Voter Suppression Is Real and It Really Affects Black People
Share
Explore Our Galleries
Breaking News!
Today's news and culture by Black and other reporters in the Black and mainstream media.
Ways to Support ABHM?
By: Felice León, theRoot.com
By: Dan Wasserman
Voter suppression is simple—it’s a set of tactics used to block voters from exercising their right to vote. And there’s a long, long history of voter suppression in the United States.
Black men were allowed to vote after the Civil War thanks to the 15th Amendment, which was ratified in 1870. Because of Jim Crow laws, black folks were forced to take literacy tests and pay poll taxes, among other barriers to voting.
Fast forward to 2018. Today, voter suppression can come in the form of voter ID laws, voter roll purges, voting place closures and robocalls that intentionally misinform voters, to name a few.
Before 2006—pre-Obama!—none of the 50 states required voters to provide ID to vote. Today, 34 states request or require that you have some sort of ID. Georgia has “Exact Match.” As the name of the law suggests, the name on your ID must exactly match your name, as printed on your voter registration. No variations, no misspellings. And sadly, voter suppression tactics this election cycle don’t stop with Georgia.
Read the full article HERE
More Breaking News HERE
Comments Are Welcome
Note: We moderate submissions in order to create a space for meaningful dialogue, a space where museum visitors – adults and youth –– can exchange informed, thoughtful, and relevant comments that add value to our exhibits.
Racial slurs, personal attacks, obscenity, profanity, and SHOUTING do not meet the above standard. Such comments are posted in the exhibit Hateful Speech. Commercial promotions, impersonations, and incoherent comments likewise fail to meet our goals, so will not be posted. Submissions longer than 120 words will be shortened.
See our full Comments Policy here.