Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
1401 New York Avenue, NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20005

For Immediate Release
Contacts:
Kim Alton
(202) 662-8600
March 7, 2007

Lawyers' Committee Supports Clinton and Tubbs Jones’s Reintroduction of Count Every Vote Act
Legislation Addresses Deficiencies in Electoral System

Washington, D.C. - The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law applauds the reintroduction of the Count Every Vote Act of 2007 and commends Senator Hillary Clinton, Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones and all of the bill's co-sponsors for their dedication to ensuring that all eligible Americans have an equal opportunity to exercise the fundamental right to vote.

“The Count Every Vote Act responds to the hundreds of thousands of American voters who called the 1-866-OUR-VOTE voter services hotline reporting the real problems that led to disenfranchisement across the country,” said Barbara R. Arnwine, Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee. “Unfortunately, too many voters are needlessly blocked from exercising their fundamental right to vote by defects in an unresponsive and insufficient election administration system. I commend the co-sponsors for looking beyond partisanship and putting the fundamental rights of all American voters first,” added Arnwine.

While the bill outlines numerous positive steps to improve our nation's electoral system, the Lawyers' Committee is specifically pleased with the provisions of the bill that address voter registration problems, help prevent long lines at the polls, provide for non-partisan election observers, re-enfranchise all citizens who have paid their debt to society, permit voter verification, and reduce restrictive guidelines for counting provisional ballots.

The Count Every Vote Act addresses the nation's outdated and unresponsive electoral infrastructure by providing citizens across the country with the necessary tools to cast a meaningful vote and have that vote counted. The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights commends the House and Senate co-sponsors in developing a bill that will expand access and opportunity to all eligible American voters while safeguarding against manipulation and fraud.

The Lawyers' Committee is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to provide legal services to address racial discrimination. The Lawyers' Committee serves as lead legal organization in Election Protection, the nation's largest non-partisan voter protection program, and administers the 1-866-OUR-VOTE voter services hotline.

For more information, visit www.nationalcampaignforfairelections.org.


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