ColorOfChange.org changing the color of democracy

Election Day is six days away and ColorOfChange wants you to be prepared. In order to do that, you need to make a plan for November 6. Start here!

Despite a recent court ruling confirming that Pennsylvania voters will not have to show ID this election, advertisements continue to promote misleading information. As recent as October 26, a Pittsburgh radio station ran a deceptive ad which states, "You’re not going to be allowed to vote unless you present an acceptable photo identification." With the election less than a week away, false advertising across PA could discourage thousands of voters from going to the polls. 

Last week, media mega-corporation Clear Channel, and Norton Outdoor, were forced to remove misleading billboards designed to scare people of color away from the polls. More than 130,000 people including more than 66,000 ColorOfChange members signed a petition to Clear Channel demanding that the billboards be removed, and days later billboards in Ohio and Wisconsin were taken down.

Now, Truthout is reporting that the individual behind these billboards is a major GOP supporter, and venture capital fund manager from Wisconsin:

Stephen Einhorn – a Wisconsin venture capital fund manager and major GOP donor – acknowledged Monday that he and his wife Nancy paid for dozens of anonymous billboards in and around Milwaukee and two Ohio cities warning residents of the penalties for committing voter fraud...

Check out the full article here.

This election season, ColorOfChange partnered with the Advancement Project to increase our impact and ensure that equal voting rights remain a reality for all. The Advancement Project is a next-generation civil rights organization that uses a variety of strategies to address issues of democracy and race. Through important campaigns, reports, and programs they attained major victories that make this year's electoral process all the more just.

Just days before the election, voter suppression tactics are escalating. To counter that rising tide, we put together a guide of reports, factsheets, tools, news articles and organizations that we should all know about before November 6th.

It's about knowing your rights, but also being prepared for the obstacles you might encounter at the polls. 

You can view the guide by visiting vote.colorofchange.org/resource. And when you do, be sure to share it with your friends and family.

Earlier this week, Donald Trump teased the hosts of Fox & Friends about a potential "bombshell announcement" that he was planning to release this week regarding President Barack Obama.

Today, the video was released. In "From the Desk of Donald Trump: Major Announcement," Trump issues an ultimatum to the president demanding he release his college transcripts and passport application records in exchange for a charitable donation of $5 million to the organization of the president's choosing.

Remember Hans von Spakovsky? The Republican lawyer served in the Bush Administration and has made a career out of suppressing the votes of people of color and low income folks.

We remember him well. In May 2008, 30,000 ColorOfChange members spoke out against von Spakovsky's candidacy for the Federal Elections Committee. Under this pressure, he requested that the Bush administration withdraw his nomination to the post. But it seems like he is still in the business of suppressing voting rights. Von Spakovsky has served as chief counsel to voter suppression groups like True the Vote and the Tea Party.

This Thursday, October 25th, ColorOfChange is participating in a Twitter town hall sponsored by the Advancement Project. With Election Day swiftly approaching, we are preparing our community with all the tools necessary to vote.

We want to hear from you about why voting matters, any voting questions you need answered, and what you think is needed to Get Out The Vote.  

Join the conversation using #yVote and help build the movement for empowered and collective voting!

Update (10/30/2012): The big GOP funders behind the voter suppression billboards in Wisconsin and Ohio are exposed.

Since ColorOfChange launched our campaign last week, more than 130,000 members and allies demanded that Clear Channel remove outrageous voter suppression billboards, shamelessly placed in Black and Latino neighborhoods. It's clear that they heard your voices. On Monday, Clear Channel announced that they're taking their billboards down.  

This morning, Norton Outdoor announced that they would also be removing similar billboards in Cincinnati. It's a victory in the fight against voter suppression this election, and a good stand to take against those who hope to push this type of suppression into the status quo.

This week, NPR highlighted the continued resistance from civil rights groups to remove voter intimidation billboards in Ohio and Wisconsin. More than 65,000 ColorOfChange members have signed our petition calling on Clear Channel, the hosts of the billboards, to take down the signs immediately.

Court hearings have begun in a lawsuit, by civil rights groups against the City of New York, alleging that the NYPD have been illegally stopping mostly Black and Brown people outside low-income apartment buildings in The Bronx. The lawsuit targets a 1991 anti-crime program called “Operation Clean Halls,” in which landlords give the NYPD permission to patrol their buildings to look for trespassers.

