Something Was Wrong - S21 E17: Data Points Deep Dive: The History and Importance of Voting
Episode Date: September 26, 2024*Content warning: murder, bigotry, racism, violence, slavery, assault, wrongful imprisonment. Sources:13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is Passed. (n.d.). National Museum of Africa...n American History and Culture. https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/13th-amendment-us-constitution-passedBrennan Center for Justice, Wilder, W., & Baum, S. (2022, January 31). 5 Egregious Voter Suppression Laws from 2021. Brennan Center for Justice. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/5-egregious-voter-suppression-laws-2021Brennan Center for Justice. (n.d.) The Myth of Voter Fraud. https://www.brennancenter.org/issues/ensure-every-american-can-vote/vote-suppression/myth-voter-fraud?fbclid=IwAR36AFdgauzcPZF3YxMPVzQQ636b9vVMuCwGZrkDK2YQNDy5oX6xASEBzgIBritish Broadcasting Corporation. (n.d.). Suffragettes in prison. In BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zqkbbqt#zjkbbqtThe Center for Public Integrity, & Starshak, H. (2022, October 6). It’s easy to vote in Washington, D.C., but it still doesn’t count. https://publicintegrity.org/politics/elections/who-counts/its-easy-to-vote-in-washington-d-c-but-it-still-doesnt-count/Civil rights protesters beaten in ‘Bloody Sunday’ attack. (2020, March 4). History.com. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/bloody-sunday-civil-rights-protesters-beaten-selmaCodrington, W., III. (2019, November 17). The Electoral College’s Racist Origins. The Atlantic. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/electoral-colleges-racist-originsDuignan, B. (n.d.). Voter suppression. In Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/voter-suppressionFederal Bureau of Investigations. (n.d.). Mississippi Burning. FBI.gov. https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/mississippi-burningThe Fight for the Right to Vote. (2024). In American Unversity Washington College of Law. https://wcl.american.libguides.com/voting/history/timelineImpeachment Trial of President Andrew Johnson, 1868. (n.d.). United States Senate. https://www.senate.gov/about/powers-procedures/impeachment/impeachment-johnson.htmKXAN. (n.d.). President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Voting Rights Act Speech [Video]. YouTube. Retrieved August 6, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbFmicUTb_kLeague of Women Voters of California Education Fund. (n.d.). Types of Elections. CA Vote. https://cavotes.org/types-elections/McArdle, T. (2017, November 10). ‘Night of terror’: The suffragists who were beaten and tortured for seeking the vote. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/11/10/night-of-terror-the-suffragists-who-were-beaten-and-tortured-for-seeking-the-vote/National Archives and Records Administration. (n.d.). Voting Rights Act of (1965). In National Archives and Records Administration. https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/voting-rights-act#:~:text=The%20Voting%20Rights%20Act%20had,African%20Americans%20registered%20to%20vote.National Archives and Records Administration. (n.d.). Electoral College History. In National Archives and Records Administration. https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/historyPew Research. (n.d.). Voter Turnout 2018-2022. https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2023/07/12/voter-turnout-2018-2022/Promote the Vote California: Getting Involved. (n.d.). California Secretary of State. https://www.sos.ca.gov/promote-vote-ca/getting-involvedSmithsonian Institute. (2015). When Did the Vice Presidency Stop Going to the 2nd Place Winner and More Questions From Our Readers. In Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/when-did-vice-presidency-stop-going-to-second-place-ask-smithsonian-180957199/University of North Texas Libraries. (2024). A Brief History of Voting in America. In UNT Libraries. https://guides.library.unt.edu/voting/history-of-voting-AmericaWhat is the Victims of Crime Act? (2024, April 30). Everytown. https://www.everytown.org/what-is-the-victims-of-crime-act/When Women Lost the Vote. (n.d.). In The Museum of the History of the American Revolution. https://www.amrevmuseum.org/virtualexhibits/when-women-lost-the-vote-a-revolutionary-story/pages/how-did-the-vote-expand-new-jersey-s-revolutionary-decadeThe White House Historical Association, & Shogan, C. (2021, April 8). “We Shall Overcome”: Lyndon Johnson and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The White House Historical Association. https://www.whitehousehistory.org/we-shall-overcome-lbj-voting-rightsArchive Audio Sources:(Democracy Now!) Rare Video Footage of Historic Alabama 1965 Civil Rights Marches MLKs Famous Montgomery Speech: