Stop
Voter Suppression
See this video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3r4mnnlYQQ
A crowning achievement of the historic March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King gave his “I have a dream” speech, was pushing through the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Recognizing the history of racist
attempts to prevent Black people from voting, that federal law forced a
number of southern states and districts to adhere to federal guidelines allowing
citizens access to the polls.
But
in 2013 the Supreme Court effectively gutted many of these protections. As a
result, states are finding new ways to stop more and more people—especially
African-Americans and other likely Democratic voters—from reaching the
polls.
Several
states are requiring government-issued photo IDs—like drivers licenses—to
vote even though there’s no evidence
of the voter fraud this is supposed to prevent.
But there’s plenty of evidence that these ID measures depress voting, especially among communities of color, young voters, and lower-income Americans.
But there’s plenty of evidence that these ID measures depress voting, especially among communities of color, young voters, and lower-income Americans.
Alabama, after requiring photo IDs, has practically closed driver’s license offices in counties with large percentages of black voters. Wisconsin requires a government-issued photo ID but hasn’t provided any funding to explain to prospective voters how to secure those IDs.
Other
states are reducing opportunities for early voting.
And
several state legislatures—not just in the South—are gerrymandering districts
to reduce the political power of people of color and Democrats, and
thereby guarantee Republican control in Congress.
We
need to move to the next stage of voting rights—a new Voting Rights
Act—that renews the law that was effectively repealed by the conservative
activists on the Supreme Court.
That
new Voting Rights Act should also set minimum national standards—providing
automatic voter registration when people get driver’s licenses,
allowing at least 2 weeks of early voting, and taking districting away
from the politicians and putting it under independent commissions.
Voting isn’t
a privilege. It’s a right. And that right is too important to be left to
partisan politics. We must not allow anyone’s votes to be taken away.
ROBERT B. REICH is Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at
the University of California at Berkeley and Senior Fellow at the Blum Center
for Developing Economies. He served as Secretary of Labor in the Clinton
administration, for which Time Magazine named him one of the ten most effective
cabinet secretaries of the twentieth century. He has written fourteen books,
including the best sellers “Aftershock, “The Work of Nations," and "Beyond
Outrage," and, his most recent, "Saving Capitalism." He is also
a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine, chairman of Common Cause,
a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and co-creator of the
award-winning documentary, INEQUALITY FOR ALL.