Press Advisory:
Wednesday, September 16, 2020
CONTACT:
Name: Charito Calvachi-Mateyko
Cell number: 717-951-0905
E-mail: [email protected]
VOTAMOS We Vote Coalition Announces Press Event on National Voter Registration Day
WHAT: The Votamos We Vote Coalition, in the face of anti-democratic activities nationwide, is responding in Delaware with a Press Conference and following Webinar with a public call to action.
WHERE: Virtual event.
WHEN: Tuesday, September 22nd, 2020 at 11:00 am; and Webinar following at 12:00 pm.
WHO: VOTAMOS/We Vote partner’s organizations. The webinar is organized by The YWCA and the LWV.
WHY WE ACT: Voting is the foundation of the American democracy; it is the identity of this nation through history. It is always contested in every generation, and this generation is not the exception. However, that is not to say that the current president’s actions in regard to voting are abnormal and extreme by any previous measure. Still, it is the fundamental task of every citizens to protect their family, their business, their future and their children’s future, their health, etc., and the idea of democracy.
September 22 of the anniversary of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) of 1993, along with the Motor Voter Act to make it easier for Americans to register and vote, and maintain their registration. Thanks to the NVRA, the Department of Justice can enforce its requirements by civil actions, and the Federal Election Commission can provide guidance to States creating a national mail voter registration form. Data also can be obtained to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Act.
One of the most important provisions of NVRA is that allow citizens to register to vote while applying for a driver’s license or its renovation. However, the NVRA also requires states to offer various opportunities to register in all other offices that received state funding.
The League of Women Voters played a key role in breaking down the barriers to voting in the 1980s and 1990s, first with the reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) and then with the Landmark, National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).
As President Clinton signed the Act, he gave one of the signing pens to LWVUS and saluted the League as “fighters for freedom” in the continuing effort to expand American democracy. The LWV has been the defender of the NVRA for decades.
The VOTAMOS/We Vote Coalition, spearheaded by the Delaware Hispanic Commission, is comprised of the Wilmington-LWV, ACLU of Delaware, Latin American Community Center, YWCA, Unitarian Universalist Delaware Advocacy Network, Wilmington-NAACP, DelACA, DE-Poor People’s Campaign, Network Delaware, Department of Elections Commissioner, and the Office of the Delaware Lt. Governor.
Charito Calvachi-Mateyko, J.D./M.A.C.T.
Chair, VOTAMOS/We Vote Coalition
[email protected]
Cell 717-951-0905
All paths converge in the healing ocean of justice. Todos los caminos convergen en el océano vasto de la justicia.
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