Forms and History of Voter Suppression in America

Table of Contents

Introduction
Forms of Voter Suppression
Voter Suppression in Historical Context
Conclusion
References

Introduction

The year 2020 might have been the hardest in American political history. Two crucial elections, the 2020 United States House of Representatives elections and the 2020 Presidential elections, occurred amid the unprecedented global healthcare crisis. After the murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American, by a police officer has sparked protests across the US and worldwide, the political processes in the country became ultimately affected by anti-racism protests. As systemic racism became a nationwide topic, the question of voter suppression in Americas political history resonated in American society.

It is necessary to understand the forms of voter suppression to analyze how they were applied throughout history and how and where they keep emerging in modern America. Also, learning how various suppression efforts get established in the American legislature can reveal how injustice is rooted in American history and the US democratic institutions. Studies about US political history show that ethnic minorities were historically politically marginalized, making systemic racism a part of American compromised democracy (Foreman et al., 2019). Voter restrictions are still present in the US political system. Sometimes they seem unobtrusive, for example, restricting access to vote by mail or strict voter ID laws, but they impact thousands of votes throughout the country.

Forms of Voter Suppression

Restrictive provisions are legal initiatives that make it harder for Americans to register and/or to vote. Between January 1 and May 14, 2021, at least 14 states enacted 22 new laws restricting access to the vote (The Brennan Center for Justice, 2021). Simultaneously, there are fewer initiatives that would make voting more accessible. Restricting measures affect tens of thousands of votes in the country, which in some states can ultimately change the outcome of the election process. Awareness of these legal initiatives is crucial, as they directly affect peoples fundamental rights to express their political will.

In todays America, voting restrictions include voter registration restrictions, such as making it more difficult to vote by mail. Some states discourage voters by imposing arbitrary requirements and penalties, making the voting process appear an overcomplicated procedure. The connection between penalties and the democratic election process is further revealed in depriving voting rights of convicts. Many states make it illegal to vote during incarceration, and while racism is deeply rooted in the American criminal justice system, these restrictions mainly affect ethnic minorities political rights (Merriman, 2019). Other states, like Vermont or Main, do not deprive people of their voting rights due to their felony convictions. Voter purges and strict ID laws, among others, are other legislative measures directly affecting peoples voting rights and, therefore, the outcomes of elections. While these initiatives keep emerging in modern America, voter suppression has been a regular part of US history, a debate topic for conservatives and liberals, and an objective to fight for human rights activists.

Voter Suppression in Historical Context

While American society has significantly evolved over the past 120 years, systemic racism remains a part of American politics. It is rooted in practices that were changing within the dynamics of American society. The Civil War and the abolition of slavery are the starting point of the political marginalization of black voters. More than a half million Black men became voters in America after Confederate states were defeated (Tyner, 2021). They became free citizens and gained the right to elect and be elected. Black politicians were able to represent the interests of their electorate in US institutions. In 1870, Hiram Rhodes Revels became the first Black senator.

The abolition of slavery, however, did not guarantee freedom and safety for people of color in the South. A legal tool to restrict Black freedoms, the so-called black codes, was implemented in many Southern states right after the Civil War. Black codes were designed to sustain white supremacy in the South and to control the black labor force once slavery was abolished (Tyner, 2021). When the Reconstruction was over, Black people have often faced violence when exercising their economic and political rights. White supremacists regained control over state legislatures to keep their political control over the black population (Merriman, 2019). Restrictive voting measures in post-Civil was America included literacy tests, poll taxes, and the so-called grandfather clause, apart from threats and physical violence. As a result of the political suppression, by the 1940s, only about three percent of Black people were registered voters in the US.

The second half of the twentieth century was marked by the Civil Rights Movement sweeping across the country. Black men and women in Alabama, Mississippi, and other southern states demanded access to polls to exercise their political freedoms. In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act that made literacy tests illegal and supported the political rights of Black people in the South (Merriman, 2019). Black activists of the era, such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, John Lewis, are important names in American history.

Conclusion

Voter suppression in the twenty-first century is different from the past. Since the Civil War, colored voters had to fight against white supremacy. Poll access and voter restrictions still affect thousands of voters, and particularly target people of color. Strict ID laws, disfranchisement, and other more and less visible measures are still present in American political system. Race remains a dividing issue in todays America, more than 150 years after the abolition of slavery. Black activists, such as Stacey Abrams, keep fighting for political equality for all.