Update (10/31/12) While speaking at a Romney rally in Florida, the state's Commissioner of Agriculture referenced the race-baiting "Obama phone" myth, marking the first time the topic was raised at an official GOP event. 

Conservative media outlets have been up in arms since the release of a video, in late September, that features a Black woman in Ohio enthusiastically declaring her support for President Obama. The woman is supportive of the President because of an FCC program that helps to provide phones to low-income individuals. After being featured on the right-wing site, The Drudge Report, the hashtag #ObamaPhone became very popular and filled with hateful tweets. Going one step further, the far-right group Tea Party Victory Fund has released this ad, using the same clip to exploit racial fears. 

The ad is a clear example of race-baiting. And the most effective way to defeat the influence of race-baiting is to do it together. ColorOfChange.org is dedicated to empowering the over 800,000 members of our organization, as well as our friends and family members to do exactly that.

Tonight's presidential debate will take place at 9:00 EST at New York's Hofstra University, with live streaming at the YouTube Politics channel. Moderated by CNN Anchor Candy Crowley, the debate will be in a town hall format, a structure which has been highly successful in past debates, producing memorable moments. 

With the election moments away, polls getting close, and the unsatisfactory first presidential debate, millions of eyes will be watching to see how President Obama will fare, to see whether tonight's moderator will be proactive in asking poignant questions, and if previously avoided topics such as poverty, immigration, women's reproductive health, the economy, and criminal justice issues, will finally be raised.

Just weeks before election day, voter intimidation billboards have popped up in Black and Latino neighborhoods in Ohio and Wisconsin. The billboards threaten voters with lengthy prison time and enormous fines if they commit "voter fraud." It's a clear tactic to frighten people of color and keep us away from the polls.

This past weekend, ColorOfChange launched a campaign calling on Clear Channel, the hosts of the billboard, to take down the signs immediately. Read the email we sent to our members after the jump and be sure to take action here.

At the end of September, Newt Ginrich appeared on Fox News to discuss President Obama's role at the UN General Assembly. During the interview, when asked about his opinion on the President' decision not to meet with world leaders, Ginrich stated, "there's some rhythm to Barack Obama that the rest of us don't understand. Whether he needs large amounts of rest, whether he needs to go play basketball for a while or watch ESPN." Gingrich continued saying, "the President is not a real president, he doesn't do anything that presidents do, he doesn't worry about any of the things that presidents do."

If you haven't yet, take a moment to watch this powerful video about the toll New York City's Stop and Frisk policies take on communities of color. It also offers insight into the lives of officers who feel their jobs are on the line if they don't make these discriminatory, unlawful arrests.

On the eve of City Council's first public hearing on the Community Safety Act, which would hold NYPD accountable, TheNation.com released this video. Watch to hear secretly-recorded audio of officers' shameful treatment of a local teen and interviews with veteran policemen who discuss how they're pressured to target people they have no reason to suspect of wrongdoing.

For the first time in its fifty-year history, retail workers at Walmart have gone on strike at stores in a number of cities across the country to protest illegal attempts to silence their employees. For over a year Walmart retail workers have been calling for the company to address issues with scheduling, benefits, wages and respect in the workplace. Instead of responding to their workers, the Walmart corporation has lashed out against those who dared to speak up by imposing unfair disciplinary actions, cutbacks on hours and even firings. 

October 10 was called as a National Day of Action to support the striking retail workers at Walmart. ColorOfChange stands in solidarity with these workers who are demanding a fair wage and protection from retaliation and wage discrimination.

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States heard arguments in the second challenge to affirmative action this decade. In the case of Fisher vs. Univ. of Texas, the constitutionality of racial preferences in admissions decisions by public universities will be decided. The plaintiff in the case, Abigail Fisher, is a 22 year-old, white female who was denied admission to the University of Texas and later sued the university, claiming her race was held against her.

Only nine years ago, the Court ruled in Grutter v. Bollinger that race could be considered in admissions, but only as a portion of a "holistic review" that helped the university advance its academic and social mission. This morning, university attorneys cited similar arguments, asserting that the admittance of minority students with a range of backgrounds benefits the intellectual life of all students.

