Voting
Overview
The United States has a long and well documented history of disenfranchising people of color politically, first by denying them the right to vote entirely, and then later through a system of public policies (i.e., Jim Crow, Voter ID laws), widespread voter intimidation, and purging registered voters from the rolls. In addition to this, redistricting has had the effect of reducing the political power of some racial/ethnic groups, as have policies that restrict the voter rights of those convicted of felonies, at a time of deep and persistent inequities in who is arrested, charged with a felony and convicted. Even though the 2008 Presidential election showed record numbers of people voting, specifically people of color and young people, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights noted, "News reports from around the country spoke of long waits, absentee ballots not reaching voters, voter suppression and intimidation efforts, and voting machine break downs.” And these forms of intimidation have increased since that time, as evidenced by the fact that 30 states have tried to put in place picture ID requirements for voters, using an argument of voter fraud that has not been substantiated, and in fact, has been debunked.
Resources in this section document some of the current forms of voter restriction and strategies groups have used to try to address them.
Key sites
Research
- Colorblind Policy in Black and White: Racial Consequences of Disenfranchisement Policy
- Changing the Race: Racial Politics and the Election of Barack Obama
- The Disproportionate Impact of Voter ID Laws on the Electorate
- The Racial Impact of Voter Identification Laws in the 2012 Election
- Youth, Race, and Voter Mobilization
- True South Unleashing Democracy in the Black Belt 50 Years After Freedom Summer
- The High Cost of “Free” Photo Voter Identification Cards
- 50 Years of the Voting Rights Act: The State of Race in Politics
- Testing New Technologies in Mobilizing Voters of Color: An Analysis from the November 2014 Elections
- Race and Economic Jeopardy For All: A Framing Paper for Defeating Dog Whistle Politics
- The 2016 Fannie Lou Hamer Report Cards
- Fostering an Inclusive Democracy: A Strategic Vision to Protect & Expand Voting Rights
- Changing States: A Framework for Progressive Governance
- Changes of Address and the National Voter Registration Act: How State DMVs are Failing Voters and Violating Federal Law
- More Black than Blue: Politics and Power in 2019 Black Census
- We Vote, We Count: The Need For Congressional Action To Secure The Right To Vote For All Citizens
- Alive and Well: Voter Suppression and Election Mismanagement in Alabama
Practices
- Get in the Game: Civic Participation and Community Organizing
- Voter Suppression in America
- Moments, Movements, and Momentum: Engaging Voters, Scaling Power, Making Change
- Black Youth Vote! The Next Generation of Black Leadership
- Politically Re-Active
- The Foxes Guarding the Henhouse: A Voting Rights Guide to the Trump White House
- The U.S. Electoral System and Progressive Electoral Strategy Facilitator’s Guide
- The Grassroots Fight for the Right to Vote
- Realizing a More Inclusive Electorate: Identity, Knowledge, Mobilization
- Racial Justice Voter Pledge
