit and purpose of their son’s life. Today, the mission of The Andrew Goodman Foundation is to recognize, encourage and inspire creative and effective action in support of human dignity, social justice and civil rights. For more information, visit www.andrewgoodman.org.
