Voter Suppression By Any Other Name...
By Diego Garcia III | Editor of The Brownsville Beacon
Trying to discourage people to vote has been something that has been happening in this country since people began voting. Voter suppression took center stage after the passage of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, granting African-Americans the right to vote.
Some examples of laws passed trying to discourage minorities and African-Americans from voting include literacy tests. Literacy tests were often times administered to those who were trying to vote in the South all the way until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed. Several Supreme Court cases were also filed all the way up to 1970 challenging the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act.
Another example is the grandfather clause. The grandfather clause gave an African-American the right to vote if his father, or grandfather, had voted prior to January 1, 1867. At that time, the majority of African-Americans in the United States had been slaves and had not voted. Grandfather clauses were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1915.
The poll tax was another method used by those who wanted to keep African-Americans and other minorities from voting. A poll tax was a fee some citizens in some states were forced to pay in order to cast their vote. The poll tax was eliminated when the 24th Amendment to the Constitution was passed.
Gerrymandering is another tactic used by the party in power to remain in power. Gerrymandering is redrawing or redistricting an area in order for the political party in power to remain in power. District lines are in a constant state of flux, always being redrawn to try and keep Republicans in the majority.
Voter ID laws have also been passed in several states. These laws require a government-issued identification to be presented at the time someone wants to cast their vote. Texas and North Dakota have struck down or overturned these controversial Voter ID laws because they are often times found to have been enacted with discriminatory intent.
Now that brown and black people aren't asked if they know how to read, if their grandparents were allowed to vote, or if they can pay a fee in order to cast their vote, it seems those hell bent on denying minorities the right to vote have come up with another solution...
Close polling places in predominantly African-American or Latino communities.
In an article written by The Guardian's Richard Salame, Texas is closing hundreds of polling stations across the state, particularly where the African-American and Latino populations are growing.
The author writes, "The closures could exacerbate Texas's already chronically low voter turnout rates, to the advantage of incumbent Republicans," the author goes on to mention, "people are less likely to vote if they have to travel farther to do so, and the effect is disproportionately greater for some groups of voters, such as Latinos."
Over the past couple of election cycles, my polling place has closed and been consolidated with other polling places more than once. During the last election, I went to two different schools before finally being told my polling place had changed to a third location. The irony is the new polling place was farther away than one that was just up the street from my house. Had I not been too interested in voting, I would have probably just gone back home.
McLennan County closed 44% of its polling places. Brazoria County closed nearly 60% of its polling places. In other counties, there was one polling place for every 4,000 residents. Now, that number has gone up. In those same areas, the number is now one polling place for every 7,700 residents.
Regardless of what some critics have said about the comment I'm about to make in the past, Texas has historically been a red state. While it hasn't always voted Republican, it almost always does. The closing of these polling places in African-American and Latino communities, and the redistricting of these same communities ensures the political party currently in power will remain in power.
It is sad to see how freedom and democracy are manipulated and shaped to fit the ruling class. It is no wonder why people believe their vote does not really count and why so many Texans decide to stay home on election day.
Don't let the numbers discourage you. Don't let the people in power discourage you. The best thing you can do to make the ruling class nervous is show up and vote. Don't let anybody steal your voice. Don't let anybody speak for you.
Show up.
Vote.
To read the article, click here:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/02/texas-polling-sites-closures-voting
Trying to discourage people to vote has been something that has been happening in this country since people began voting. Voter suppression took center stage after the passage of the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, granting African-Americans the right to vote.
Some examples of laws passed trying to discourage minorities and African-Americans from voting include literacy tests. Literacy tests were often times administered to those who were trying to vote in the South all the way until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed. Several Supreme Court cases were also filed all the way up to 1970 challenging the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act.
Another example is the grandfather clause. The grandfather clause gave an African-American the right to vote if his father, or grandfather, had voted prior to January 1, 1867. At that time, the majority of African-Americans in the United States had been slaves and had not voted. Grandfather clauses were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1915.
The poll tax was another method used by those who wanted to keep African-Americans and other minorities from voting. A poll tax was a fee some citizens in some states were forced to pay in order to cast their vote. The poll tax was eliminated when the 24th Amendment to the Constitution was passed.
Gerrymandering is another tactic used by the party in power to remain in power. Gerrymandering is redrawing or redistricting an area in order for the political party in power to remain in power. District lines are in a constant state of flux, always being redrawn to try and keep Republicans in the majority.
Voter ID laws have also been passed in several states. These laws require a government-issued identification to be presented at the time someone wants to cast their vote. Texas and North Dakota have struck down or overturned these controversial Voter ID laws because they are often times found to have been enacted with discriminatory intent.
Now that brown and black people aren't asked if they know how to read, if their grandparents were allowed to vote, or if they can pay a fee in order to cast their vote, it seems those hell bent on denying minorities the right to vote have come up with another solution...
Close polling places in predominantly African-American or Latino communities.
In an article written by The Guardian's Richard Salame, Texas is closing hundreds of polling stations across the state, particularly where the African-American and Latino populations are growing.
The author writes, "The closures could exacerbate Texas's already chronically low voter turnout rates, to the advantage of incumbent Republicans," the author goes on to mention, "people are less likely to vote if they have to travel farther to do so, and the effect is disproportionately greater for some groups of voters, such as Latinos."
Over the past couple of election cycles, my polling place has closed and been consolidated with other polling places more than once. During the last election, I went to two different schools before finally being told my polling place had changed to a third location. The irony is the new polling place was farther away than one that was just up the street from my house. Had I not been too interested in voting, I would have probably just gone back home.
McLennan County closed 44% of its polling places. Brazoria County closed nearly 60% of its polling places. In other counties, there was one polling place for every 4,000 residents. Now, that number has gone up. In those same areas, the number is now one polling place for every 7,700 residents.
Regardless of what some critics have said about the comment I'm about to make in the past, Texas has historically been a red state. While it hasn't always voted Republican, it almost always does. The closing of these polling places in African-American and Latino communities, and the redistricting of these same communities ensures the political party currently in power will remain in power.
It is sad to see how freedom and democracy are manipulated and shaped to fit the ruling class. It is no wonder why people believe their vote does not really count and why so many Texans decide to stay home on election day.
Don't let the numbers discourage you. Don't let the people in power discourage you. The best thing you can do to make the ruling class nervous is show up and vote. Don't let anybody steal your voice. Don't let anybody speak for you.
Show up.
Vote.
To read the article, click here:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/02/texas-polling-sites-closures-voting
Comments
Post a Comment