Voter suppression in the United States facts for kids

Voter suppression in the United States means different ways people try to stop eligible voters from using their right to vote. These efforts can be legal or illegal. Historically, voter suppression has been used to discriminate against people based on their race, wealth, gender, age, or disabilities.

Before and during the American Civil War, most African Americans could not vote. After the war, they gained voting rights. However, some Southern states then created rules like poll taxes or language tests. These rules seemed fair but were used to stop African Americans from voting. It was often hard for African Americans in the South to register and vote until the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

American women did not have a constitutional right to vote until 1920, with the Nineteenth Amendment. Native Americans fully gained their right to vote in 1924 with the Indian Citizenship Act. Until 1971, the minimum voting age was 21, not 18, until the Twenty-sixth Amendment was passed. In 1984, a law called the Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act was passed to make voting easier for older people and those with disabilities.

Voting Rights History

Voting Rights for Black and Native Americans

The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1870 gave all men, including former slaves, the right to vote. At first, many African Americans in the South voted. For example, in the 1880 United States presidential election, most eligible African American voters cast a ballot in almost every Southern state. In some states, Black voter turnout was even higher than White turnout.

After the Reconstruction era, Southern states started making rules to stop Black voters. After 1890, only about 6% of eligible African American voters in Mississippi were registered. In Louisiana, the number of registered African American voters dropped by 99% between 1896 and 1904. It remained difficult for Black voters until the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Native Americans also faced challenges. A court decision in 1831, Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, meant Native people generally did not have the right to vote. They continued to face voting challenges until the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924.

Poll Taxes: Paying to Vote

Poll taxes were fees voters had to pay before casting a ballot. These taxes were used to stop voters, especially African Americans and poor white people in the South. They started in the 1890s. In some states, you had to pay all poll taxes from age 21 to vote. In others, you had to pay for several years.

Eleven Southern states and some outside the South used poll taxes. Election officials could choose whether to ask for a voter's poll tax receipt. The Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution officially banned poll taxes in 1964.

Literacy Tests: Reading to Vote

Like poll taxes, literacy tests were mainly used to stop poor or African American voters in the South. African American literacy rates were lower than White rates until 1940. These tests were not given fairly. Property owners or those whose ancestors could vote before 1867 were often excused. Some states also excused Civil War veterans.

The tests varied in difficulty, with African Americans often given harder tests. For example, in Macon County, Alabama, in the late 1950s, white people who hadn't finished elementary school passed, while college-educated African Americans failed. A 1970 amendment to the Voting Rights Act of 1965 banned literacy tests for voting.

Women's Right to Vote

The movement for women's right to vote started in the 1840s. Organizations formed, and in 1890, they merged into the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), led by Susan B. Anthony. Women tried to vote in the early 1870s, hoping the Supreme Court of the United States would grant them the right.

The group also worked for voting rights state by state. By the early 1900s, Carrie Chapman Catt led NAWSA to push for a constitutional amendment. After many votes in Congress and state legislatures, the Nineteenth Amendment was approved on August 18, 1920. It states that the right to vote cannot be denied based on sex.

Youth Right to Vote

Before 1971, the voting age in the United States was 21. The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution changed this, lowering the voting age to 18. This meant more young people could participate in elections.

Voting for the Elderly and Disabled

The Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act was passed in 1984. This law helps make sure that older people and people with disabilities can vote easily. It requires polling places to be accessible.

Modern Voting Challenges

After the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed, some later Supreme Court cases, like Shelby County v. Holder in 2013, weakened parts of it.

Removing Voters from Lists

Sometimes, voters are removed from registration lists, which is called "purging voter rolls." This can happen by mistake or on purpose. For example, in 1998, Florida removed many people because their names were similar to those of convicted felons. Most of those removed were African American.

In 2015-2016, over 120,000 voters were removed from lists in Brooklyn, New York. Officials said it was a mistake, but an analysis found it affected mostly Hispanic districts. In 2008, over 98,000 voters in Georgia were removed due to computer record differences.

Limits on Early and Absentee Voting

Some states have made it harder to vote early or by mail. In North Carolina, lawmakers restricted early voting hours. This especially affected African Americans, who often voted early. A court found that these changes were made to reduce African American turnout.

