Voter March
Voter March was a grassroots organization that played a significant role in the 2001 Inauguration Day demonstrations against George W. Bush and sought voting and electoral reform in response to the Florida election recount.
Background
Voter March, a nation-wide not-for-profit organization for voter rights and electoral reform, was formed in November 2000 in response to irregularities in the 2000 U.S. Presidential election. Voter March was headquartered in New York City and included affiliate chapters Voter March DC , Seattle Voter March , and Voter West.
Voters' Bill of Rights
In order to protect the rights of our citizens, Voter March put forth the following platform of voter initiatives and electoral reforms :
Reduce the influence of money in campaigns
- Restrict the use of "soft" money
- Sufficiently cap "hard" money
- Restrict the use of indiscriminate "issue ads"
- Increase access to media debates for all ballot qualified candidates
- Implement the option in Congressional & Senatorial races to choose public financing
Substantially modify the Electoral College for Presidential election outcomes
- Electoral College shall fully reflect the proportional distribution of voting within a state
- State legislatures shall not choose the Electoral College members
Improve voter access to polls
- Establish National Holiday for Federal elections
- Easy, fast and deadlines fully publicized for:
- Voter Registration/change of address/poll relocation/ all absentee ballots
- Voting rights for ex-felons
- Optional polling place choices with affidavit
Reduce all forms of voter disenfranchisement
- Fully enforce and extend the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (Including full investigation and prosecution of offenders)
- Implement special provisions for the physically disabled
Modernize vote count methods
- Implement uniform voting systems that accurately record every vote cast
- Enable real-time error detection and correction with physical verifiability
- Implement standard voting technology that produces the lowest ‘error rate’ possible
- Evaluate in depth the merits of instant run-off or ranked voting
Enhance Federal Election Commission Capabilities
- Fund investigation of fund raising violations
- Establish Local Election Board guidelines
- Establish clear Conflict of Interest guidelines
- Reduce partisan influence within local regulating boards and election officials
Enhance Voter Education and early registration
- Encourage mandatory semester of High School Civics
- Encourage students to register to vote if they are 18, provide voter registration cards
Demonstrations
Counter-Inaugural Protests
In January 2001, Voter March played a key role in organizing the main protest rally on Inauguration Day, acting as an umbrella organization for hundreds of smaller groups from across the country. The BBC reported that Voter March was part of a coalition of groups including the National Organization of Women and the National Action Network. Voter March lead thousands of activists in a Voters March to call for election reform and the abolishment of the electoral college. The Voter March rally at Dupont Circle included speakers NOW President Patricia Ireland, radio host Mike Malloy, and political activist Granny D.
Voter Rights March
In May 2001, Voter March organized election reform rallies at the U.S. Capitol West Steps in Washington, D.C. and in San Francisco, California, to push for changes in the nation's voting system and a "full investigation" of the 2000 presidential election. Speakers included Lenora Fulani, the first black woman to run for U.S. President, Robert Borosage, founder of the Campaign for America's Future, and Dr. Hilary Shelton Executive Director of the Washington, DC Bureau of the NAACP.
Scalia Protest
Voter March through its New York headquarters and affliate chapters in almost every state, continued to stage hundreds of protests throughout the United States. In September 2001, Voter March protested the appearance of Supreme Court Justice Scalia at Hofstra University.
In the 2004 U.S. Presidential election, Voter March continued to rally and maintained the Stolen Election 2004 website and blog
Film, Books & Speaking Tours
Voter March organized speaking tours throughout the United States and supported many publications and films on voter reform, including the documentary film, Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election, by film director Robert Greenwald. Voter March distibuted hundreds of video tapes of the inaugural demonstrations including "Raining on the Parade: Inauguration 2001," by Deep Dish TV, and "Not My President -Voices from the Counter-Coup J20 2001" by the Independent Media Center. Both of these video films were given to Al Gore in May 2001 who wrote a personal thank you note to Louis Posner of Voter March.
The Betrayal of America - Vincent Bugliosi
During 2001 and 2002, Voter March organized speaking tours in New York City and Voter West in California for prominent attorney and author Vincent Bugliosi, who wrote the New York Times Best Seller The Betrayal of America - How the Supreme Court Undermined the Constitution and Chose Our President. .
The Best Democracy Money Can Buy - Greg Palast
Voter March also organized speaking tours in 2001 and 2002 throughout the United States for Greg Palast, the award winning BBC Investigative Reporter, author of The Best Democracy Money Can Buy - An Investigative Reporter Exposes the Truth about Globalization, Corporate Cons, and High Finance. Palast exposed the purging of thousands of eligible voters, mostly African Americans, from the voter rolls in Florida.
Counting on Democracy - Danny Schechter
Voter March promoted and distributed Counting on Democracy about the Florida election recount of 2001 by media critic and film producer Danny Schechter. Voter March founder Louis Posner, human rights advocate Bianca Jagger (the ex-wife of Mick Jagger), Greg Palast and Danny Schechter were speakers at the Hamptons International Film Festival, featuring Counting on Democracy.
Anti-War Movement
Voter March was also active in the protests against the Iraq War. On September 12, 2002, Voter March organized the first protest in the United States against the Iraq War at the UN, along with singer songwriter Patti Smith and professors Mark Crispin Miller and Todd Gitlin, former President of the anti-Vietnam War Students for a Democratic Society (1960 organization), where G. W. Bush was speaking before the UN General Assembly to advocate his plans to wage war against Iraq.
Voter March is a member group of the anti-war coalition United for Peace and Justice.
In June 2004, Voter March organized an anti-war demonstration (people) at the Sheraton Hotel in New York City where President George W. Bush was having a fundraiser