FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 7, 2005

CONTACT: Mark Kende, (515) 271-3354, mark.kende@drake.edu
Lisa Lacher, (515) 271-3119, lisa.lacher@drake.edu

VOTING RIGHTS PANEL AND TOWN HALL MEETING SET FOR SEPT. 15

A panel discussion and town hall meeting titled "Removing Barriers, Effecting Change" will be held Thursday, Sept. 15, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act and Constitution Day. Both events are free and open to the public.

The panel discussion, moderated by Associated Press reporter Michael Glover, will focus on legal aspects of ensuring equal access for all to the voting process. The event will start at 1 p.m. in the Middleton Children's Rights Center at the Drake Legal Clinic, 2400 University Ave. Panelists include Steve Carbo, director of the Democracy Program at Demos (a national nonprofit group supporting state reform efforts); Ed Mansfield, professor of election law and attorney in private practice; and Kimberly Baxter, director of the Iowa Commission on the Status of African Americans.

The town hall meeting will take place from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Polk County Central Senior Center, 2008 Forest Ave. Citizens are invited to share their voting experiences and bring their questions about barriers to voting. Carbo, Culver, Mansfield and other experts will be on hand to answer the questions.

Both events are sponsored by the Drake University Constitutional Law Center and Celebrate Voting, a joint initiative of Iowa Secretary of State Culver, the Iowa State Historical Foundation, the Iowa Department of Human Rights, the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, the NAACP State Conference, the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics, ID Action and the League of Women Voters.

All educational institutions receiving federal funds are required to present educational programming about the U.S. Constitution on or about Sept. 17 of each year under a new federal law enacted late last fall. Sept. 17 was selected as Constitution Day because delegates to the Constitutional Convention met for the final time on Sept. 17, 1787, to sign the U.S. Constitution and presented it to the public.

For more information about the panel discussion and town hall meeting, call 1-888-767-VOTE or visit www.IowaVotes.us.

- 30 -