November 29, 2016
The ACLU of Colorado is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to fulfilling the promise of equal justice under the law for all Coloradans. It is the state’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. It advocates for members of disenfranchised communities, including people of color, LGBT persons, women, immigrants, low-income people, homeless, prisoners, students and the elderly. Thanks to support from Voqal, the ACLU of Colorado successfully lobbied for several bills aimed at preserving civil liberties during the 2016 legislative session.
The 2016 Colorado state legislative session was a successful one for the ACLU of Colorado. 58 percent of the bills it supported passed, while 78 percent of the bills it opposed did not. Furthermore, it was successful in passing all four of its top-priority bills, which included laws that provide the right to counsel in municipal court, end Debtors’ prisons, end solitary confinement of juveniles and provide more robust student data privacy. Finally, as part of these efforts, the ACLU of Colorado built a bipartisan coalition in support of civil liberties, particularly in the areas of privacy, digital security and criminal justice reform.
The ACLU of Colorado also employed a sophisticated email and social media strategy in support of their legislative efforts. This included emails in support of the Right to Rest Act and supporting the debtors’ prison and municipal public defender bills. In its most successful email campaign to date, it generated more than 24,000 emails to the legislature in support of a bill to stop solitary confinement of children. In addition, thanks to these efforts, the Governor received 3,700 direct calls and emails which ultimately convinced him to allow ACLU of Colorado’s top priority bills to become law.
Voqal strongly believes that an empowered citizenry is an important component of a more socially equitable world. Furthermore, we believe protecting civil liberties is a vital to empowering the population. With that in mind, Voqal is proud to have supported the work of the ACLU of Colorado and looks forward to its continued success protecting civil liberties for all.