Press Conference to Introduce New Commission for Voter Justice

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Barbara Arwine, Commission for Voter Justice, National Press Club, National Voting Rights Month, rainbow push coalition, rev. jesse jackson, vote

Excited to join the Commission for Voter Justice and be at the Press Conference at the National Press Club.

Press Conference to Introduce New Commission for Voter Justice

A broad coalition of defenders and promoters of democracy, organized by Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. and civil rights attorney Barbara Arnwine, will announce at a news conference in the Nation’s Capital the establishment of the Commission for Voter Justice (CVJ), tasked with documenting and addressing the scourge of voter suppression:

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

10:30 A.M.
National Press Club
529 14th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.

This diverse, non-partisan commission, composed of prominent voting rights
experts, scholars, elected officials, lawyers, students and community activists will
hold a series of hearings around the country to gather testimony directly from U.S.
citizens about the undue and often illegal barriers which hinder their ability to
effectively participate in the franchise.

“The Commission for Voter Justice,” said Rev. Jackson, founder and president of
the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, “will be a vital voice in presenting a counter narrative
to the myth of wide-spread voter fraud and President Trump’s Election Integrity Commission.

Almost every study says vote fraud is an insignificant issue in American elections. In other words, it’s fake news.” Noting that September is National Voting Rights Month, CVJ co-chair Arnwine, founder and president of Transformative Justice Coalition, said the commission’s mission is to expand and protect voting rights. “The threat of voter suppression,” she said, “is a direct threat to an inclusive and robust American democracy.”

The CVJ will develop a voter empowerment initiative that addresses the following
issues: voter registration, universal early voting, automatic voter registration at age
18 and restoration of voting rights for ex-felons. It will also produce reports and
recommendations to guide public policy in the areas of voting rights and civic
engagement.

“President Trump’s so-called Election Integrity Commission,” Rev. Jackson said,
“is designed to prove his absurd claim that 3-to-5 million illegal voters cast ballots
in the 2016 presidential election. It’s nothing more than a frontal attack on legal
and legitimate voters with the end goal of making voting more difficult for people
of color and the poor. It must be resisted at every turn.”