New approaches to voter suppression are disenfranchising millions of voters of color, young people, and poor people. How is it that in the 21st century America is still struggling to make good on its Constitutional promises? And what can we do about it before the 2024 election?

Join us for a 90–minute expert panel* with ample time for audience question and answer, hosted by the Workers Circle and the Center for Common Ground. You’ll leave this program with a clear sense of the dangerous ways voter suppression functions today and strategic actions we can take against it.

*Additional panelists will be announced soon. ASL and Closed Captioning will be provided.

Panelists:

• Andrea Miller

  Andrea Miller is the Founding Board Member of the Center for Common Ground, Executive Director of People Demanding Action, Founding President of the National Women’s Political Caucus of Virginia. Andrea is an IT and Political Director and a digital and elections strategist. She designs and administers digital phone banks and texting programs. From 2013 to 2015, she led the Progressive Round Table on Capitol Hill, bringing together members of Congress, activists, and non-profit leaders. Her expertise is in voting rights, climate, and the Equal Rights Amendment. She has successfully advocated for legislation on both the Federal and State level. In 2008 she was the Democratic nominee for the Virginia 4th Congressional district.

• Evan Milligan

  After spending over 20 years serving Black communities and pro-democracy efforts throughout Alabama and the Deep South, Evan Milligan now serves as executive director of Alabama Forward. Officially launched in 2020, Alabama Forward is a 501-C-3 statewide civic engagement table advancing efforts of nonpartisan organizations throughout Alabama to greatly expand the voter base, protect voting rights, and make election systems as accessible as possible. Evan also directs Alabama Forward Action, a network of 501-C-4 advocacy groups based in Alabama that works to support pro-democracy policies and candidates. Additionally, Evan is the named plaintiff in Milligan v. Merrill, a federal lawsuit challenging the state of Alabama's passage of a congressional map that violated the 1965 Voting Rights Act. In June 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court published a 5-4 decision in favor of Evan and his co-plaintiffs. The implementation of this decision subsequently resulted in the creation of a second congressional district offering Black Alabamians an opportunity to elect a candidate of choice. Additionally, Evan is a writer who incorporates values related to freedom and democracy into diverse forms of creative expression. You can listen his music under the name “Shake the Field” on Bandcamp.

• Richard Walker

  Richard Walker is a mental health professional and Founder and CEO of Bridging the Gap in Virginia, a 501(c)3 non-profit whose mission is to empower returning citizens, veterans, persons in substance abuse recovery, and those experiencing chronic homelessness. Richard has advocated for rights restoration and “Ban the Box” (Fair Chance hiring) legislation and has assisted over 10,000 individuals in restoring their civil rights. Richard has served on the Stakeholders Group for Restoration of Rights for the past three governors and is a Federal Bureau of Prisons Certified Offender Workforce Development Specialist. He has advocated for Expungement/Record sealing, changing hiring policy for RPS, ending Solitary Confinement, fair access to public housing, and other legislation that has adversely affected all Virginians. For many years, Richard has been a strong community advocate, and through his work, he continues to uplift vulnerable individuals and advance justice.

• Lulu Friesdat

  Lulu Friesdat is a thought leader, documentary filmmaker, and TEDx Speaker. She co-founded and runs two nonprofits to improve and raise confidence in U.S. elections, SMART Elections and the Action Partner: SMART Legislation. She's contributed to Emmy award-winning coverage at ABC News and produced election security investigations that received over four million views. She's been both quoted and featured in the New York Times, and her journalism and advocacy work has been featured in The Washington Post, The Hill, Politico, Now This, Salon, MSN.com, the Young Turks, Truthout, City & State NY, NY Focus, The NY Daily News, Gothamist, The Post & Courier, 1010Wins, WBAI, and the Albany Times Union. She's had assignments with NBC, MSNBC, CNBC, CBS, Fox News Channel, and Nightline. Her first documentary, "Holler Back - [not] Voting in an American Town" was featured in The Hollywood Reporter as part of a group of "thoughtful and provocative" films being made by women.

• Carol Blackmon

  Carol Blackmon, Black Voters Matter Fund, Senior State Organizing Manager is a human rights advocate and lifelong resident of Mississippi. She works statewide with organizational partners and allies to promote expanded democracy in the Black community. In that role she manages more than 30 Black Voters Matter Partners across the state. By assisting in building the capacity of these partners she helps to expand African American democracy, promotes voter education, mobilization, voter registration, and active voter participation.

  She also researches African American voter engagement in the state and offers opportunities for utilizing new voter tools. Her goal is to help mobilize all eligible Black Voters to the polls.

  She has a long history of working for human rights, economic development, and social justice. She believes that when we work together, we all win.

Co-sponsored by: Avodah, Bay Area Coalition, Black Voters Matter, Bend the Arc, Jewish Action, Maryland, Blue Future, CallHub, Carolina Jews for Justice, Center for Law & Social Justice at Medgar Evers College, California Solartopia, Change the Chamber*Lobby for Climate, Clean Elections Texas, Climate Hawks Vote, Declaration for American Democracy, DemCast USA, Enough of Gun Violence, Fair Representation in Redistricting, Franciscan Action Network, Get Money Out-Maryland, Ikar, Interfaith Alliance, Jewish Community Relations Council of the Sacramento Region, League of Women Voters, Los Angeles County Voters Action Coalition, Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities, National Council of Jewish Women, National Organization for Women, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Oklahoma Democratic Party, The People's Agenda, Public Citizen, Public Wise, Progress Arizona, Reconstructing Judaism, Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Repair the World, Secure Elections Network, SMART Elections, Society for Humanistic Judaism, Sojourners-SojoAction, Un-PAC, Upper West Side Action Group, Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice, Uri L'Tzedek, Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice, Women of Color Coalition