Voter Suppression: Democracy is Dying

By: Austen Wyche

In the United States, we are taught and given the message that there is one fundamental right that we all have: the right to vote. The right for all citizens to vote is essential to maintain the democratic process of government we exercise in our country. What we are not taught is that many people, United States citizens, are being deprived of their fundamental right by politicians who play unlawfully to win elections without accountability. Politicians have been using methods to suppress the vote since the time of Reconstruction when formerly enslaved people were “given” the right to vote. There is a long history of majority parties and institutions in the United States using their power to dilute the vote of their political opponents. The fact that the practice of voter suppression is still used in 2020 is appalling, that politicians make sure they get to choose their voters, not the voters choosing them. As The New York Times states in Carol Anderson’s book “One Person, No Vote”, learning about Voter Suppression in the United States that is destroying our democracy “will push you to think not just about the vote count, but who counts too.” To preserve democracy and the institution of voting, we must fight all attempts to limit the number of American Citizens who participate in our elections.

Following the American Civil War, the 15th Amendment was passed which 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 the account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” This statement, however, left a large loophole for governments, particularly in the South, to prevent formerly enslaved people from voting. To prevent formerly enslaved people from voting, states began to implement poll taxes and literacy tests, two impossible burdens for many who were illiterate and economically unstable after leaving enslavement. In some states, the governments even held “White-only” primaries that only allowed white voters to participate. Due to these discriminatory Jim Crow voter suppression tactics, only about 3% of Black Americans in the South were registered to vote in 1940. Oftentimes, the Ku Klux Klan, in both the North and South, would stage demonstrations near polling places to intimidate African Americans from voting. It was successful and kept minorities from participating in elections. Finally, in 1965, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed, which banned racial discrimination in voting, and outlawed the use of devices that were used to disenfranchise minority voters. Many Southern conservatives in the United States opposed the act, as government preclearance of voting law changes was a provision, but under the administration of Lyndon B. Johnson, the bill was signed into law. Following the enactment of the Voting Rights Act, it was extended by Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush, until the 2008 presidential election, when voting rights became harder and harder to retain.

After the presidential election of 2008, when Barack Obama (D), was elected over John McCain, winning 69,498,516 votes over McCains 59,948,323, it was the largest popular vote total in United States History. 66% of Hispanics, 62% of Asians, 56% of Women, 66% of voters under 30, 95% of African Americans, and 40% of White Voters (Largest Margin won by a Democrat in History) all voted for President Obama. In this election, due to the massive black turnout, it equaled the same turnout for White Voters, sparking fears that the demographic changes would endanger the Republican Party. Of Black, Latino, and Asian American Voters combined, only 8% identified with the GOP (Republican Party), with the Democratic Party becoming much more diverse than the former. In response to this newfound turnout from minority voters in opposition to the GOP, the idea of “voter fraud” began to sprout. This idea, promoted by prominent Tea Party members, alleged that undocumented immigrants and unlawful voters were voting multiple times for Democratic candidates. There is no evidence to support widespread voter fraud, but Republicans in positions of authority began to enact restrictive voter laws to counteract the unfounded conspiracy of voter fraud. Since 2000, there have been 31 instances of voter fraud, out of 1,000,000,000 (1 billion) ballots; statistically insignificant. To prevent minorities from voting, Republican-led legislatures across the country began to pass Voter ID legislation, which effectively removed 6 million Black Americans, and 3 million Latino Americans from the voter rolls that could not afford to pay for a government-issued ID. While 25% of African American voters lack a government-issued identification, only 8% of White voters do. In 2011, the state legislature in Georgia implemented a requirement for voters to show a bank statement to vote; More than 20% of African Americans do not have bank accounts, while only 3% of White Americans do not. This law directly impacted African American voters with a ludicrous requirement unrelated to voting. In 2011, Republican governor Scott Walker implemented a Driver's License Requirement to vote in Wisconsin, where 50% of Black and Hispanics do lack the requirement, then he proceeded to close the DMV location in Democratic areas (Majority Black and Hispanic) while extending hours in Republican (Majority White) communities. This same policy was enacted in the states of Texas, Alabama, Pennsylvania, Florida, all in the name of protecting the “integrity” of elections.

Soon after the mass implementation of Voter ID Laws in 33 states, voter purges began. In Florida, the Secretary of State, Kenneth Detzner purged 180,000 voters in minority areas from the rolls just months before the 2012 presidential election, only to find out later that just 85 names, .00047 of those voters, should have been removed. This is a clear example of voter suppression of minority voters as a catalyst for the Republican Party to win.

