In recent years, numerous states have passed laws that require citizens who wish to vote in person to show certain types of photo identification. These laws have been the subject of fierce debate: Proponents claim that they are necessary, or at least useful, to the fight against voter fraud. Critics of such laws argue there is virtually no evidence of polling place fraud and that these laws do not actually address most other types of election fraud that might occur. Moreover, critics contend that such laws suppress the vote largely along partisan lines and have a disparate impact on the poor, minorities and the elderly. Several lawsuits have challenged the constitutionality of voter ID laws, and the Supreme Court recently agreed to hear such a challenge this Term. Please join our panel of experts on October 23 as they discuss how voter photo-ID laws impact our democracy. The panel will feature:
- Julie Fernandes, Senior Policy Analyst and Special Counsel, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
- Deborah Goldberg, Democracy Program Director, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
- Robert Kelner, Partner and Chair of Election and Political Law Practice, Covington & Burling LLP
- Spencer Overton, Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School
- Moderator, Tova Wang, Democracy Fellow, The Century Foundation
To RSVP for this event, please click here.
The event will begin at 12 p.m. and will end at 2 p.m. Lunch will be served. There is no charge for this event.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
The National Press Club
Holeman Lounge
529 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20045
The American Constitution Society for Law and Policy (ACS) is one of the nation's leading progressive legal organizations. Founded in 2001, ACS is a rapidly growing network of lawyers, law students, scholars, judges, policymakers and other concerned individuals. Our mission is to ensure that fundamental principles of human dignity, individual rights and liberties, genuine equality, and access to justice enjoy their rightful, central place in American law. The views of speakers are their own and should not be attributed to ACS. For more information about the organization, which has established student chapters at 155 law schools around the country and lawyer chapters in over 25 cities, please visit www.acslaw.org.
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