Today Why Tuesday? hosted the The “Creating the Voting Rights Act of 2012” panel at the Newseum in Washington, DC. One year out from Election Day, panel participants talked about the desire for a Voting Rights Act of 2012, which is intended to address ways America can move up from its position of 138th out of 172 nations in voter turnout. Voting on a Tuesday is inconvenient at the best of times, and anyone working two jobs might as well forget voting in states where mail-in ballots and early voting aren’t an option. Why Tuesday? hopes that by pushing the issue into the spotlight and gaining support for a Voting Rights Act of 2012 more people will be able to participate in the democratic process.

Why Tuesday? co-found Norman Ornstein believes that a new voting rights act begins with modernizing the voting system in a variety of ways, such as allowing for weekend voting and allowing for same-day voter registration and voting. He said Americans must start “with the premise that voting is the essence of democracy,” and, “Making it so that people can exercise their choice freely and fully should be a mission of our society.”

Alongside Ornstein on the panel was advisory board member Meghan McCain, Brennan Center for Justice counsel Mimi Marziani, Pew Center on the States Election Initiatives Director David Becker, and Why Tuesday? executive director Jacob Soboroff.

New bills that have been recently introduced or passed threaten to restrict voting in some states in a variety of ways.  In addressing this problem, Ornstein said:

“There are vigorous movements in many, many states to try and constrict and restrain votes for reasons which on the surface revolve around fraud. But any objective understanding or analysis of what’s going on in most states shows that fraud at the polls is virtually nonexistent, and it has much more to do with trying to get your voters out and keep others from coming out.”

Mimi Marziani said during the discussion that strict photo ID rules, administrative burdens for registering to vote, cutbacks on early voting periods, and steps to prevent previously convicted felons from reinstating their voting rights has a direct impact on up to five million Americans. She said those taking the largest hit are racial minorities, students, the elderly, the poor, and disabled people. The Voting Rights Act of 2012 would hopefully address these problems.

The panel also asked 2012 presidential candidates, including President Obama, to participate in the “Why Tuesday? Candidate Challenge” where they will provide a video for WhyTuesday.org that details their ideas and support for a “Voting Rights Act of 2012.” This will be the second “Why Tuesday? Candidate Challenge,” the first of which took place in 2008 with past presidential candidates, including Barack Obama, Joe Biden, John McCain, Mike Huckabee, and others.

Why Tuesday?, founded in 2005 in honor of the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, is a non-partisan organization that asks the question: why do we vote on Tuesday? By asking this, the group raises awareness about America’s low voter turnout and the broken state of our voting system. They have provided a platform for national dialogue about the current voting system and its problems, as well as solutions that would directly increase both voting registration and turnout. Why Tuesday? has inspired the introduction of the Weekend Voting Act in Congress, and also prompted the passage of the Saturday Voting Act in San Francisco.