Students file lawsuit alleging voter intimidation

Chinese American students accuse town supervisor of voter intimidation and group defamation.



In upstate New York, a group of Chinese Americans college students have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against a local town supervisor, alleging voter intimidation after he challenged their right to vote.

Chinese-American students sue Deerpark supervisor

Ten Chinese American students at Fei Tian College are suing Deerpark Town Supervisor Gary Spears, accusing him of voter intimidation, group defamation and violation of their civil rights after he challenged their new voter registrations in an apparent effort to suppress voter turnout.

In August, Spears challenged thirty new voter registrations by students at Fei Tian, which is located on the grounds of a local religious enclave, Dragon Springs Buddhist Inc.

Tell the Department of Justice to #LetUsVote!

40,000 voters in Georgia have no idea if they'll be able to vote tomorrow.



Got this passed along to me from our good friends at 18 Million Rising... In Georgia, at least 40,000 people don't know if they'll be able to vote in tomorrow's election. Forty thousand new eligible voters haven't been added to the state's voter registration rolls, even though they turned in all their completed registration paperwork.

The majority of these 40,000 voters come from Asian, Black, and Latino communities.

Despite a lawsuit filed by national and local organizations against Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp to speed up the processing of these "missing" new voter registrations, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Christopher Brasher failed to intervene on behalf of these voters.

It's being called "The Most Brazen Attempt at Voter Suppression Yet."

Last week, 18MR launched a petition demanding that the Department of Justice investigate Secretary of State Kemp's inaction, and to hold him and the state of Georgia accountable for these missing voter registrations. Today, with less than 24 hours until the polls open, let's turn up the pressure on the Department of Justice.

Are you active on Twitter? Here's 18MR's call to action:

Today is National Voter Registration Day!

Are you registered? Use 18 Million Rising's Voter Registration Tool to get started.



Hey, folks. Today is National Voter Registration Day. Your voice matters, and one of the fundamental ways our community can speak out, stand up and be counted is through the ballot box. We have the numbers. We can have the clout. But only about 30% of eligible AAPI voters make it to the polls. What's up with that?

So... have you registered to vote? Our friends at 18 Million Rising have teamed up with Rock the Vote to launch a handy Voter Registration Tool to get you started. Their Elections 2014 website has everything you need to become a registered voter -- including gaining access to voter registration assistance in 13 different languages. You'll also find tools and other resources to start a get-out-the-vote campaign in your own community.

Midterm elections are just a few weeks away. Registration deadlines vary in each state, so head over to 18 Million Rising and check the map. And tell your momma. Tell your friends. Get registered to vote.

More here: Are You Ready to Make Our Votes Count?

Asian American organizations urge Supreme Court to strike down Arizona's discriminatory voter registration law

This week, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund filed an amici curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Arizona v. Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, challenging the legality of Proposition 200, Arizona's new restrictive voter registration law. According to AALDEF, Proposition 200 will unfairly burden naturalized citizens, who make up almost 40% of the state's Asian American population.

The brief was filed with twelve other Asian American organizations that conduct voter registration drives in states with laws similar to Arizona's, or whose state legislatures are considering such laws -- laws that will make voter registration more burdensome for Asian American voters and will impair the ability of grassroots groups to register Asian American voters.

Here's more info from AALDEF's press release: