Voting Rights
Your Vote, Your Voice
Nothing is more fundamental to our democracy than the right to vote. Since 1965, the Voting Rights Project has worked to protect the voting rights of communities with racial and language minorities. The Project has won some of the most important and precedent setting cases to come out of the South, including those that secured the principle of one person, one vote; ended discriminatory practices at the polls; and outlawed disfranchisement of individuals convicted of misdemeanors. More
| Voter Suppression in America » |
When the Voting Rights Act was passed 46 years ago, poll taxes and literacy tests were among the tactics used to prevent African-Americans and other racial and language minorities from voting. Modern day efforts to suppress voter turnout and registration have taken many forms including photo ID requirements; proof of citizenship requirements for registration; reducing the number of days for early voting; restrictions on third-party voter registration activities; limiting the opportunity to make an address change at the polls on election day; systematic purges of registered voters; challenges to student voters as non-residents; unfounded allegations of voter fraud; and moving or closing precincts in minority communities.
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The ACLU Voting Rights Project works to counter these voter suppression measures through lobbying, litigation and public education.
Additional Resources
Know Your Voting Rights — State by State (2010 resource): The Voting Rights Project of the ACLU is dedicated to providing citizens with information about and assistance in exercising their right to vote. Here is detailed information about voting in your state and quick tips for voters before you head to the polls.
Voting Rights in Indian Country (2009 PDF): This report highlights the litigation the Voting Rights Project of the ACLU brought, or participated in, on behalf of American Indians in five western states — Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming.1 The litigation challenged a variety of discriminatory election practices, including: at-large elections; redistricting plans that diluted Indian voting strength; the failure to comply with one person, one vote; unfounded allegations of election fraud on Indian reservations; discriminatory voter registration procedures; onerous identification requirements for voting; the lack of minority language assistance in voting; and the refusal to comply with the preclearance provisions of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.
Most Popular
States Working Hard to Solve Nonexistent Voting Problem (2011 blog): Voter identification laws are requiring voters to show a photo ID to cast a ballot. Those of us who drive, have passports and are generally well-resourced may be surprised to learn that a lot of Americans don’t have photo ID. In fact, research estimates that one in four African-Americans of voting age don’t have government-issued photo identification. Senior citizens and low-income folks also lack ID at disproportionate rates.
ACLU Voting Rights Project Litigation (2008 docket): An overview of the ACLU Voting Rights Project's recent litigation designed to protect the rights of voters in this election cycle and beyond. Since its inception, the Voting Rights Project has aggressively and successfully challenged efforts that dilute minority voting strength or obstruct the ability of minority communities to elect candidates of their choice. The Project has filed more than 300 lawsuits to enforce the provisions of the VRA and the U.S. Constitution.
Lions and Tigers and Fraud, Oh My! Secretary of State Kris Kobach Is at It Again (2011 blog): In a recent column in the Wall Street Journal, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach takes a victory lap trumpeting the passage of his voter ID law. He writes: "You can't cash a check, board a plane, or even buy full-strength Sudafed over the counter without [a photo ID]. That's why it's not unreasonable to require one in order to protect our most important privilege of citizenship." Voting, however, is not a privilege; it is a fundamental right guaranteed by more constitutional amendments than any other right we have. Cashing a check, getting on an airplane, and buying a nasal decongestant are not similarly enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
Map of State Felony Disfranchisement Laws (2011 map): A patchwork of state felony disfranchisement laws, varying in severity from state to state, prevent approximately 5.3 million Americans with felony (and in several states misdemeanor) convictions from voting. Confusion about and misapplication of these laws de facto disenfranchise countless other Americans.