https://youtu.be/CBm48Scju9E?si=SjGjlUrxHhVfBoBB (The Washington Post) Remembering Rep. John Lewis, in his own words: https://youtu.be/5ayewOtuixI?si=qZvqoS8R6nr97KdH (AAPB) Rep. John Lewis on Bloody Sunday in a 1985 Eyes on the Prize interview: https://www.facebook.com/gbh/videos/rep-john-lewis-on-bloody-sunday-in-a-1985-eyes-on-the-prize-interview-via-aapb/1123272501840163/(JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE) John Lewis: Good Trouble - Bloody Sunday Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYHJ6JlERxY Resources:https://www.eac.gov/help-america-votehttps://www.socialworkers.org/Advocacy/Social-Justice/Increasing-Voter-Participationhttps://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1348556/dl?inlinehttps://www.rockthevote.org/https://votolatino.org/https://www.nonprofitvote.org/https://nvrtf.org/For a list of related free and confidential resources, please visit: http://www.somethingwaswrong.com/resources FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3): https://www.ic3.gov/ Follow Something Was Wrong:Website: somethingwaswrong.com IG: instagram.com/somethingwaswrongpodcastTikTok: tiktok.com/@somethingwaswrongpodcast Follow Tiffany Reese:Website: tiffanyreese.me IG: instagram.com/lookieboo business@tiffanyreese.me The SWW theme Song is U Think U, by Glad Rags. The S21 cover art is by the Amazing Sara Stewart. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
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After the Centennial Park bombing killed one person and wounded more than a hundred,
public pressure and a media witch hunt pushed the FBI to find a suspect.
Despite obvious holes in their case and unethical tactics,
security guard Richard Jewell was pressured to confess.
Listen to Generation Y, the Olympic Park bombing
on the Wondry app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Hi friends, it's Tiffany Reese.
And today we're bringing you a special Data Points
deep dive episode on the history and importance
of voting in the United States.
I wanna give a special shout out
to Broken Cycle team members, Amy B. Chesler,
Lily Rowe, and Becca High for working on this episode alongside me.
With the elections getting closer, it's natural to discuss the importance of voting and the
history of it in our country. But the reality for victims and survivors of crime is that
the laws we create and the legislators we elect through the voting process are always relevant.
Laws dictate what is criminally wrong and punishable, and as citizens we have the ability
to propose that legislation and watch those laws be voted into action.
Citizens also elect many of the government officials who vote on those laws.
Citizens also elect many of the government officials who vote on those laws. It is these pieces of legislation and elected legislators that control a survivor's sense
of safety, protection, and ultimately their future.
Exercising our right to vote is intrinsically intertwined with our potential to support
crime victims and hold perpetrators accountable.
For example, some lawmakers have created legislation
that abolishes parole, which deeply affects a victim's journey
and the way they may or may not have to continue to advocate for themselves.
Another example is displayed in the devastating cuts to VOCA,
or Victims of Crime Act.
VOCA covers the out-of-pocket costs
that victims often face related to crimes,
like medical and dental care, counseling,
crime scene cleanup, or funerals and burials.
In 2024, VOCA stood to potentially lose
over $700 million of funding because of cutbacks
made by elected leaders in Congress.
In other words, a survivor's path is ultimately dictated by those involved in the criminal
justice and legislative systems, and those systems are dictated by our laws.
There are three types of elections that citizens take part in, primary, general, and local
elections.
There can also be special elections
in which the voting process is used to fill a vacancy.
In a presidential primary election,
voters from specific political parties are casting ballots
for whom they think will be the ideal candidate
on the ballot in the next presidential election
for their registered party.
The statewide presidential primary is held in March
of even-numbered years on the first Tuesday
after the first Monday.
Statewide primary elections offer voters a chance
to select candidates at the state level.
General elections are held in a whole state
and are elections that are not limited to voters
in a particular party or specific locality.
The purpose of a presidential general election is to make a final choice among the various candidates.
The purpose of the statewide general election for state and congressional offices is for voters to make a final choice
between the two candidates who received the most votes.
