“Voting is the most basic right in our democracy, but too many people are locked out of the process. American elections are marred by an infrastructure that is rickety, excludes too many, and is prone to partisan manipulation and deliberate voter suppression that often targets communities of color and young people.” – The Brennan Center For Justice
Voting Rights and Participation Issues:
Voting Reform
The voting process is not as simple, fair, or convienent for everyone. One in four eligible voters are not registered. Millions of Americans do not make it to the polls due to obstacles such as long lines, outdated voting equipment, difficult voter registration applications, and limited voting times.
Voting Rights Restoration
Past criminal convictions prevent millions of Americans from voting, which due to oppression and marginization, result in a disproportionate number of African Americans being effected the most by these voting restrictions.
Voter Fraud
Voter fraud is the reason behind many of the voting restrictions. The restrictions that have occurred due to the belief that voter fraud is prevalent include limitations to absentee and mail-in voting (which limits those who do not have access to limited voting places, students, elderly individuals, and those with disabilities.) and Voter ID laws.
Voter Suppression
States have been passing laws that suppress otherwise eligible voters since the foundation of the nation, but has been even more frequent since 2008. Measures being passed make it harder for disabled, edlerly, and black Americans to vote, including voter ID laws, early voting cuts, outdated voter registration, and purges of voter rolls.
Examples of Voting Restrictions and Suppression:
When States enacted stricter voter ID laws, the racial turnout gap grew
A 2019 HRC Foundation survey found that fear of or experiencing discrimination led 22% of LGBTQ+ adults, 35% of LGBTQ+ adults of color, 49% of transgender adults, and 55% of transgender adults of color to avoid voting in at least one election in their lives.
Studies have found that voters of color in states across the country lacked access to the needed IDs to vote in their state
Voters of color experience longer wait times at the polls on election days
Polling place consolidations that have been occurring depress the voter turnout of voters who identify as a person of color than white voters.
34 States have photo ID laws,with 7 having very strict requirements, which leaves millions of voters unable to vote. These voters are disproportionately low-income, racial and ethnic minorities, the elderly, and people with disabilities
11% of U.S. citizens – or more than 21 million Americans – do not have government-issued photo identification
Nationally, up to 25% of African-American citizens of voting age lack government-issued photo ID, compared to only 8% of whites
One in every 13 African Americans has lost their right to vote on account of laws barring individuals with a felony conviction to vote.
As of March 24, 2022, lawmakers in 47 states have introduced more than 360 bills this year with provisions that restrict voting access (Sources: ACLU, n.d., Brennan Center For Justice, n.d., HRC, n.d.)
Historical Overview:
The struggle for equal voting rights date back to the foundation of the United States and this struggle continues today. The right to vote in this country began with a narrow population of white landowners being the only individuals who were allowed to vote. This same population took great measures to ensure that they controlled the vote and subsequently the government of the country, preventing women, individuals of color, and those who lived in poverty from having a voice. Up until 1870, only white men were allowed to vote.
These barriers to voting that were set in law have slowly decreased over time, however, when some barriers were overcome, new ones were set up especially in the Southern States. Poll taxes, literacy tests, taxes, and intimidation tactics are examples of obstacles created in the Southern States to prevent Black Americans from voting. Several amendments to the US constitution have been made specifically to ensure voting rights since the Fifteenth Amendment was ratified in 1870, which extended voting rights to all races. Other amendments include:
• 19th Amendment (1920): Gave American women the right to vote
• 24th Amendment (1964): Prohibited to use of poll taxes in federal elections
• 26th Amendment (1971): Lowered the voting age for all elections to 18.
Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a landmark legislation that prohibited voter discrimination based on race, color, or membership in a language minority group. To learn more about the history of voting rights from this Voting Rights Act to present, you can watch this video:
Social Work Involvement:
The National Association of Social Workers have been forming partnerships and collaborations with voter mobilization organizations, including: Social Work Votes!, Rock the Vote, Voto Latino, Non-Profit Vote, National Voter Registration Day, The National Voting Rights Taskforce, and the Census Taskforce.
Voting is Social Work is works with The National Social Work Voter Mobilization Campaign that works to integrate nonpartisan voter engagement into social work education and practice. Their vision is to “provide social workers with the knowledge and tools to raise awareness about voting and to increase voting registration and participation”
More ways that social workers and the social work profession have been engaged in efforts to promote open access to voting can be found HERE.
References:
American Civil Liberties Union. (n.d.) Issues: Voting rights. https://www.aclu.org/issues/voting-rights
American Civil Liberties Union. (n.d.) Oppose Voter ID Legislation – fact sheet. https://www.aclu.org/fact-sheet/oppose-voter-id-legislation-fact-sheet
The Brennan Center For Justice. (n.d.). Ensure Every American Can Vote. Brennan Center for Justice. https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/ensure-every-american-can-vote
The Brennan Center For Justice. (n.d.). The impact of voter suppression on communities of color.. Brennan Center for Justice. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/impact-voter-suppression-communities-color
Human Rights Campaign (n.d.). John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. https://www.hrc.org/resources/voting-rights-advancement-act
Library of Congress (n.d.) Voting rights. Collection for the Civil Rights History Project. https://www.loc.gov/collections/civil-rights-history-project/articles-and-essays/voting-rights/
National Archives. (n.d.). Voting Rights Act (1965). Milestone Documents. https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/voting-rights-act
National Association of Social Workers (n.d.). Increasing voter participation. https://www.socialworkers.org/Advocacy/Social-Justice/Increasing-Voter-Participation
USA.gov. (n.d.) Voting and Election Laws. https://www.usa.gov/voting-laws#:~:text=The%2015th%20Amendment%20gave%20African,make%20it%20harder%20to%20vote.