Voting Hearing Announced

Monday May 7 at the US Courthouse in Cleveland

The US Senate has announced a hearing for Cleveland Ohio on May 7, 2012.  Here are the details that we have received:

Field Hearing Details:  The Subcommittee on the Constitution Civil Rights and Human Rights will hold a field hearing examining the impact of the new state voting laws that have recently swept the country, including HB 194 in Ohio.  Among other things, HB 194 restricts early voting, limits the distribution of absentee ballots, and no longer requires poll workers to direct voters to their proper precincts.  The hearing will be held the morning of Monday, May 7, 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio at the Carl Stokes US Federal Courthouse on Superior and Huron near the Detroit Superior Bridge at 9:30 a.m. 

This is being organized Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois with assistance from Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio. We understand the Congresswomen Fudge will be testifying along with other state and local activists. We encourage everyone who is concerned about the disenfranchisement of poor people at the ballot box to attend.  We will provide more details as the date gets closer.  We have concerns with identification issues, counting provisional ballots, and local boards cutting the number of polling places.    We have an entire section on homeless people participation in voting on our website here.

Brian