These choices for federal public officials
are made by voting on the November ballot. Election Day, as it's come to be known,
is statutorily set by the U.S. government as the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
Statewide measures can also be placed on the November ballot.
Despite the term Election Day being generally applied to the presidential general election
that occurs every four years, there are several other opportunities that allow you to cast
a ballot. Congressional elections occur every two years for the members of the U.S. House
of Representatives and every six years for each class of senators. There are also yearly elections that occur locally
and at the state level.
It is immensely important for those of us
with the power to vote to use our voice
to make our choices known,
especially in local and state elections.
Officials elected to those positions will have the power
to directly affect the way you live your life
in your community. Voter turnout, which is the term applied
to the percentage of voters that submitted ballots
compared to the number of eligible voters,
can be incredibly varied.
For example, according to Pew Research,
the elections of 2018, 2020, and 2022
were three of the highest turnout US elections of their respective types
in decades. About two-thirds, or 66%, of the voting eligible population turned out for
the 2020 presidential election, the highest rate for any national election since 1900. The 2018 election with 49% turnout had the highest rate for a midterm
since 1914. Even the 2022 election's turnout with a slightly lower rate of 46% exceeded that of all
midterm elections since 1970." Voter turnout tends to be intermittent, dependent upon social and political events.
As Pew Research points out, the turnout of intermittent voters often defined the outcome of an election.
And although voting has always been important, especially to crime victims,
we haven't always been allowed the power and ability to exercise our vote.
In fact, the American
government has historically restricted and or abolished the power to vote for large groups
of marginalized people. Voting suppression, which dates back to the beginning of American history,
makes it even more necessary to educate ourselves and take advantage of our voting power. Voting
suppression is any action that's done
with the purpose of reducing voting or registering to vote
for members of a targeted racial community,
political party, age range, religious group,
or other marginalized community.
According to Britannica,
the most frequent victims of voter suppression in America
have been members of the African American
community.
But in order to truly understand the depths with which many communities have had to fight
to establish their voting rights, we have to go back to the beginning.
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If Paul asked you to do something, it wasn't a request. It was an order. I'm your host, Brandon James Jenkins. When America was founded in 1776, the country was in a very unique position.
Up until then, most organized governments were led by a monarch or someone who generally
gained their position through birth.
In their attempt to gain political freedom, America's founding fathers developed a voting
process rooted in democracy, which is a type of government
largely run by elected officials. However, the U.S. Constitution, which was first upheld in 1789,
didn't define specific voting rights. Instead, it proposed that each state be given the power
to regulate their own. As part of the Constitution, the Founding Fathers also established the Electoral College,
which was originally proposed to offer a compromise
in the election of the president by a vote between Congress
and the popular vote of qualified citizens.
Within the Electoral College,
each state receives a certain number of electors
based on the size of the state's population.
The state's electors would then cast two votes for president.
The candidate who gained the most electoral votes became president, and the runner-up
became vice president.
Traditionally, the electoral college members cast their vote for the candidate who received
the popular vote in their state. However, there is no law that states that electors must offer their vote to the popularity-voted
candidate in their state.
As a result, those that oppose the Electoral College often draw attention to the fact that
the system seemingly distracts from our individual voting power.
Lesser known is that the Electoral College has racist origins.
At the time of the establishment of the Electoral College,
the populations in the North and South were approximately equal.
However, about one-third of those living in the South were forced to be enslaved.
The Southern region would have less power in a popular vote system
because such a large portion of the population was unable to vote. The ultimate solution was
an indirect method of choosing the president or the development of the electoral college.
With about 93% of the country's enslaved persons in just five southern states, that region was the
undoubted beneficiary of the compromise. And the Electoral College's roots in bigotry drew
opposition when it was created, and it surely continues to draw opposition to this day.
Not long after the Electoral College's inception, the first presidential election occurred in 1789.
the first presidential election occurred in 1789.
In that election, voting rights were granted to white male landowners over the age of 21,
except in New Jersey, where women who were property owners
were also allowed to vote.
New Jersey representatives specifically added language
in their voting clause to include female landowners
as eligible voters, which was revolutionary at the time.
In most states, Catholics, Jews, and Quakers were barred from voting, whether they were white male landowners or not.
