Aug 23, 202012 min read

Voter Suppression in America

The United States of America functions as a system of government where the whole population elects its representatives; yet, that’s not the case. Voter suppression has existed for centuries and continues to exist, threatening this very nation’s democracy. The US’ ‘elected’ representatives cannot be chosen by the whole population if the right to vote is violated at every election. By definition, voter suppression is when any effort is made to prevent eligible voters from voting or registering to vote, regardless of legality, through laws or administrations. The most susceptible to voter suppression are people of color, students, elderly, women (especially if one is transgender and/or married), low-income or homeless individuals, and people with disabilities. That’s millions of people, and statistically, most of these voters are Democratic supporters.

In a democratic government, one would expect that everyone has the ability to vote. This idea should be especially so when there are laws that state everyone can vote, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, socio-economic status, or sexual orientation. However, the United States of America does not uphold their promise to have a legitimate government. In 2013, the Supreme Court in Shelby v. Holder ruled that the government can facilitate all forms of modern voter suppression (Gibson). The people have to defend their own votes, since the government will not. Below are methods the government uses as a means of voter suppression.

Underfunding Election Day Resources:

Underfunding resources on election day is a common method of creating longer lines as one’s state, county, or district cannot provide adequate funding to equip polling locations and their staff. On June 9th, 2020, the primary in Georgia closed polling locations due to the installation of defective voting machines and failure to provide enough provisional ballots. By increasing the length of these lines, it becomes harder for people who aren’t able to physically and/or financially stand in line to cast their ballot. The disabled physically cannot be in line for a long period of time, and people of lower socio-economic status cannot as well because every hour is crucial to supporting themselves and their family. Underfunding can also contribute to limiting early voting, thereby creating even longer lines that deny working-class citizens an opportunity to vote at a better time. The lack of ballots and updated equipment, as well as limitations on early voting, results in the US’ inability to uphold the nation’s supposed sacred democracy.

Physically Closing Polling Locations:

There has been a history of polling locations closing at the official time while people are still waiting to vote. The act of closing such locations while people are waiting is actually a violation of election laws. This brazen violation of election laws continues, the most recent occurrence being June 23rd, 2020 - in the Kentucky primary. Election officials closed the only polling location in Jefferson County, despite the massive amount of voters waiting. Although a judge granted a voting extension, there should be no reason for election officials to suppress votes. Physically closing polling locations is an effective tool to suppress votes, especially when combined with underfunding resources and limiting early voting.

Voter ID Laws:

Voter ID laws do more harm than good, contributing negatively to the massive number of restrictions that prevent citizens from voting. Voter ID laws decrease voter turnout, considering how over 21 million US citizens don't have government-issued photo IDs. The US Government Accountability Office estimates that voter ID laws reduce voter turnout by 2-3 percentage points, which translates to tens of thousands of votes lost in a single state (What Is Voter Suppression?). There are a multitude of reasons why millions of US citizens don’t have a government-issued ID. For one, obtaining an ID can be expensive. Even if it’s ‘free’, there are other hidden expenses that need to be paid. Not only does it cost money for the ID itself, but the time required to travel for the ID is difficult for those with disabilities, the elderly, and people who live in rural areas. Most of these people who don’t have an ID or struggle to attain one are people of color in lower socio-economic communities.

Since 36 states have ID requirements at polling locations and 7 states have strict ID laws, people’s ability to vote is decreasing nationwide. By forcing US citizens to attain an ID, the government is increasing the likelihood of voters being turned down at ID offices. Officials can close agency offices that issue the IDs, therefore denying US citizens their right to vote (What Is Voter Suppression?). The government is wasting taxpayer money to fund voter IDs and is forcing citizens to squander their valuable time. These ‘small’ obstacles heavily affect people of color, the elderly, and the disabled.

Voter Registration Restrictions & Issues:

Voter registration restrictions and issues discourage voters, especially young adults, because people find them to be overcomplicated and inconvenient. Voter registration restrictions can consist of proof of citizenship or proof of residence. Many states require a proof of citizenship, except not everyone carries the required documents due to security reasons and/or because they were not informed of such requirements. Voter registration issues and restrictions that arise don’t occur from human error, but human bias. Statistically, people of color are more likely to be asked for proof of identity than their white counterparts.

Here are two instances of voter registration problems that have occurred.

In the 2016 presidential election, over 90 000 New Yorkers were unable to vote because their applications didn’t meet New York’s outdated law of the 25-day registration cutoff. New York had the eighth worst turnout rate in the country (Block the Vote: Voter Suppression in 2020).
In 2018, 53 000 voter registrants in Georgia were placed in ‘pending’ status because of misspelling or missing hyphens on their registration forms. 70% of those voters were black. In that same year, more than 90 000 college students in a little over one million population in New Hampshire were denied to vote because they needed to prove their residency within 30 days of an election (Root and Barclay).

One solution that can fix many of these obstacles is online registration because it’s a faster and more convenient way for citizens to participate. This simple convenience takes away stress from the working class that is the majority of the US and gives them more opportunities to support themselves and their families.

Vote Purges:

Vote purging is an effective tool during elections because they clean up voter rolls (list of eligible and/or registered voters) when people move, die, or become ineligible to vote for other reasons. This is, of course, if it is used properly. There is an evident correlation between jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination and purge rates. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, this correlation has increased between 2014 and 2016, in which states removed about 16 million votes.

