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Last night, LCCR President and CEO Wade Henderson and LCCR Executive Vice President Nancy Zirkin were honored by DC Vote for their efforts to pass D.C. voting rights legislation.

Henderson, Zirkin and House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, D. Mich., were presented with 2009 Champions of Democracy Awards for their "dedication to fulfilling the promise of democracy for the Americans who call Washington, D.C., home." DC Vote also presented Akridge Real Estate, a Washington commercial real estate firm, with its Corporate Partnership Award.

In accepting the honor, Henderson, a D.C. native, emphasized the importance of continuing the fight to secure full voting representation in Congress for the District. "For all the progress we've made in D.C. and as a nation, my hundreds of thousands of neighbors in this city and I have been mere spectators to our democracy for more than 200 years. And that won't change as long as citizens of the District of Columbia continue to be deprived of the most important civil right that Americans have: the right to vote," said Henderson.

"This year, we came closer than we've ever been to securing voting rights for the residents of the District of Columbia...we still have a long way to go. But with your help and the efforts of DC Vote and the civil rights community, we'll get there," said Zirkin.

DC Vote has selected LCCR President Wade Henderson and LCCR Executive Vice President Nancy Zirkin as recipients of its 2009 Champions of Democracy Award for their commitment to achieving full democracy for the District of Columbia.

In announcing the award, DC Vote Executive Director Ilir Zherka said Zirkin and Henderson's "exemplary dedication to civil and human rights issues is apparent through their tireless work to pass D.C. voting rights legislation. They have been loyal champions of this cause, and we are extremely appreciative of their efforts." 

Henderson and Zirkin will be honored with fellow awardees Rep. John Conyers, D. Mich., and Alkridge Real Estate at the Champions of Democracy Awards Dinner on October 13 in Washington, D.C. 

Champions of Democracy are selected for "their dedication to fulfilling the promise of democracy and for the many ways they celebrate the rich heritage and vibrant communities of Washington, D.C."

Today marks the 89th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Ratified in 1920, the amendment gave women the right to vote. Women had been gaining suffrage, or the right to vote, on a state-by-state basis throughout the early 20th century, but the amendment granted all U.S. women full voting rights.

The amendment's ratification was the culmination of the Women's Suffrage Movement. Women's suffrage was first proposed in 1848 by participants of the Seneca Falls Women's Rights Convention, which included Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott.

The movement picked up steam when Alice Paul, president of the National Women's Party, lead eight thousand women in picketing the White House the day before Woodrow Wilson's inauguration in 1913. Women's active participation in the war effort during World War I also helped the movement gain support.

Last week, both the Senate and the House introduced the Democracy Restoration Act, legislation that would restore the right to vote in federal elections to millions of Americans with felony convictions who have completed their prison sentences.

Approximately 5.3 million Americans are denied the right to vote because of past felony convictions.  Four million of them are out of prison, living, working, and raising families in their communities and would have their federal voting rights restored under this legislation.

State law on voting rights for ex-felons vary.  Maine and Vermont allow everyone with a felony conviction to vote, even those who remaine incarcerated.  Virginia and Kentucky permanently deny voting rights to those with felony convictions.  Most states fall in between those two extremes, leading to widespread confusion among citizens and poll workers which sometimes leads to eligible citizens being denied the right to vote.

Felony disenfranchisement laws were originally passed during the Jim Crow-era to prevent Blacks from participating in elections.  If current trends continue, one-third of the next generation of African-American men will be disenfranchised during their lifetime.  The U.S. is one of few western democracies that the permanent disenfranchisement of those with past felony convictions.

"Voting helps to build a sense of civic responsibility and commitment to community; denying this fundamental right does nothing to help people with a conviction in their past become better citizens," said Sen. Russ Feingold, D. Md. "The expansion of voting rights to the poor, women, minorities and young people is one of the greatest stories in our country's history.  We should continue this legacy by expanding the right to vote to those who have fully paid their debt to society."

Voter registrations have increased substantially between the 2006 congressional mid-term election and the 2008 presidential election, according to a report from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC).

The report, released last week, is the eighth in a series of regular reports the commission has submitted to Congress since passage of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) in 1993. The EAC is required to report every two years on the impact of the NVRA on voter registration.  This year's report revealed that the number of registered voters rose by 17.5 million from 2006 to 2008, reaching a total of 189 million.

The report also found a increase in same-day registration, in which voters are permitted to register when they arrive at the polls on election day, with 17 states adding 3.6 million new registrants on Election Day. Thirteen million inactive voters were removed from voter rolls from 2006 to 2008, for reasons including death, felony conviction, failure to vote in two consecutive federal elections, moving, or at the voter’s request.

The commission's recommendations for future improvements include creating a "coordinated data collection effort" between local and state election offices to better manage voter registration and removal of inactive voters, and the increasing the use of new technology to "ease the workload" on election officials.