Then in 1790, the naturalization law was passed in order to define what U.S. citizenship could include,
and in turn which white male landowners
were allowed to vote.
The law stated that, quote,
only white immigrants who had lived in the United States
for at least two years and were of good character
were eligible for citizenship, end quote.
Over the next couple hundred years,
Americans would continue to debate
over the voting standards,
or if the laws should be loosened.
In 1792, New Hampshire was officially the first state
to remove the land ownership requirement for voting.
At that time, New Jersey was still the only state
in the country that allowed women to vote.
Shortly thereafter, the 12th Amendment was proposed
as a result of the 1800 election tie
between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. Then in 1804, the year Aaron Burr would kill
Alexander Hamilton in a duel, the 12th Amendment was ratified. The 12th Amendment changed the
voting landscape forever. Instead of casting two ballots for president, electoral college members now distinctly cast
one vote for president and one vote for a vice president,
which remains to be the case today.
Then in November 1807, the New Jersey State Legislature
stripped the vote from women, people of color,
and recent immigrants because of quote,
regional controversies within the state over slavery,
voter intimidation at the polls,
fear of foreign influence,
and a backlash against women's political gains, end quote.
And despite the ongoing late 1700s and early 1800s argument
over whether women and people of marginalized communities
should be allowed to vote,
legislators would
now come to agree that land ownership should not be a requirement for voting, making white
men over the age of 21 the only eligible voters in America.
Over the span of 64 years, the rest of the states would model New Hampshire's 1792 decision
and abolish the land ownership voting requirement, with the last state being North Carolina State of the United States in 1856. The early to mid 1800s in America
began a time of growth and hope for many white citizens.
However, the reality for minority communities
was much more restrictive.
Although slavery had begun in America
even prior to colonial times,
the mid 18001800s marked
a period of heightened devastation and impact on African American communities.
By that time, many major American industries relied deeply on slavery at the cost of millions
of lives.
As a result, there was a great deal of civil unrest
between the highly polarized North and South,
with slavery being at the forefront
of their humanitarian-based arguments.
In 1857, a Supreme Court ruling in the Dred Scott case
added to the polarization in the country.
The ruling stated that Congress could not prohibit slavery
because the Constitution protected the property rights
of slaveholders.
Then in 1861, American citizens elected
Republican Abraham Lincoln as president,
which led to even more unrest.
His political campaign success was a sign
to the Confederate South that they had lost some of their power.
Ultimately, the Civil War began on April 12, 1861, mere months after Lincoln was elected.
Despite the country's unrest, President Abraham Lincoln declared the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863,
freeing enslaved people held in Confederate states.
As the National American Museum of African American History and Culture states, the 13th
Amendment made the Emancipation Federal Policy was signed by President Abraham Lincoln on
February 1st, 1865 and was ratified on December 6th, 1865.
However, just two and a half months
after signing the 13th Amendment,
President Lincoln would be assassinated
by a white supremacist who opposed his anti-slavery views
while attending the theater with his wife.
Lincoln's presidential successor was Andrew Johnson,
a man whose beliefs were notoriously
far more conservative than Lincoln's.
Although under his presidency, Johnson did retain the 13th Amendment, he did allow increasingly more
and more quote, black codes to regulate those who were now freed, similar to pre-Civil War
regulations. Northerners were outraged at the revived racism and began to call for radical reconstruction.
As a result of the political and social unrest
in America at this time,
a group of vicious bigots created an underground cult
that they would infamously dub the Klu Klux Klan
on December 24th, 1965.
This white supremacist group,
which would come to be known as the KKK, worked tirelessly to target,
torment, terrorize, and even slaughter civil and voting rights workers all over the country.
However, human rights activists continued to fight to be heard. Eventually, the Fourteenth
Amendment, which offered citizenship to everyone born or naturalized in America,
including former enslaved persons, was passed by Congress on June 13, 1866, and ratified
on July 9, 1868.
Then under Ulysses S. Grant's presidency, Congress passed the Fifteenth Amendment.
The Fifteenth Amendment guaranteed the right to vote
of all men, regardless of race, color,
and prior servitude status.
In March of 1870, Thomas Mundy Peterson
became the first African American
to vote in a local election.
Juneteenth has become the most well-known celebration
for the ending of slavery in the United States
and viewed by some as America's second Independence Day.
