Why Tuesday? Calls on President, Congress, 2012 Candidates to Support "Voting Rights Act of 2012"

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- One year before the 2012 general election, with the obstacles to casting a ballot increasing, the nonpartisan group Why Tuesday? will host a panel discussion about the urgent need to make it easier for people to vote. 

The panel, "Creating The Voting Rights Act of 2012," will take place Monday, November 7th, 2011 at 9:30 AM in the Knight Conference Center at the Newseum at 555 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.  Washington, DC 20001.

Panelists will include American Enterprise Institute resident scholar and Why Tuesday? co-founder Norman Ornstein, author and Why Tuesday? advisory board member Meghan McCain, Brennan Center for Justice counsel Mimi Marziani, and Why Tuesday? executive director Jacob Soboroff. Other panelists will be announced in the days ahead.

"As we mark one year to Election Day, we are calling upon the President, Congress and our presidential candidates to create, support and enact The Voting Rights Act of 2012," said Ambassador Andrew Young, Why Tuesday? co-founder. "Our goal is to foster a discussion that will breathe new life into The Voting Rights Act of 1965, address ways in which America can shake off the ignoble rank of 138th of 172 nations in voter turnout, and at long last recognize that if the voices of younger generations are going to be heard, we need to upgrade to Voting Rights 2.0."

The group will also ask the 2012 presidential candidates, including President Obama, to participate in the "Why Tuesday? Candidate Challenge." Each candidate will be asked to provide a video -- to be posted to WhyTuesday.org -- detailing their ideas and support for a "Voting Rights Act of 2012," with the goal of removing barriers to the franchise.

This is the second "Why Tuesday? Candidate Challenge," following the group's first successful effort in 2008. That year, presidential candidates Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Mike Huckabee and others participated, personally describing in videos posted to WhyTuesday.org what they would do to increase and protect voter participation in America.

WHO:
Norman J. Ornstein, Resident Scholar, AEI and Co-Founder, Why Tuesday?
William J. Wachtel, Co-Founder, Why Tuesday?
Meghan McCain, Author and Why Tuesday? Advisory Board Member
Mimi Marziani, Counsel, Brennan Center for Justice
Jacob Soboroff, Executive Director, Why Tuesday?

WHAT:
A panel discussion, "Creating The Voting Rights Act of 2012," hosted by the nonpartisan group Why Tuesday?, about the urgent need to make it easier for people to vote.

WHEN:
Monday, November 7, 2011
9:00 AM - Continental Breakfast
9:30 AM - Panel
* Members of the media are asked to pre-set by 9:15 AM

WHERE:
Knight Conference Center at the Newseum
555 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20001

ABOUT WHY TUESDAY?

Why Tuesday?  is a non-partisan organization founded in 2005 in honor of the 40th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. At the urging of Ambassador Andrew Young, Senator Bill Bradley and Congressman Jack Kemp joined together to ask a simple question: why do we vote on Tuesday? By asking a question that few knew the answer to and most, even our nation's leaders, had never even thought of, Why Tuesday? set out to raise awareness about America's low voter turnout and the broken state of our voting system.

Using social media, Why Tuesday? has for the past 6 years provided a platform for national dialogue about the current voting system, problems with our current voting system, and solutions that can directly improve the voting process, increase registration and drive turnout. The Why Tuesday? documentary video blog has been seen millions of times across online and traditional media channels, including national news outlets. Why Tuesday? was the recipient of the Film Your Issue Award as well as the only non-mainstream news outlet nominated for the 2008 Webby Award for Best Political Blog.

Why Tuesday? has inspired the introduction of the Weekend Voting Act in Congress. It has also prompted the passage of the Saturday Voting Act in San Francisco, and a study by the U.S. GAO about the feasibility of implementing Weekend Voting in the United States, which is due to be presented to Congress before year's end.

SOURCE Why Tuesday?