Voter Suppression Battles To Watch In 2016
Excerpt:
by Kira Lerner Jan 7, 2016 8:00 am
As presidential candidates begin the year by gearing up for primary season, Republican-controlled state houses and lawmakers across the country are doing everything they can to suppress votes and to swing elections in their favor.
The candidates can hold as many rallies, town halls, and events as they want in the next ten months, but nothing will be as effective in swinging the election as preventing people from voting. The 2016 election will be the first presidential contest in decades without the full protections of the Voting Rights Act.
Already, discriminatory voting laws have prevented low-income people, minorities, and students from voting during midterm and local elections. While voter fraud is exceedingly rare, more than 500 ballots were thrown out in Texas alone in 2014 and hundreds more were disenfranchised because of voter ID requirements. While some state laws are being disputed in court, it’s possible that there will be even more laws on the books by the end of the year that make it harder for Americans to cast ballots.
Here are some voter suppression battles to keep an eye on in 2016:
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/01/07/3736514/voter-suppression-2016/
= new reply since forum marked as read