Dating back to 1865, Juneteenth commemorates the day
when 250,000 enslaved people were freed
in the state of Texas.
And during the final days of the Civil War,
were declared free by the U.S. Army.
As soon as the following year, this civil war were declared free by the US Army. As soon as the following
year, local festivities were organized in African American communities to celebrate
and remember the significance of that day, June 19th.
However, the enactments of these policies did not mean that election officials welcomed
non-white voters warmly at polling places. Instead, because of pervasive racism,
states began to enact policies in order
to further restrict marginalized community members'
right to vote, such as biased voting taxes
and literacy tests.
Discriminatory actions like voter suppression
and voter intimidation continued to be on the rise.
Growing unrest in the voting landscape and the feminist movement
inspired Susan B. Anthony to vote in the presidential election of 1872,
two years later.
Susan was arrested as a result.
Shortly after, Sojourner Truth, who was an abolitionist,
former enslaved person and women's and voters' rights activist also
tried to cast a ballot in the 1872 election. She was also turned away as women were still
not allowed to vote.
As communities continued to fight for their right to vote, the American government continued
to tighten restrictions in response. The limitations on voting continued to escalate and in 1876
Native Americans were deemed non-citizens and saw what little voting rights they had taken away.
In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed and prevented those with Chinese heritage from
becoming citizens, which kept them from voting too.
In 1887, the Dawes Act was passed, which granted citizenship to Native Americans if they abandoned
their tribal affiliations.
Wyoming had originally granted women the right to vote in 1873 when it was still a territory.
However, their right to vote was not applicable
to federal elections, only state and local elections.
After voting advancement occurred in 1890,
the Indian Naturalization Act was passed,
granting citizenship to Native Americans
whose citizenship applications were approved.
As these changes were made and began to be upheld
throughout the country, women continued
to voice their desire to vote.
States across the country began to allow women to vote at the state level until 1920.
Throughout that time, the suffragette movement expanded throughout America.
The suffragettes were a group of women who campaigned for women's right to vote.
Their creative actions and slogans snagged the attention of many citizens, as they used
mottos like, Deeds Not Words and Justice Not Favors. They successfully protested all over
the country with their first march taking place in 1908 in New York.
The suffragette movement had many opposers and faced much backlash. In fact,
over a thousand women were arrested from the start of the 20th century to the beginning of
World War I while trying to vote or while protesting for their right to vote. Women
imprisoned for these offenses were often assaulted and brutalized during their imprisonment. Notoriously, on November 10th, 1917,
33 suffragettes were arrested and jailed
for protesting outside of the White House.
Hours later, they would be subjected to violent abuse
and assaults at a North Virginia prison.
The suffragettes would end up entitling their treatment
on November 14th, 1917 1917 as the Night of Terror.
Word spread of their experiences, which according to the Washington Post, helped galvanize public
support of the suffrage movement.
Finally in 1920, only about 100 years ago from today and about 140 years after America
was founded, women were granted the right to vote with the 19th Amendment.
However, these rights remained primarily reserved for white women.
American history repeated itself, and as one faction of citizens gained access to voting
and the powers related to it, another group was further marginalized.
World War I had taken place and left a
large impact on the world. As a result of this war, there was heightened racism
towards Japanese Americans. The Supreme Court ruled that people of Japanese
heritage were ineligible to become naturalized citizens in 1922. And in 1923,
all Americans of Southeast Asian and Indian descent were banned from becoming
naturalized citizens. Then in 1924, the Citizenship Act granted citizenship to Native Americans.
In reaction to the act, many states began passing laws and policies prohibiting Native Americans from voting.
The restrictions continued to become even more pervasive in 1925 when citizens of the
Philippines were barred from U.S. citizenship unless they served three years in the U.S. Navy.
The next years in American history were greatly impacted by the Great Depression and World War II.
Black citizens faced the highest rate of unemployment in the 1930s.
Heightened tension remained amidst an insecure, unstable time.
Then, when war became an unavoidable reality, minority communities were forced to be frontline warriors for the U.S.
While many male citizens were deployed to fight in World War II,
women were finally allowed into the American workforce at much greater rates.
With these newfound opportunities and responsibilities,
many marginalized communities demanded more freedom.
