By Jueseppi B.
The Advancement Project is group with the stated goal of promoting civil rights. It was founded in 1999 by civil rights lawyers in Los Angeles andWashington, D.C.. Board members include Constance L. Rice, who is also a co-director, former United States Assistant Attorney General Bill Lann Lee, and Harry Belafonte.
We are a public policy change organization rooted in the civil rights movement. We engineer large-scale systems change to remedy inequality, expand opportunity and open paths to upward mobility. Our goal is that members of all communities have the safety, opportunity and health they need to thrive.
Our signature is reach and impact. With our strong ties to diverse communities, unlikely alliances, policy and legal expertise, and creative use of technology, we and our partners have won over $15 billion to extend opportunity. Whether it is to build 150 schools, transform the City of Los Angeles’ approach to its gang epidemic, or revolutionize the use of data in policymaking, Advancement Project evens the odds for communities striving to attain equal footing and equal treatment.
WHAT WE DO
We engineer large-scale systems change to remedy inequality, expand opportunity and open paths to upward mobility. Our goal is that members of all communities have the safety, opportunity and health they need to thrive.
For more details about each of our programs and their impact, read ourAdvancement Project Fact Sheet.
EDUCATIONAL EQUITY
Ensures school facilities for all and expands educational opportunities for low-income children from birth through high school graduation.
EQUITY IN PUBLIC FUNDS
We reveal significant discrepancies between the allocation of public funds and the needs of low-income communities and communities of color.
HEALTHY CITY
We transform how people access and use information about their communities. Healthy City is an information + action resource that unites community voices, rigorous research and innovative technologies to solve the root causes of social inequity.
URBAN PEACE
We reduce and prevent community violence, making poor neighborhoods safer so that children can learn, families can thrive and communities can prosper.
FLORIDA PURGING OF ALLEGED NONCITIZENS VIOLATES NATIONAL VOTING RIGHTS ACT; HISPANICS DISPROPORTIONATELY TARGETED
ADVANCEMENT PROJECT, PARTNERS DEMAND FLORIDA SECRETARY OF STATE DETZNER CEASE AND DESIST
Civil rights groups today delivered a letter to Florida Secretary of State Ken Detzner charging the state with violating the National Voting Rights Act of 1993 for the removal of voters from the rolls whom the state alleges are noncitizens.
The Florida Department of Elections is conducting a broad sweep of election rolls, purging the names of Florida residents through flawed methodologies that are likely to keep thousands of U.S. citizens from being able to exercise their right to vote in November. To determine eligibility, state election officials are comparing voter lists with the Department of Highway Safety database, even though citizenship documentation is not required to obtain a driver’s license.
The NVRA expressly prohibits states from systematically removing voters from the rolls within 90 days prior to a federal election. With Florida’s primary being scheduled for August 14, 2012, the state’s new program falls within this window and is in violation of the federal law. Up to 180,000 Floridian citizens could be affected by the changes, an estimated 58 percent of them Hispanic. According to the Miami Herald, white and GOP voters are the least likely to face purges.
“The right to vote is the fundamental pillar of our democracy,” explained Advancement Project Co-Director Penda Hair. “Florida has a shameful history of purging minority voters based on false information and inaccurate lists right before the presidential elections. This year’s deeply flawed process disproportionately targets Latino voters and is discriminatory, unfair and antithetical to the values of our nation.” In 2000 and 2004, the state used a flawed method to come up with a listing of people believed to be ineligible to vote due to past felony convictions and sought to purge them from the rolls. Tens of thousands of those listed had been granted clemency and had their rights fully restored, others were mistakenly purged due to similar names and other errors.
According to state election officials, the purges were started at the direct urging of GOP Governor Rick Scott.
Filed under: 2012 Election, Causes, Court Room/Legal, Crime, Economy, News, Politics, POTUS Obama, Race, Racism, The White House, Voter Suppression Tagged: | Advancement Project, Bill Lann Lee, Constance L. Rice, Florida, Florida Secretary of State, Los Angeles, Rick Scott, Voting Rights Act
Jueseppi B.
