Voter suppression has been a very big topic lately,
especially after the Supreme Court’s recent ruling which states that the DOJ
(Department of Justice) no longer has the ability to take action against states
which show discriminatory action against voting. This ruling has cause a large
influx of republican strong states to enact their own “suppression” laws. The
most recent being Florida, which shortened the length of their early voting
causing voters to wait in line for upwards of 8 hours to vote and causing many
to give up (many of whom are African American and Hispanic).
North Carolina is also in the mix, the Governor, Patrick
McCrory, recently signed a bill that forced all voters to show a picture ID and
also shortened early voting to 10 days from 17. 61% of their voters vote early
most of whom are African American.
Many feel that this is not suppression as you are required
to show ID to do many daily tasks, but in reality anything that causes an
action to become more difficult is a sort of suppression. In addition for those
that feel these tactics are not suppression, how do you explain the shortening
of early voting times?
Hillary Clinton recently spoke at the American Bar Associations
national conference. She stated “Some take the
historic success of the Voting Rights Act as a sign that discrimination is a
thing of the past,” Clinton said. “By invalidating pre-clearance, the Supreme
Court has shifted the burden back onto citizens facing discrimination and those
lawyers willing to stand with them.”
As you can see voter
suppression has reached pretty high up in the political ranks, and this is
something that needs to be addressed. I have posted links below that you can
visit to be sure your voice in heard on your voting rights. We also want to
hear your voice, your opinions on this recent influx of voter suppression.
Join The Conversation and
have your voice heard.
Resources
Citations,
Peyronnin, Joe. "North
Carolina's Voter Suppression." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 14 Aug. 2013. Web. 15 Aug. 2013.
"McCrory Struggles with
His Own Voter-suppression Law." MSNBC.
N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Aug. 2013.
Phillip, Abby D.
"Hillary Clinton Launches Speaking Series, Denounces Voter Suppression
Efforts." ABC News. ABC
News Network, n.d. Web. 15 Aug. 2013.
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