Panelists talk boosting voting registration through tax system – The GW Hatchet

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Bonnie Watson Coleman, DN.J., MP opened the online discussion as panellists discussed how tax filing could help minority families avoid voter repression.

The Brookings Institution’s Governance Studies program hosted a webinar Tuesday on promoting voter registration through the tax system.

Bonnie Watson Coleman, DN.J., MP opened the online discussion as panellists discussed how tax filing could help minority families avoid voter repression. Vanessa Williamson, Senior Fellow in the Brookings Institution’s Governance Studies program, hosted the event, which took place on National Voter Registration Day.

Coleman said political officials in states like Texas have used “suppressive and anti-democratic” tactics to prevent younger black and brown citizens from registering to vote. She said Congress is aware of ongoing voter repression in state and local governments as members of Congress discuss voting laws, such as the Laws for the People and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Acts.

She said registering to vote and simplifying the registration process are some of the first steps in combating voter suppression. She said these measures would support the need for a bill that would allow people to register while filing their tax returns to vote.

“In the United States, we should encourage citizen participation, register for elections, and vote as the most basic things we can do to ensure we have a healthy democracy,” said Coleman.

Sarah Brannon, an executive attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union Voting Rights Project, said elected officials may be more likely to discourage colored communities from voting if they participate in the electoral process. She said states like Texas and Georgia passed electoral laws restricting access to voting through measures to shorten early personal election periods after the 2020 presidential election saw record turnouts among under-represented groups such as black and brown communities.

“We’re not the only ones as there is a collection of voting and civil rights groups involved in this effort to stop these laws,” Brannon said.

She said the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act – a bill designed to recognize discrimination against voters in states and jurisdictions, especially in early terms and on election day – would, if passed, encourage full voter participation by all communities. She said President Joe Biden’s administration must take every step to promote accessible electoral processes and avoid further electoral hostility and inaction by Congress.

“One of the things that really impressed me is the extent to which these anti-election laws are being pushed in places where elections are near,” Brannon said. “That doesn’t happen in just any old place in the country. It happens where elections are near and where this leeway can be really important for the representations of states. “

Jeremy Bearer-Friend, an associate professor of law, said although people often assume that state and local governments are Taxes negatively affect voter registration through fees and fines that prevent black citizens from exercising their right to vote, Taxes like corporate income tax can also expand democracy and limit inequality.

“We can ensure that there are as many opportunities to register to vote as we can, based in part on the bourgeois experience of filing tax returns, a moment when individuals become members of a political community and their contributions are very aware of this. “Community,” said Bearer-Friend.

Rebecca Thompson – the interim vice president of Prosperity Now, a local nonprofit that financially supports minorities and low-income communities – said the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program, an Internal Revenue Service grant program, is working to get low to moderate income households to submit their tax returns away. She said the program relies on volunteers to guide families to available tax credits and promote household financial stability.

“It was started to really help people fill out these complex tax forms to help with compliance, but also because taxes are tough on some people and people need help,” she said.

Thompson said the Filer Voter Act – a bill requiring tax preparation services to provide their customers with voter registration forms when serving more than 100 people – will encourage programs like VITA to make voter registration information easily accessible through tax returns. She said participants in the program are happy to support families in need of financial information and voter registration information.

“This time it’s more about raising their voices and making sure their voice is heard and that they participate in our society through voting,” she said.

This article appeared in the September 30, 2021 issue of Hatchet.