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Grassroots Group Launches Voting Rights Project

August 14th, 2013

A grassroots organization kicked off a nationwide campaign called the Voting Rights Project in Atlanta Wednesday.

The effort is aimed at undoing voter identification laws in several states, including Georgia.Hear the broadcast version of this story.

The group, called American Values First, is comprised of state lawmakers from across the U.S. and civil rights advocates. Civil rights icon Rev. Joseph Lowery told the crowd almost 50 years after the March on Washington, he feels like he’s still fighting the same battle.

“Somewhere in the 1980s, I wrote a speech called ‘Everything Has Changed and Nothing Has Changed.’” Lowery said. “I was looking the other day; I was trying to find it because I’m gonna preach it again.”

Afterwards, Lowery said the country has progressed in some areas, but regressed in others.

“We didn’t have one or two congressmen,” he said. “Now, we’ve got the president. And everything’s changed. Yet, these thirty-some states that want to turn back the clock, nothing’s changed. So, that’s the paradox.” 

The group says Voter ID laws restrict voting rights for certain groups of people, such as senior citizens minorities, and students. Students played a big role in the Civil Rights Movement. That’s partly why Morehouse student Spanky Edwards said he felt compelled to get involved.

“It is basically up to us to organize, to work side-by-side with these other organizations, because ultimately they affect us directly,” Edwards said. “Like I said, we live in this city, we live in this state. So, this is just as much our problem as it is yours.”

American Values First has yet to spell out a game plan, but says the goal is to make voting more accessible. Georgia Democratic House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams is also a member of the group.

“We want to see that in Ohio, in North Carolina, in Texas, in Georgia, in Florida, that citizens have access to the ballot,” Abrams said. “We should not be making voting harder; we should be making it easier. Technology has advanced. Why haven’t our voting rights laws?”

The group hopes to gain national attention and make some progress before the 2014 election season.