In 2020, Georgia required voters to pay for postage for their mail-in ballots. The ACLU sued, saying this was like a poll tax.

False Voting Information

Sometimes, people spread false information about when and how to vote. This is called voting procedure disinformation. It can cause voters to miss deadlines or cast ballots that don't count. For example, in 2011, a group sent mailings to voters with the wrong deadline for returning mail-in ballots.

Before the 2018 elections, The New York Times warned about many types of false information. This included fake news about voting online, doctored photos claiming immigration agents were arresting voters, and rumors about voting machine problems.

Voter ID Requirements

Some states require voters to show a photo ID. Critics say these laws are meant to reduce voting by minority groups. For example, fewer African Americans and Latinos have driver's licenses compared to white Americans.

In 2016, a court found that a Texas voter ID law discriminated against Black and Hispanic voters because it allowed only certain types of ID. In 2017, another court said the law was unconstitutional because it might force some voters to spend money to get the right ID, which is like a poll tax.

Wisconsin and North Carolina passed laws that make it harder to use student ID cards for voting. This is because students often vote for different political parties.

Historical Examples of Suppression

Jim Crow Laws

Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the Southern United States that enforced racial segregation. These laws were put in place in the late 1800s and early 1900s and lasted until 1965. The name "Jim Crow" came from a racist song and dance.

After the Reconstruction period, white politicians in the South regained power. They passed laws that made it harder for most Black people and many poor white people to vote. These laws included poll taxes, literacy tests, and strict residency rules.

As a result, voter turnout dropped sharply in the South. In Louisiana, by 1910, only 730 Black people were registered to vote, even though they were a large part of the state's population. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed to end these practices. It required states with a history of stopping Black voters to get approval from the government for any new voting laws. However, this part of the law was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2013.

1980s Voter Challenges

In the 1980s, the Republican National Committee (RNC) sent letters to African-American neighborhoods. When many letters were returned as undeliverable, the RNC used this to challenge voters and remove them from voting lists. This was seen as a violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. As a result, the RNC agreed not to target minorities with anti-fraud efforts or mail campaigns to create voter challenge lists.

Recent Examples of Suppression

2004 Presidential Election

In 2004, there were claims that a group called Voters Outreach of America collected voter registration forms. They allegedly submitted Republican forms but threw away forms from new voters who wanted to register with the Democratic Party. This meant people thought they were registered but found out on election day they couldn't vote.

A Michigan politician was quoted saying, "If we do not suppress the Detroit vote, we're going to have a tough time in this election." This showed an intent to reduce voting in certain areas.

2008 Presidential Election

In Michigan, lawyers for Barack Obama tried to stop a plan where the Republican Party allegedly used lists of foreclosed homes to challenge voters. They claimed people using foreclosed homes as their main address were being targeted. The Democratic party later dropped the case after the Michigan GOP agreed not to challenge voters based on foreclosures.

In Pennsylvania, on Election Day 2008, two members of the New Black Panther Party stood outside a polling station. One carried a club and shouted racial slurs. While no voters complained, the incident led to a lawsuit under the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

2010 Maryland Governor Election

In the 2010 Maryland governor election, the Republican candidate's campaign hired a consultant who suggested that the goal was to make "African-American voters stay home." The Republicans then made thousands of automated calls to Democratic voters on Election Day. The calls falsely told them that the Democratic candidate had already won and that they could "Relax. Everything's fine." These calls reached 112,000 voters in mostly African American areas. The campaign manager was later convicted of fraud.

2016 Presidential Election

The 2016 election was the first in 50 years without all the protections of the original Voting Rights Act of 1965. Fourteen states had new voting restrictions, including important swing states.

North Dakota

North Dakota is the only state without voter registration for state and federal elections. Since 2004, it has required voters to show an approved ID. However, a change in 2018 required IDs to include a residential address, not just a post office box. This affected many Native American voters, as many use P.O. boxes.

Critics said this was voter suppression. A survey showed that 18% of Native Americans lacked a valid ID due to the new rule, compared to 10.9% of non-Natives. The Supreme Court of the United States allowed the rule to stay in place in November 2018.

