- TN senators pass voter registration measure, but some fear a deterrent effect, By Lucas L. Johnson II (AP), May 11, 2010, The Tennessean: “People would be deterred from registering to vote if required to show proof of citizenship, say opponents of the proposal that passed the state Senate on Monday. Lawmakers spent more than two hours debating the measure sponsored by Republican Sen. Dewayne Bunch of Cleveland before approving it 20-12. It is different than the companion bill that passed the House 92-1 last week. That version would require prospective voters to check a box to affirm they are citizens…”
- Voter citizenship bill would violate federal law, TN attorney general says, By Chas Sisk, May 20, 2010, The Tennessean: “Legislation that requires new voters to show proof of citizenship when they register would violate a federal law meant to get more people to vote, the state attorney general said in an opinion released Wednesday. A voter-registration bill that has cleared the Senate would break the so-called Motor Voter Act, a 17-year-old law that requires states to let people register to vote at state agencies and by mail, Attorney General Robert Cooper said. But the bill does not necessarily violate the U.S. Constitution or the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the bedrock federal law aimed at eliminating discrimination at the polls, Cooper’s office said…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty