FACTS AND ORGANIZATIONS

VOTING

NEW VOTERS PROJECT
www.newvotersproject.org

YOUTH VOTE COALITION
www.youthvote.org

YOUTH04
www.youth04.org

• The 26 th Amendment, passed in l971, granted people 18 years old and above the right to vote
• There are 43 million citizens between the ages of 18 and 30 which amounts to 24% of the voting age population
• In 2000, only 32% of young people voted even though 64% were registered
• 45% of youth say that the economy will be the key issue in November
• 54% of youth support affirmative action
• A majority of youth support a women's right to choose
• 81% of youth believe that basic civil liberties trump the war on terrorism
• Most youth want politicians to connect with them on important issues
• 59% of youth say they will vote in 2004
• Face-to-face contact increases youth vote turnout
• A majority of youth support gay marriage
• 62% of youth have been following the presidential campaign closely

THE DEATH PENALTY

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
www.amnestyusa.org/abolish

• Since l973, over 100 people have been released from death row because of wrongful convictions
• Since 2000, only five countries in the world are known to have executed juvenile offenders, including the United States
• 21 states allow for the execution of juveniles
• The death penalty is not a deterrent and states with the death penalty have higher rates of homicide
• Since l977, at least 40 mentally retarded people have been executed
• Most defendants that receive the death penalty are minorities
• Since l993, 19 foreign nationals have been executed in violation of the Vienna Convention's guarantee to consular assistance
• The death penalty violates international human rights standards such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the UN Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of those Facing the Death Penalty, and other UN protocols
• Most death penalty defendants are too poor to afford a good attorney and the decision on whether to impose the death penalty is arbitrary and unfair
• Capital punishment is more expensive than imprisoning a defendant for life

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION
www.aclu.org/deathpenalty

• Over the past 30 years, 113 inmates were found innocent and released from death row - for every eight people executed, one innocent person is freed
• The quality of legal representation is a better predictor of the death penalty than are the facts of the case
• Over 80% of capital cases involve white victims even though only 50% of murder victims are white
• Where a death penalty is sought often determines whether a defendant is sentenced to death. Of the 900 plus executions in the United States since l976, over 80% were carried out by just 10 states.
• Juveniles are not old enough to vote, buy cigarettes, serve in the military or get marries, but then can and are executed in the United States
• Illinois imposed a moratorium on the death penalty after more innocent people were freed than were executed

DRUG POLICY

MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT
www.marijuanapolicy.org

• In the United States , more than 100 million people have tried marijuana
• In 2002, there were 697,082 marijuana-related arrests, most for mere possession
• Marijuana prohibition costs American taxpayers an estimated 12 billion annually
• Use of marijuana does not lead to harder drugs
• Teen can buy marijuana easier than beer
• Marijuana is not addictive
• No one has ever died from a marijuana overdose
• Marijuana use does not increase cancer risk

STUDENTS FOR SENSIBLE DRUG POLICY
www.ssdp.org

• Millions of students use marijuana on a regular basis
• There has been a 15 billion dollar increase in drug war spending over the past 15 years
• In l998, Congress passed a law prohibiting students with drug convictions from receiving college financial aid which has so far adversely affected more than 140,000 students
• Students who want to participate in extracurricular activities must undergo degrading and humiliating drug testing
• The federal government spends billions each year supporting drug eradication in foreign countries while cutting student aid in America
• No tolerance drug policies in schools harm students more than do drugs
• Since 1985, California has built 21 new prisons but only one new university

NATIONAL ORGANIZATION TO REFORM MARIJUANA LAWS
www.norml.org

• 20 million people smoke marijuana responsibly each year
• Marijuana prohibition destroys lives and careers - more than five million people have been arrested for marijuana over the past five years
• Many severe medical conditions such as AIDS, cancer, and pain respond to marijuana therapy better than other drug therapies
• While industrial hemp is legal in most countries, the United States prohibits its growth and processing
• NORML supports (1) the removal of all criminal penalties for the private possession and use of marijuana for adults, (2) the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana, (3) the right of patients to use marijuana as a medicine when recommended by a doctor, and (4) the commercial cultivation and processing of hemp for commercial purposes

FLEX YOUR RIGHTS
www.flexyourrights.org

• 44 million people a year have contacts with police with more than half being during traffic stops
• Over one million people each year have their cars searched by police and 90% of these result in evidence of a crime
• Racial profiling results in many traffic stops nationwide
• Police can only search property with probable cause or with consent
• People are under no obligation to consent to a search and consenting waives the protections of the Fourth Amendment
• It is the job of the police to arrest, and they will make an arrest if they find something illegal
• Most people who are told by police to exit their car fail to lock it

FAMILIES AGAINST MANDATORY MINIMUMS
www.famm.org

• Mandatory sentences are most often given for drug offenses
• Thousands of low-level, non-violent first time drug offenders are serving mandatory sentences which remove all discretion from judges
• Over 160,000 prisoners are in federal prisons, most for drug offenses, and most serving mandatory sentences
• Hispanics receive the most mandatory sentences followed by African Americans
• 13.4% of women in federal prisons are serving mandatory sentences
• Mandatory sentences remain one of the least effective ways of dealing with drug crime
• The Federal Prison budget went from 220 million in l986 to 4.4 billion in 2000
• Drug treatment costs $1,800 per year while incarceration costs $22,000
• 1 out of every 32 Americans is in prison or on release supervision

WOMEN'S ISSUES

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS
www.lwv.org

NARAL
www.ProChoiceAmerica.org

PLANNED PARENTHOOD
www.plannedparenthood.org

• Laws outlawing abortion and criminalizing medical procedures have been passed since 2000
• Pro-choice legislation has been defeated eight times since 2000
• Doctors who receive federal funds are prohibited from advising a patient about abortion
• Since 2000, most funding for stem cell research has been prohibited
• The current budget cancels family planning programs, promotes abstinence-only curricula, and extends discriminatory abortion restrictions.
• The federal government recently prohibited the over-the-counter sale of the morning after pill
• Federal websites have recently censored accurate medical information related to women's issues

PRIVACY AND DUE PROCESS

AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION
www.aclu.org

HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN
www.hrc.org

• The Patriot Act affects the privacy of student records, campus police cooperation with the FBI, surveillance, academic records and immigration rights
• The Federal Marriage Amendment would amend the constitution to prohibit same sex marriages in the United States
• 5000 gay couples have been married in the United States
• Gay couples are denied many of the rights enjoyed by heterosexual married couples
• 200 colleges have turned over student information to federal law officials
• School libraries and bookstores must turn over records to the FBI and they cannot tell students they did so
• Campus police may search student rooms and offices without notification
• Students' e-mail and Internet communication can be monitored and federal officials may obtain pen registers and other taps on student activities
• Law enforcement officials may employ video surveillance to track and record student activities
• Universities may restrict rallies and protests about certain issues, and the government may prohibit research and writing about particular subjects
• All Arabs and Muslims are required to participate in a special registration and can be denied visas after returning home
• The First Amendment guarantees all students the right to free expression and free association and provides for the separation of church and state
• School boards cannot remove books from a school library because of the content, but they do
• The Sixth Amendment guarantees all persons the right to an attorney
• People do not have to answer questions from a law enforcement official
• The Fifth Amendment guarantees all persons the right to remain silent
• The Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures
• Thousands of people have been detained without charge under the war on terrorism without due process