Southern Coalition for Social Justice (SCSJ) is committed to reducing barriers to the ballot box and making the freedom to vote safe and accessible.
Automatic Voter Registration
Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) is a powerful answer to registration challenges, allowing for the automatic registration of every voter during interactions with the DMV or other government agencies. In states that have already approved AVR, registration rates are significantly higher than they were before the policy was implemented, the cost of voter registration has decreased substantively, and voter rolls are more accurate and secure.
Online Voter Registration
Online Voter Registration (OVR) makes registration more convenient for voters, saves money for states, and leads to voter rolls that are more accurate and secure. In the more than two-thirds of states that have passed and implemented OVR, voters can register, verify, and update their registration records all online, leading to a more streamlined experience for both voters and the state and encouraging civic participation among new voters, especially young people.
Same-Day Registration
Same-Day Registration (SDR) is one of the most powerful tools for enfranchising and protecting voters. SDR facilitates voting among voters who move frequently, creates a safety net for voters who may have been inadvertently removed from the rolls, and provides a convenient last-minute registration opportunity for all voters. In North Carolina, the one Southern state that allows it, SDR is utilized by Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike, as well as by every single age group and by several racial and ethnic groups across the state. SOLVE members across the South support SDR as an important enfranchisement tool and one that especially supports voting among young people, communities of color, and others who face barriers to the ballot box.
Language Access
Language minorities often face multiple and significant barriers to voting, a reality that is exacerbated by the frequent lack of assistance for these voters at the polls. It is critical to ensure that all election materials — from registration forms and the ballot to signage at the polls — be translated into any language spoken by non-native English-speaking communities in any given precinct.
Eliminating Barriers to Voting Access
Voter identification laws are just one of many strategies to roll back decades of progress on voting rights, especially in Southern states. Thirty-four states have identification requirements at the polls. Of the seven states that have strict photo ID laws, under which voters must present one of a limited set of forms of government-issued photo ID in order to cast a regular ballot – no exceptions, the majority are in the South.
SCSJ Brief Outlines Supreme Court Case Against Racist Voter ID Law
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 11, 2022 Raleigh, N.C. (March 11, 2022) — The Southern Coalition for Social Justice and pro bono counsel from the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, filed a brief to the North Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday, making the case against the state’s voter ID law. Click here…
Read More SCSJ Brief Outlines Supreme Court Case Against Racist Voter ID LawAutomatic Voter Registration
Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) is a powerful answer to registration challenges, allowing for the automatic registration of every voter during interactions with the DMV or other government agencies. In states that have already approved AVR, registration rates are significantly higher than they were before the policy was implemented, the cost of voter registration has decreased substantively, and voter rolls are more accurate and secure.