Wisconsin

Since April 2015, Wisconsin has required a photo ID for all elections. A federal judge found that Wisconsin's strict voter ID law led to "real incidents of disenfranchisement," especially in minority communities. The law also reduced early voting and made other rules stricter. A study estimated that these strict ID laws led to a big drop in voter turnout in 2016, especially among African American and Democratic-leaning voters.

2017–2018 Voting Challenges

Election Integrity Commission and Crosscheck

In 2017, President Donald Trump created the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity to prevent voter fraud. Critics believed its real goal was voter suppression. The commission used a system called Crosscheck, which checks for voters registered in more than one state. However, studies found that for every real double registration, Crosscheck found about 200 false matches.

Often, voter fraud is used as a reason for these measures, even when there is very little voter fraud. In Iowa, a strict voter ID law was passed, which could affect 260,000 voters. In 2016, out of 1.6 million votes, there were only 10 claims of voter fraud, and none were cases of impersonation that a voter ID law could have stopped.

Georgia

In October 2018, Black senior citizens in Louisville, Georgia, were told to get off a bus that was taking them to vote early. An official claimed the bus trip was "political activity," which was not allowed at county-sponsored events. This was called "voter intimidation" and "voter suppression, Southern style."

Brian Kemp, Georgia's Secretary of State and Republican candidate for governor, was in charge of voting. He was accused of voter suppression. His office suspended the applications of 53,000 voters, most of whom were minorities, because their names didn't perfectly match databases.

2019–2020 Voting Challenges

Texas

Between 2012 and 2018, Texas closed many polling places, especially in areas with growing African American and Latino populations. This made it harder for these groups to vote. For example, Brazoria County closed 60% of its polling places.

Texas also limits who can request mail-in ballots to those over 65, sick or disabled, out of the county, or in jail. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, attempts to expand mail-in voting were not successful. Governor Greg Abbott also limited counties to only one drop-off location for mail ballots, even for large counties like Harris County, which is bigger than Rhode Island and has 2.4 million voters. Courts later blocked this limit.

Wisconsin

In 2019, a judge ordered 234,000 voters to be removed from Wisconsin's voter lists. This was based on a "Movers Report" that flagged voters who might have moved. Critics argued that this effort targeted voters in cities and college towns, which tend to vote for Democrats.

COVID-19 Pandemic and Voting by Mail, 2020 US Election

The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States created challenges for the 2020 election. Many states expanded mail-in voting so people wouldn't have to risk getting sick by voting in person. However, there were many lawsuits about rules for mail-in voting, like witness requirements or deadlines.

The Postal Service warned states in July 2020 that it might not meet deadlines for mail-in ballots. President Trump said he would not give the Postal Service more money because he wanted to prevent more mail-in voting. This led to concerns about mail slowdowns.

Many states delayed primary elections or switched to mail-in voting. The Brennan Center for Justice suggested states plan for pandemics by expanding early voting and online registration, and offering universal vote-by-mail.

Aftermath of the 2020 Election

After Joe Biden won the 2020 United States presidential election, Republican lawmakers across the country began to criticize the voting methods used. Based on false claims of widespread fraud, by February 2021, Republican state legislatures started to pass new laws to restrict voting access. By April 2021, 361 bills in 47 states were proposed to limit voting.

In March 2021, an Arizona politician said that "everybody shouldn’t be voting" and that "we have to look at the quality of votes, as well."

Efforts to Stop Suppression

Starting in 2015, some states passed laws for automatic voter registration. This means people are registered to vote when they get a driver's license or interact with other state agencies. Supporters say voting is a basic right and should not have barriers like registration.

As of March 2021, Democrats in Congress are trying to pass the For The People Act. This law aims to create new national standards for elections, prevent common types of voter suppression, and make voting easier. They are also working to update the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which had a key part overturned by the Supreme Court in 2013.

Images for kids

• Jim Crow laws map.svg

  A map showing states with Jim Crow laws in the early 20th century.

• Voting Rights Act of 1965.jpg

  President Lyndon B. Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.