To this day, the states with the most extreme disenfranchisement laws also have long histories of suppressing the rights of Black people.Ĭleaning up voter rolls can be a responsible part of election administration because many people move, die, or become ineligible to vote for other reasons. Many of these laws are rooted in the Jim Crow era, when legislators tried to block Black Americans’ newly won right to vote by enforcing poll taxes, literacy tests, and other barriers that were nearly impossible to meet. The fact that these laws vary so dramatically only adds to the overall confusion that voters face, which is a form of voter suppression in itself.ĭue to racial bias in the criminal justice system, felony disenfranchisement laws disproportionately affect Black and Brown people, who often face harsher sentences than white people for the same offenses. And other states and jurisdictions, like Maine, Vermont, and Washington, D.C., don’t disenfranchise people with felony convictions at all. Some states ban voting only during incarceration, or while on probation or parole.
#VOTING BLOCS AND BEHAVIORS DEFINITION AP GOV REGISTRATION#
Look up your state’s voter registration requirements | States with online voter registrationĪ felony conviction can come with drastic consequences, including the loss of your right to vote. Resources on voter registration requirements The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit challenging the law and blocked it from going into effect in 2019. In 2020, the Supreme Court and a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the ruling.Īfter a surge in registrations during the 2018 midterm election, Tennessee legislators imposed substantial requirements on groups that foster political participation via voter registration efforts and created criminal and civil penalties against those who fail to comply with these onerous requirements and turn in “incomplete” applications. The ACLU sued and defeated the law in 2018. Most people don’t carry the required documents on hand - like a passport, or a birth certificate - and as a result, the law blocked the registrations of more than 30,000 Kansans. In 2011, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach championed a law requiring Kansans to show “proof of citizenship” documents in order to register to vote, citing false claims of noncitizen voting. Politicians often use unfounded claims of voter fraud to try to justify registration restrictions. Restrictions can include requiring documents to prove citizenship or identification, onerous obstacles for voter registration drives, or limiting the window of time in which voters can register. Restricting the terms and requirements of registration is one of the most common forms of voter suppression. And long before election cycles even begin, legislators redraw district lines that determine the weight of your vote.īelow, we’ve listed some of the most rampant methods of voter suppression across the country - and the advocacy and litigation efforts aimed at protecting our fundamental right to vote. These measures disproportionately impact people of color, students, the elderly, and people with disabilities. Suppression efforts range from the seemingly unobstructive, like strict voter ID laws and cuts to early voting, to mass purges of voter rolls and systemic disenfranchisement. Our democracy works best when all eligible voters can participate and have their voices heard.
The result is a severely compromised democracy that doesn’t reflect the will of the people. These bills erect unnecessary barriers for people to register to vote, vote by mail, or vote in person. But in recent years, more than 400 anti-voter bills have been introduced in 48 states. Voting should be as easy and accessible as possible, and in many cases it is.
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