Still, many years would pass and many communities
would continue to be massively underrepresented
in the election process.
Then in 1952, the McCarran-Walter Act
granted all people of Asian ancestry
the right to become citizens,
effectively granting them the right to vote.
Nearly a decade later, in 1961, the 23rd amendment also passed,
which granted residents of Washington, D.C. the right to vote for U.S. president.
Despite being our country's capital, Washington, D.C. residents were not allowed to vote in
presidential elections before then. The 1960s continued to be a turning point in American politics and for our voting rights.
The civil rights movement was challenging America's institutional racist beliefs and policies.
Then the murders of civil and voting rights activists James Cheney, Michael Schwerner,
and Andrew Goodman in Mississippi on June 20th, 1964,
demanded the attention of the federal government.
A gang of over 20 KKK members killed the boys
with the aid of a local deputy sheriff
because of the young men's local efforts
to enable equal access to voting and education.
In 1967, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigations,
seven of the 18 defendants would be found guilty, including Deputy Sheriff Price, but none on murder
charges. One major conspirator, Edgar Ray Killen, went free after a lone juror couldn't bring
himself to convict a Baptist preacher.
Not long after the boy's murder, a 600-person civil rights protest was terrorized by a group
of white state troopers in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965. This day became known as Bloody Sunday. and we hope to see and we plan to see the greatest witness for freedom ever taken place
that has ever taken place on the steps of the capital of any state in the South.
In 1965, a group of young people, students and others, attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, to march 50 miles from
Selma to Montgomery, to dramatize to the nation and to the world that people
wanted simply to register to vote. They came toward us beating us with nightsticks
and bullwhips, trampling us with horses and releasing the tear gas. At the foot of that
bridge I was beaten. I thought I was going to die. I thought I saw death.
I felt like it was the last demonstration. It was the last protest act on my part, like I was going to take my last breath from the tear gas. I saw people rolling,
heard people screaming and hollering. We couldn't go forward. If we tried to go forward, we
would have gone into the heat of battle. We couldn't go to the side, to the left or to
the right. We would have been going over into the Alabama River. So we were
beaten back down the streets of Selma, back downtown to the Brown Chapel AME Church. I
don't know to this day how I made it back to the church. I do remember being in the church and making a statement to the crowd that assembled there,
and I said something to the effect that I don't understand how President Johnson can
send troops to Vietnam, can send troops to the Congo, or to San Domingo, and cannot send
troops to Selma, Alabama to protect black people who want the right to register to vote
to participate in the democratic process.
The Monday after Bloody Sunday,
after we were beaten in Selma,
Dr. King came to my hospital bedside and said, John, don't worry.
I issued a call for religious leaders to come.
The events of Selma had been brought to a climax by a
nighttime attack on a white Boston minister by white men.
He died two days later.
President Lyndon Johnson spoke to the nation.
So I ask you to join me in working long hours, nights, and weekends if necessary, to pass
this bill.
And I don't make that request lightly. slightly. Far from the wonder where I sit with the problems of our country, I recognize that from outside
this Chamber is the outraged conscience of a nation, the grave concern of many nations, and the harsh judgment of history on our acts.
But even if we pass this bill, the battle will not be over.
What happened in Selma is part of a far larger movement which reaches into every section and state of America.
It is the effort of American Negroes to secure for themselves the full blessings of American
life. Their cause must be our cause too, because it is not just Negroes, but really it is all
of us who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice.
And we shall overcome.
The public reaction to the increasing violence in Alabama, Mississippi, and across the country,
as well as Johnson's initiative, spurred Congress to pass the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
The act forbade states from imposing discriminatory restrictions on who can vote. This was the first
time in history that many marginalized communities had been granted the right to vote, and as a
result of the act's passing, by the end of 1965, a quarter of a million new Black
voters had been registered.
By the end of 1966, only 4 out of 13 Southern states had fewer than 50% of African Americans
registered to vote.
Although hurdles remained for citizens of minority communities as a result of systemic
racism and continued voter suppression,
voting rights shifted drastically
and paved the way for meaningful changes to be made.
Just six years later, in 1972,
the voting age was lowered to the age of 18,
allowing even more accessibility.
