Are Voting Rights in the US Under Attack?

Tom Brenner/Reuters (Aug. 28, 2021)

Attempt at a federal voting rights bill

On January 20th, 2022, the federal voting rights bill introduced by Senate Democrats which combined the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and the Freedom to Vote Act, failed to pass through the Senate. The proposed bill expanded the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by limiting states’ abilities to alter voting practices without federal approval, increasing election security measures and establishing punishments for those who interfere in others’ ability to vote. The Biden administration championed the bill as intended to protect “the heart and soul of our democracy,” arguing that the Republican state legislatures are attempting to suppress voters throughout the country by passing strict laws surrounding voting registration and polling places. Republican senators, however, assert that the current legislation is adequate and any more federal interference would be excessive. As Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Both parties claim that they are doing what is right for American democracy, yet ironically seem incapable of working together to achieve a common goal. This partisanship begs the question: why are voting rights in the US so complicated?

A brief history of voting rights and voter suppression

It took almost 200 years to achieve voting rights for every American citizen. At the foundation of the country in 1776, only white, landowning men aged twenty-one or older were given the right to vote. In 1870, the 15th Amendment guaranteed the right to vote for most Americans, but women and Indigenous Peoples were still excluded. In 1920, the 19th Amendment extended the right to women, and in 1924, the Indian Citizenship Act included Native Americans. On paper, every US citizen of age was able to vote by 1924, but the reality was very different. Since voting laws were ultimately left up to the states, many enacted discriminatory voting practices. After the Civil War, when former slaves were finally able to register to vote and obtain government positions during Reconstruction, Southern states in particular were reluctant to allow Black people to have any influence. Throughout the Jim Crow Era, which lasted from 1877 to the 1960s, states used “loopholes” in the 15th Amendment to withhold the right to vote from Black people. These included poll taxes, literacy tests, and the pointedly cruel “Grandfather Clause” which exempted anyone who could have voted prior to 1866 from the new rules--effectively empowering poor white people to vote while disenfranchising every Black voter. This voter suppression made it extremely difficult for Black people to participate in democracy until 1965, when the Federal Voting Rights Act was passed, eliminating poll taxes and literacy tests while federally enforcing voting rights. Subsequent legislation increased accessibility to the ballot, ensuring that polling centers are disability-friendly and that voting materials are translated into different languages so that no one faces additional obstacles to voting. Despite all of this progress, voter suppression remains as states have found new tactics to circumvent federal legislation.

Modern-day voter suppression

Currently, millions of Americans are still disenfranchised due to voting restrictions enacted by states. About 5.2 million Americans have had their right to vote revoked, some permanently, due to felony convictions. Florida has the harshest felon voting laws in the country, with 900,000 of its citizens disenfranchised by these restrictions. The Voting Rights Alliance names sixty-one forms of voter suppression, including strict voter ID laws, limited numbers of polling locations, police presence at the polls, and refusal to establish polling places on Native American lands or college campuses. Since 2010, seven states have added laws that require a government-issued ID to vote, despite the fact that 21 million Americans do not possess such an ID, and the process to acquire one can be inconvenient and expensive. After the 2020 election, many states added voting restrictions after mass outcry over the vote-by-mail system (despite the fact that there was no evidence of increased voter fraud using mail-in ballots). One example is the state of Georgia, in which SB 202  increased state government’s power over county election officials, limited the number of drop boxes available per county, and reduced the absentee voting period. In a highly controversial move, the bill also prohibited food and drink from being offered to voters waiting in line (Sec 33, lines 1873-1875). In Texas, SB 1 made it a state jail felony for election officials to give out applications for mail-in ballots to voters, as well as increasing the criminal penalties for other voting fraud offenses. It also increased the ability of poll watchers to observe the voting process. Bills such as these are enacted with the explicit purpose of increasing election integrity, but some Americans see them as comparable to Jim Crow era restrictions.

Who is affected by voter suppression?

The American Civil Liberties Union argues that these laws clearly target people of color, people with disabilities, students, and the elderly. It is indisputable that these groups are most affected by increased voter restrictions. In fact, about 6% of Black Americans cannot vote due to the aforementioned felony conviction laws. According to the 2020 Census, the Black voting rate has dropped significantly since 2012 from almost 70% to below 60%, and the voting rates for non-white people have remained at or below 50% for the past twenty years. 18% of voters with disabilities have had difficulty accessing polling places and many Native Americans are forced to travel for miles to reach a single polling location. Even if Native Americans are able to access the polls, some states refuse to accept tribal IDs. Whether any of these barriers to registration or voting access are intentionally targeting specific demographics is a highly debated topic in American topics, but the fact remains that not every American is equally able to cast their vote. So the question stands: Is more federal legislation necessary to protect civil rights? There are opposing schools of thought on this issue.

Arguments for and against a new federal voting rights bill

Participation in the electoral process is a fundamental part of American democracy, and Americans constantly debate who deserves to participate. In a 2021 poll by the Pew Research Center, 78% of Democrats saw voting as a fundamental right that should be free of restrictions, while 67% of Republicans saw voting as a privilege that can be revoked. Thus, increased voting restrictions can either be seen as detrimental to or protective of democracy. Republican politicians have argued that Democrats’ attempts to establish federal legislation go beyond what is necessary to protect voting rights, even though they previously supported such laws. Republicans, and even some Democrats, have railed against increased “division” and partisanship as a reason not to support a new voting rights bill. Democrats maintain that Republicans are endeavoring to undermine democracy by discriminating against minority voters and that such a bill is necessary to achieve voting equity. The disproportionate impact of voting regulations on vulnerable minority groups is another form of division that inhibits the democratic process. While the necessity of federal involvement in state legislatures is debatable, the suppressive nature of these new laws implemented by Republican states is not. Whether or not a new voting rights bill is passed, it is clear that the American democratic process is complex and flawed. Eventually both sides of the government will need to work together to ensure that the civil rights of all citizens are protected.