The right to vote has long been fundamental in American politics and society. It was also a focal point in the long fight for equality for black Americans. Seeing as it is Black History Month, I figure it is appropriate to briefly cover this history.
In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln released the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that all slaves in the South were free. This freedom came in 1865, when the Union won the American Civil War.
This marked the beginning of the Reconstruction Era. Ratified in 1870, the Fifteenth Amendment extended voting rights to men of all races. Following the amendment’s passing, many southern states enacted tactics such as poll taxes, literacy tests, all-white primaries, grandfather clauses, and intimidation to prevent black Americans from voting. These measures lasted through the Jim Crow era and were not addressed by the federal government until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
Ratified in 1964, the Twenty-fourth Amendment prohibited the use of poll taxes in federal elections. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 further secured voting rights for all adult citizens by outlawing other discriminatory practices adopted by southern states.
This leads us to today.
The results of the last few Presidential election cycles have been hotly contested. From slogans like “not my President” to Russian interference hysteria to the January 6th Capitol insurrection, many Americans have expressed distrust in the voting system. (Curiously enough, whether someone defends or questions election integrity often coincides with whether their candidate won or lost the race.)
This distrust was made especially vocal by former President Trump and many Republicans during and after the 2020 race. In fact, Congressmen are still debating these issues, and perhaps for good reason.
Two voting rights bills were recently before the Senate.
First is the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which aims to reverse a 2013 Supreme Court decision that struck down a portion of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which required states with a history of voting rights discrimination to get preclearance from the Department of Justice for any changes to voting laws. The Lewis act would restore the requirement and update the formula used to determine which states must get preclearance. Other changes to voting laws made in any state, such as relocating polling places and imposing strict voter ID requirements, would also be subject to preclearance.
The second bill is the Freedom to Vote Act. Among other things, the law would allow states to have early voting for at least two weeks prior to Election Day, allow voting by mail with no excuses needed, allowing voters to put their ballots in drop boxes, and require states requiring voter ID to broaden the types of ID acceptable for voting.
The bills ultimately failed.
I think it is interesting to examine the debate at hand: election integrity versus access to voting.
While many Republicans have supported state laws requiring ID at the polls which have sprung up in the aftermath of 2020, many Democrats have objected, stating that the laws discriminate against minorities who less often have IDs. Certainly, requiring voter ID would make our elections more secure. However, it is important to note that, statistically, minorities are less likely to have a driver’s license (often due to financial status), are less likely to have the resources to obtain the necessary documents to obtain ID, and are less likely to live near a voting center that is open.
These are all factors to consider in the debate. I personally believe we should be implementing legislation which removes as many barriers as possible to obtaining ID, then we should proceed with enacting voter ID legislation. The integrity of elections relies both upon eradicating fraud and fully enfranchising all communities.
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