And in 1975, voting became even more inclusive. It was the first year voting
materials were translated into other languages besides English. In other words, it took some
communities in America nearly 200 years to be heard in the political landscape via the voting
process. And although it's a right every citizen in this country should possess,
it's still an impactful power
that continues to be threatened.
Voter suppression is something that has been occurring
since the beginning of American history
and it continues to this day.
In fact, according to the Brennan Center for Justice,
2021 was a banner year for new barriers
to the right to vote. 19 states enacted
34 laws restricting access to voting, far and away the most in any year in at least
the past decade. The aforementioned laws attempted to control access to voting via such methods
as creating obstacles for voting by mail, establishing
new voter ID requirements, and setting limitations on what election officials can do to help
promote voter access.
Some of the laws were racist in nature, taking targeted action to restrict methods of voting
that had been especially utilized by African American communities.
Voter suppression can also be more covert in nature.
A lack of accessible polling places
or limited polling times are also methods of suppression.
Similarly, the federal government
has also criminalized voter intimidation.
According to the ACLU, voter intimidation
is when someone is intimidated, threatened,
or coerced by another
person for the purpose of interfering with the right of that person to vote or vote as they may
choose. Many states also have their own laws prohibiting voter intimidation. Voter intimidation
may include questioning voters about their citizenship or criminal record with the intention
to interfere with their ability to vote, falsely
presenting yourself as a polling place or election official or other harassment, particularly towards
non-English speakers and voters of color. Voter suppression and intimidation can occur anytime,
anywhere, but is generally targeted towards minority communities and happens in a polling
or voter registration setting.
And as voting happens frequently
throughout different times of the year,
it's important to educate ourselves
on when and where it can happen most.
Voter fraud is another type of election crime
that has recently been given a lot of attention.
Voter fraud is the intentional duplication
and or falsification of votes. Voter fraud is the intentional duplication and or falsification of votes.
Voter fraud can include knowingly casting more than one ballot in the same election
or voting using someone else's identity. And despite consistent allegations of voter fraud
occurring in the last few elections, according to the Brennan Center for Justice,
voter fraud and voter impersonation is extremely rare.
The center states that most instances of alleged fraud
are mistakes by voters, administrators,
or are a result of election misconduct.
Quote, the Brennan Center's seminal report demonstrated
that most allegations of fraud turn out to be baseless.
Numerous other studies, including one commissioned by the Trump administration, have reached the same conclusion."
If you or someone you know believe you may have been a witness or a victim of voter intimidation,
suppression, or fraud, you can report it to the Election Protection Hotline at 1-866-OUR-VOTE.
You can also report it to the U.S. Department of Justice
voting rights at 800-253-3931,
or your local and state officials,
including poll workers, elections commissioners,
and election supervisors.
American citizens' right to exercise our vote
is a privilege that nearly took 200 years to fight for.
Therefore, we should not take it for granted.
It's also important for us to become allies
for those who may be experiencing
voter suppression or intimidation.
Ways that you can help include bringing awareness,
encouraging voter registration and voter turnout, sharing election information, or volunteering your time to register voters
or even working at a polling place.
The United States Election Assistance Commission link is included in the episode notes in the
event that you'd like to volunteer to be a poll worker.
Other nonprofit organizations are making an effort in the voting landscape.
Vote.org is a great resource that offers ways to register to vote, check your registration,
vote by mail, see what's on your ballot, get election reminders, and find volunteer
opportunities. The National Association of Social Workers is also making efforts to increase
voter participation.
They've created several successful collaborations with organizations such as Rock the Vote,
Voto Latino, and Nonprofit Vote, whose purpose is also to help other non-profit organizations
engage the people they serve in voting in elections. The NASW has also partnered with
the National Voting Rights Task Force, whose mission is
to offer tangible steps to ensure voters in your community have access to vote.
For a more comprehensive list of organizations that are working to help increase voter accessibility
and decrease voter suppression, please visit somethingwaswrong.com. Many of the amazing groups listed on the website
are only able to exist because of the community's help
and support from people like you.
If you would like to find out more information
about volunteer opportunities,
please feel free to visit the resources page
and reach out directly to the organizations of your choice.
I'm Tiffany Reese.
Thank you so much for listening and learning with us.
If you like Something Was Wrong,
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