The major accelerator to Voter Suppression in the United States was in 2013, when Shelby County, Alabama sued the Department of Justice to invalidate Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In a 5-4 decision, the conservative majority invalidated Section 4 of the landmark civil rights legislation, gutting the provision that required certain states and local governments to get preclearance from the DOJ before implementing changes to their voting laws and practices. Due to Shelby County v. Holder, the Supreme Court gave free rein to Republicans across the U.S to practice voter suppression. Right after the ruling, the GOP controlled legislatures in a myriad of states, mainly in the South, passed restrictive voting laws that targeted minority voters. In North Carolina, the state legislature enacted harsh voting rules by implementing a photo ID requirement, eliminating same-day registration, ending voter registration drives, and limited early voting (commonly used by Democrats over Republicans). Without pre-clearance in the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the states could virtually do whatever they wanted when it came to voting requirements. In Ohio, the Republican Secretary of State eliminated 12% of the absentee ballots for simple spelling errors, similar to the Jim Crow literacy tests in the 20th century. In Texas, the government enacted a Voter ID law, to protect against “voter fraud”, but could only document 2 cases of voter impersonation out of 10 million votes cast. Following the decision by the Supreme Court, 23 states had passed voting restrictions by the 2014 midterm elections. Following the elections, Republicans were elected into state legislatures in a sweeping fashion, setting up additional opportunities for elected officials to attack democracy. If you want to learn more about these attacks on democracy, I recommend the books White Rage and One Person, No Vote by Professor Carol Anderson.

As of December 2019, over 1,600 polling places have been closed as a result of the Shelby County v. Holder decision. Most of these polling places that were shut down were in either African American/Latino communities and cities or on college campuses, where the majority of voters tend to lean Democratic. Republicans in power in these states enacted, and are enacting preposterous restrictions on voting for no reason at all. The only time voter fraud was committed in an election, it was done by Republicans. A study by The New York Times demonstrates that virtually every restriction on voting following the Supreme Court decision was implemented by the Republican Party. A study by the Federal Commission on Civil Rights illustrated that since the ruling, across the country state governments had closed thousands of polling places, cut early voting, purged voter rolls, and imposed discriminatory Voter ID Laws, all of which disproportionately affected minority voters, who lean Democratic. The State of South Carolina passed an ID law so restrictive that it kept 180,000 African Americans from even casting a ballot. In Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, and Wisconsin, all governed by the GOP, early voting was cut almost in half, hurting African American voters, who vote early 2x the rate of white voters. Due to the cut in early voting, many people did not vote due to occupational obligations and long lines at the limited number of polling places in urban areas. In New Hampshire, the Republican government passed a law requiring additional ID and proof of residency to vote, which affected college students who often do not have an ID other than their student identification. It is essentially a poll tax; an additional barrier for students who wish to vote. Voter Suppression is a direct attack on the rights of voters, a way for politicians to stay in power.

In the leadup to the 2016 Presidential Elections with Secretary Hillary Clinton (D) and Businessman Donald Trump (R), voter suppression became more apparent than ever before. In Wisconsin, where President Trump won by 21,000 votes, roughly 41,000 people were turned away from voting because they lacked an acceptable ID, a very strict requirement by the state. Across the country, it is estimated by MIT that over 1,000,000 voters could not vote due to a voting restriction or long lines at the polls. The margin of victory of President Trump in three states, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan was just 78,000. Due to the disparity of these restrictive laws affecting minorities and urban voters, it is possible to state: without voter suppression and unnecessary restrictions on voting, Hillary Clinton might have been the 45th President of the United States. Before the 2016 Elections, Republican governments across the country engaged in voter purges, many of which focused on minority and low-income voters, removing over 16 million people from the rolls and preventing them from engaging in the election. In the swing state of Georgia, the Secretary of State Brian Kemp engaged in voter purging of over 1.5 million voters before the presidential election. Over 80% of those denied a Photo ID in Wisconsin were either Black or Latino Americans at DMV’s because they lacked the strict requirements to receive one to vote. Of the states that had the highest turnout and growth in population for Hispanic and African Americans between 2000-2012, the majority now had strict voting restrictions. Voter Suppression did not end in 2016. The unfair practice continues today and was extensively used in the 2018 midterm elections, as well as the upcoming 2020 election. We must fight voter suppression to ensure the real “integrity” of the ballot, not the erroneous claim of widespread “voter fraud”.

As voter suppression in the forms of polling place closures, early voting cuts, voter purges, and unfair restrictive voting practices has continued throughout history, there are ways that we can fight against this practice. In honor of the Civil Rights Icon and Representative John Lewis, the House of Representatives passed a bill called the John Lewis Voting Advancement Act, which would restore the Voting Rights Act and invalidate these unlawful acts committed by governors and state legislatures. Amid a pandemic, we have leaders who have railed against mail-in voting, despite it being the best option to vote. Voter Fraud does not occur with widespread mail-in voting; it is completely secure and leaders who claim it does, are simply fear mongering due to the possibility they may lose. We must call on our Representatives and Senators to pass the John Lewis Voting Advancement Act, as it is the only way to ensure the rectitude of elections in our country. We must now, as the future of the republic and democracy in the United States is at stake. Any Representative who does not support this bill should be swiftly defeated in their re-election. On the passage of this bill, every GOP member of the House voted no. This is the time to take them out of the office and preserve our fundamental right.