Does voter suppression exist today?
Fact Box
- ‘Voter suppression’ is considered a political strategy “used to describe policies and tactics that place an undue limitation on the ability of citizens to cast countable ballots in an election.”
- Following America’s Civil War over the abolition of slavery (1862-1865), voter suppression through Jim Crow laws, which included literacy tests and poll taxes, existed against Blacks in the South.
- The 15th Amendment was added to the US Constitution in 1870 and states, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
- The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was adopted by Congress and signed by President Lydon B. Johnson. It aimed to “overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote as guaranteed under the 15th Amendment.”
Curtice (No)
States pursuing election integrity measures are not enacting 'voter suppression,’ as voting is a vital aspect of representative government. Citizens should be able to trust the fairness and honesty of elections by knowing that laws exist to prevent ineligible voting and 'fraudsters' from subverting the people's will.
After the 2020 election, states like Georgia and Arizona changed their voting laws. Georgia Democratic candidate for Governor, Stacey Abrams, as well as many other politicians and pundits, quite vocally declared the changes in Georgia would lead to massive voter suppression. Yet, Georgia set a record for early midterm ballots cast in the 2022 election. To suppress something is to restrain or prohibit it—so, if Georgia's voting changes were meant to suppress voting, it failed miserably. Historic high voter turnout and voter suppression cannot exist simultaneously in the same place. The suppression of something does not produce more of it.
Requiring citizens prove their identity is perfectly ordinary. ID laws are not racist or exist to 'suppress or make it difficult for people to vote,' as Kamala Harris asserted of voter ID laws, nor does it unfairly discriminate against minority and low-income voters. Yet, that is precisely what the opponents of voter ID laws argue. As Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT) said regarding those who claim voter ID laws are racist, 'You know what's racist? Assuming because I'm black that I just don't have the capability of getting an ID.'
80 percent of adult Americans, including a majority of Democrats and non-Whites, support common-sense voter ID laws. Anyone of voting age who meets the very low threshold for legally casting a ballot can do so unencumbered. Only those claiming voter suppression will see it, even in spite of record ballots cast.
Andrew (Yes)
Voter suppression in the United States occurs in both legal and illegal ways. While blatantly illegal forms common during the Jim Crow era, such as violent attacks, literacy tests, and poll taxes, are no longer tolerated by mainstream society, those wishing to suppress voters have found more insidious ways to use these same methods. Policies that force voters to first pay off any outstanding court debt and present ID before voting, enforce third-party voter transportation bans (requiring voters to walk to polls to vote), and do not provide paid time off for voting all amount to modern forms of poll taxes—a form of voter suppression.
States like Florida have enacted laws that expand the radius around a polling center, which “requires people offering voters assistance to stay at least 150 feet (45 meters) away from polling places.” This makes it harder for volunteers to help potential voters should they have questions. This is important, considering that one in five Americans struggle to read. Requiring voters to 'figure it out on their own' using only written signs is a form of modern literacy testing. Further, ProPublica has noted that districts with low literacy rates vote at significantly lower rates than those with high literacy.
Surely elected officials should be doing everything in their power to encourage voting. And since there has been almost no proof of voter fraud in recent elections, one can only wonder why lawmakers are making it more difficult for individuals to vote. Lawmakers in many states have used the false claims of voter fraud and stolen elections to push laws limiting popular options such as early voting and drop boxes and requiring stricter identification or proof of citizenship. The fact is that any attempt to limit who can vote or make it more difficult for voters to fulfill their constitutional rights is voter suppression.
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