In a move hailed by voting rights advocates, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder separated himself from his conservative allies last week when he vetoed HB 5061, SB 803, and SB 754, all part of a voter suppression package tied in part to ALEC.

Melanie McElroy, Common Cause Michigan, Executive Director:

Back in 2004, Arizona voters passed Proposition 200, which required people in the state to produce proof of citizenship in order to vote and use public services. Two years later, PFAW Foundation joined voting rights supporters in filing suit against its voting-related provisions. In 2010, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit struck down the law’s requirement that voters provide proof of citizenship, but upheld its voter ID provisions. In April of this year, the full Ninth Circuit ruled the same.

Last week, the US Supreme Court refused to continue a stay of the Ninth Circuit’s decision, which had previously been granted by Justice Kennedy at the request of Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne. Horne had sought to keep the citizenship provisions in place pending appeal.

The chorus against the Florida voter purge added sixteen new voices to the mix last week after House Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers (D-MI14) led a letter to Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX21) calling for:

Last May, Texas Governor Rick Perry signed SB 14 into law. An ALEC award-winner himself, Governor Perry had the support of several ALEC members and others who pushed the legislation. Together they made Texas a photo ID state.

The Right to Vote under Attack: The Campaign to Keep Millions of Americans from the Ballot Box, a Right Wing Watch: In Focus report by PFAW Foundation, details the worst of the worst of the Right’s fight to suppress the vote. Many states have indeed taken up this fight with voter ID, proof of citizenship, and other suppressive legislation.

It was refreshing to see New York buck that trend. On June 7, State Senator Mike Gianaris and Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh introduced the Voter Empowerment Act.

Senator Gianaris:

Last November, Mississippi voters approved by referendum a voter ID constitutional amendment. Because the amendment required enacting accompanying legislation, the legislature then passed HB 921, which Governor Phil Bryant signed into law on May 17, 2012. ALEC Members Joey Fillingane and Bill Denny were behind these efforts.

We have known for some time that such laws put voting even further out of reach for many vulnerable populations, and recent analysis confirms that the Mississippi law could make it virtually impossible for some of these citizens to vote. Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann has asked state residents to let his office know if they lack ID, and says that they aim to provide free ones. But, that free ID is causing its own problems. Jackson Free Press:

With the nationwide attack on voting rights a regular topic of discussions these days, we must not forget that our democracy is strongest when all citizens participate – which is exactly what the National Congress of American Indians reminded us last month when it called for immediate action to empower Native voters.

Jefferson Keel, NCAI President:

UPDATE: Though July 1 has now passed, Governor Rick Snyderstill has yet to sign the voter suppression package. The Michigan chapter of the National Action Network is planning a march from Detroit to Lansing on July 23-27 to protest these and other measures, should the Governor come down on the wrong side of civil rights. Chapter president Rev. Charles Williams II, a supporter of PFAW Foundation’s African American Ministers Leadership Council, says that the bill’s proponents are "playing games" and "we’re standing against it."

UPDATE: The New Hampshire legislature has overridden Governor Lynch’s veto on SB 289 by an 18-5 margin in the Senate and 231-112 in the House. The SB 318 veto fell along similar lines, 18-5 and 232-110, respectively. Both are now on the books, but at least voter ID still has to be cleared by the Department of Justice.

It was already a crowded news day last Thursday when a large crowd gathered to witness the launch of the Congressional Anti-Bullying Caucus. I took my own seat in the packed room as members of Congress and personal and professional advocates united behind a common call to action.