To: ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX and MSNBC new divisions
We demand the major news networks cover voter suppression!
Millions of voters around the country are denied access to the ballot box, and yet this terrifying story is rarely told on the news. As the 2016 election campaign heats up, we demand that the major networks cover voter suppression as a prominent news story by assigning at least one reporter to a permanent "voter suppression" beat.
Why is this important?
There is a dangerous, growing epidemic of voter suppression in this country, and yet the major news networks refuse to give this serious problem that airtime it deserves.
From Arizona to New York, the past few weeks alone have seen news stories of thousands of people being unable to cast their votes in the presidential primaries. In 2016, 17 states will have new voting restrictions in place for the first time in a presidential election. The new laws range from strict photo ID requirements to early voting cutbacks to registration restrictions. Overall, 22 states have new restrictions in effect since the 2010 midterm election.
It's time the major networks look beyond covering the theatrics of the campaign trail and focus on the very real disenfranchisement of millions of voters around the country. That why we're demanding that all the networks assign reporters to cover the voter suppression beat and share these critical stories with the public in order to raise awareness of what's happening with our democracy.