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Part of AUW’s Protecting Women’s Rights Campaign and a working group of the Minnesota UU Social Justice Alliance (MUUSJA)
 
Voting Rights co-chairs, Jenny Thomas (left) and Carol Johnson (right)
with Secretary of State, Mark Ritchie
We bring our faith to action in the world on behalf of women…
The mission of our UU Voting Rights: Sacred Franchise Campaign is to protect the right and access to voting for all citizens and to ensure that votes cast are counted and reported accurately. The core of American democracy and civil rights depends on citizen confidence in this system. VR: SF works in partnership with Citizens for Election Integrity/MN and the League of Women Voters/MN. It is also an official working group of the Minnesota UU Social Justice Alliance(MUUSJA), founded in 2001 to organize UUs to work collectively for systemic change.
The VR: SF Campaign emphasizes education and advocacy, which includes helping activists to reflect, articulate, and speak publicly about their positions in relation to our UU values and principles.
Briana Riskin, Corky Johnson, and Jenny Thomas prepare to field questions
about the UU Voting Rights: Sacred Franchise Campaign
UU Voting Rights: Sacred Franchise Campaign (VR: SF) 11.08
Group Mission:
- Protect the right and access to voting for all citizens.
- Ensure that votes cast are counted and reported accurately.
Contacts: Association of Universalist Women (AUW), First Universalist Church
Partner Organizations:
- Citizens for Election Integrity (CEIMN.org)
- League of Women Voters MN (LWVMN)
Essential Elements of Fair and Accurate Elections:
- PAPER: Voter-marked paper ballots as the ballot of record, with ballot marking devices available for people with special needs and no electronic ballots or poll books.
- COUNT: Counting of all ballots before results are certified.
- AUDIT: Statistically significant, random hand audits before results are certified.
- TRANSPARENT & SECURE: Publicly observable, unbroken chain of custody practices and physical security procedures for all ballots and voting equipment.
- ELECTION-DAY REGISTRATION: Same-day voter registration; elimination of provisional ballots.
- RECOUNTS: Hand recounts available upon candidate request before results certified.
Voting Rights Working Group Goals for 2007/2008
- Expand our planning group to add other MUUSJA congregations
- Implement General Assembly Resolution – partner with Communities of Color
- Priorities for 2008 MN legislative session – partner with CEIMN and LWVMN
- Audit Bill – support efforts to pass a statistically significant model for manual audits
- Registration Bill – support Secretary of State efforts to pass a bill facilitating registration
- Priorities for 2007/2008 Federal legislation – partner with CEIMN
- Support effective bills – strengthen and pass House/Senate versions of Holt or something better
- Support national efforts for state-level action: driven by widespread confirmation of vulnerabilities
- Election 2008 – partner with CEIMN and LWVMN
- Candidate Question: Do you support Federal legislation requiring voter-marked paper ballots and statistically significant manual audits for all Federal elections?
Responsive Resolution Regarding the Report on Racism
Passed at Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly in Portland, June 24, 2007
“Be it resolved, that the Delegates to the 2007 General Assembly are charged to work with their congregations on the following:
- Where possible, to partner in at least one program on issues of race and voting (such as intimidation, felon disenfranchisement and voter ID requirements) with an engaged non-partisan organization such as the Urban League, ACLU, League of Women Voters or local community group;
- To seek opportunities for education and insight through personal interactions with people in communities of color regarding their experiences with voting;
- To report key insights to their congregations and to next year’s General Assembly.”
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About Us
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Women's Justice Campaign
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VR: SF GOals and More Info
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