But the primary architect of Grutter v. Bollinger, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, retired from the bench in 2006, and her replacement, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., seems more doubtful of race-conscious remedies.

A private family foundation is trying to scare Black voters away from the polls in Cleveland's Ward 5 community. Several graphic billboards placed around the ward threaten voters that "Voter Fraud is a a felony. Up to 3 1/2 years and a $10,000 fine." The ads were placed on billboards owned by Clear Channel Outdoors, an international media company.

Last night, ColorOfChange tuned in along with millions of other Americans to watch President Obama and Governor Romney face off in the first presidential debate of 2012 at the University of Denver in Denver, CO. The debate focused on domestic policy but seemed to get stuck primarily on healthcare and the economy (specifically as it relates to taxes). 

With a national platform and an hour and a half of discussion time, what issues would you have asked the future president of the United States?

Last month, Columbus-area ColorOfChange members held a rally outside the office of Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted and joined allied groups to deliver 80,000 petition signatures. Their demand? Restore weekend voting during the October early vote period. More recently, our members nationwide have been flooding Husted's office with phone calls to to push back against his voter suppression efforts.

The Columbus rally kicked off with powerful words from ColorOfChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson. He was followed by everyday Ohioans fighting for equal access to the polls.

Check out the video above, and read more about the rally after the jump.

The presidential candidates will be coming together for the first presidential debate on October 3, 2012 and ColorOfChange will be watching. This debate offers us a chance to compare the candidates' positions on the domestic issues facing our country. 

We are striving to amplify the political voice of Black America and raise awareness in our communities about the importance of voting, and we need all the voices we can get. Join us as we meet up and tweet up to #WatchTheRace!

ColorOfChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson recently sat down with GritTV's Laura Flanders to discuss our ongoing campaign to get major corporations to end their membership in ALEC. The shadowy lobby group has pushed model legislation that suppresses the Black vote.

In the clip above, Rashad discusses how the voices of hundreds of thousands of ColorOfChange members are holding some of the world's biggest companies accountable for their actions and why ALEC's far-reaching influence in Congress must come to an end.

Check out the video above, and don't forget to register to vote and get more information on voter ID laws at vote.colorofchange.org.

Election Day is around the corner, early voting is open in some states and the countdown to get registered to vote is on. Need to get registered? Not sure if you already are? ColorOfChange's online registration tool is a one-stop shop for all your voter information. Check it out here.

If you're already registered to vote, then make sure to share this link with friends and family.

Wondering how the tool works or how much time it takes to register?

Watch this one-minute video to learn all you need to make sure your voice is heard this election season.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn refuses to allow a vote on the Paid Sick TIme Act.  And now, a new watered-down version of the bill would remove many protections included in the previous version. Please join us in NYC this Thursday, October 4th, to demand that Speaker Quinn allow a vote on the Paid Sick Time act without additional weakening of the bill. The petition delivery and press conference will kick off on the steps of City Hall, at 12:00 noon. Please RSVP to let us know you'll attend.

On Tuesday, a Pennsylvania judge halted enforcement of the state's voter ID requirement. In doing so, the judge dealt a blow to the right-wing crusade to disenfranchise millions of voters, most of them people of color, low-income folks, and the elderly. The judge ordered that IDs are not required to cast a ballot this year, but did nothing to block a voter education advertising campaign that presents conflicting information.

In a press statement released today, ColorOfChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson applauded the ruling, calling it a partial victory against a modern day poll tax.

Check out the full statement from Rashad after the jump, and learn more about voter ID at vote.colorofchange.org.

Last week hundreds of New Yorkers joined ColorOfChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson, Communities United for Police Reform (CPR), rapper and activist Talib Kweli, and partners for a rally at City Hall calling on city officials to end the NYPD's abusive Stop and Frisk program and to schedule a vote on the Community Safety Act which will be discussed in a City Council public hearing on Oct. 10.

“Targeting Black New Yorkers through the use of biased law enforcement practices such as Stop and Frisk creates two separate and unequal New Yorks based on race,” said ColorOfChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson. “A program that is rooted in racism cannot be reformed, it must be dismantled. The Community Safety Act is a first step toward ending Stop and Frisk and bringing real accountability to the NYPD.”