Vote purges can also occur through the ‘Use It or Lose It’ rule, which asserts that if citizens don’t vote within an allotted amount of time, their vote is purged. In 2015, hundreds of thousands of voters in Ohio were unable to vote because they didn’t partake in the 2008 elections (What Is Voter Suppression?).

Another method of vote purging are caging lists. Caging lists is the practice of a political party sending registered letters to the addresses of people of the opposite party in hopes of being able to challenge the legitimacy of that voter. If the sent letters are returned undeliverable, then this is “proof” of an ineligible voter. Voters who recently moved and didn’t update their address are the most vulnerable to this method of voter suppression. This method can also harm voters who are college students or people who are homeless.

Despite the fact that Congress acknowledges the unreliability of caging lists, many forms of prevention are no longer in place. In a 1982 court-enforced agreement, any propositions from the Republican party organizations would be reviewed by a federal court. Many of the propositions included voter caging and ‘ballot security’ programs (programs meant to prevent voter fraud, but interferes with voting rights). However, in 2018, a federal judge ended the ban. Now, the Republican National Committee (RNC) can coordinate with the Trump campaign, state parties, and the House and Senate Republican campaign arms on 2020 election activities (Roth). This conflict of interest places democracy in the line of fire.

Felony Disenfranchisement:

Felony disenfranchisement is when a US citizen has lost their right to vote due to criminal activity. Depending on a person’s state, losing one’s voting rights can occur during incarceration, when on probation or parole, or it can be for life. Black individuals are comparatively the most severely affected by this due to mass incarceration, the school-to-prison pipeline, and the 1971 declaration of the ‘war on drugs’. As of 2016, 6.1 million Americans have lost their ability to vote, translating to 1 in 13 black individuals losing their vote whereas 1 in 56 non-black votes are lost (Porter). Moreover, a 2019 study showed that the number of slaves is less than the number of incarcerated black people.

Gerrymandering:

Gerrymandering is considered to be one of the greatest threats to democracy, as it denies legitimate representation in government. Gerrymandering is a hyperpolarized version of redistricting, which is when states redraw district lines every decade based on demographic data. This tool can be beneficial because the district lines can reflect population changes and racial diversity. Unfortunately, it’s instead used to decrease the weight of votes in every district (Block the Vote: Voter Suppression in 2020). To do so, gerrymandering has historically been used in two ways: packing and cracking. Packing is when many supporters of a party are concentrated into a small number of districts in order to decrease the damage of competing votes. Whereas, cracking is when you spread a party across a large number of districts to ensure that their votes don’t have much sway. Both packing and cracking are ways to decrease the weight of one’s vote, leading to unfair representation. If race is involved in redistricting, officials call it bleaching.

Both parties are guilty of gerrymandering, Democrats having created it and Republicans passing gerrymandering laws to increase voter suppression. Additionally, Democrats don’t help expand accessibility to the people. Therefore, allowing corruption to continue. Although Democrats have little to no say on passing laws in the current administration, they could be helping the people rather than turning away.

Gerrymandering not only exists because of corrupt people, but also from an article in the Constitution that requires redistricting every decade. According to three reporters at ProPublica, redistricting was meant to make the people’s vote important to accurately represent the community. However, redistricting must use demographic data in order to redraw lines in the state, ultimately providing venal people the information to determine which method of gerrymandering to use.

Disinformation:

When voters receive incorrect information about deadlines, polling locations, and election times and dates, that’s disinformation. Misinforming the public, especially a targeted group, is a dangerous tool that indirectly harms communities. For years, many organizations have blatantly blocked people’s voting rights in order to manipulate a political outcome. Misinforming the public shouldn’t be tolerated; yet it continues today, even with the upcoming 2020 presidential election.

One of the greatest and continuing misinformation circulating is voter fraud. Voter fraud is a myth, but representatives implement laws to combat it, such as the voter ID laws and voter registration restrictions. A 2014 study found that there were only 31 cases of voter fraud out of one billion legitimate voters (Gibson). President Trump, in particular, claims that voter fraud would increase in the 2020 election because he is trying to guarantee another term by suppressing votes. However, this still stands: voter fraud is a myth. Even if voter fraud was a legitimate concern, vote-by-mail decreases the miniscule percent of voter fraud. This has been proven by numerous studies, including ones conducted by the Trump administration (Feldman, et al). Unfortunately, vote-by-mail ballots from younger minorities are likely to be tossed, and several states have made it too difficult to prove the legitimacy of one’s vote. The combination of misinformation and purging votes are obstructing the will of the people, with the belief in voter fraud consequently creating opportunities to increase voter suppression.

A New Form of Voter Suppression Employed in the 2020 Election:

President Trump has continued to spread misinformation, especially with the looming presidential election on the horizon. This time, he has taken this form of voter suppression to another level. Due to the Covid-19 global pandemic, many voters prefer to vote by mail to keep the virus at bay. In a preemptive move, the President is carrying out a disinformation campaign, claiming mail-in voting will result in fraud. Furthermore, in his attempt to suppress votes and shift the election in his favor, he has withheld federal funding to the United States Postal Service (USPS) to pressure voters into physically turning in their ballots. He claims that funding the USPS will perpetuate voter fraud despite several studies and his own administration’s findings disproving it. Interestingly enough, the President and First Lady requested and received absentee ballots for Florida’s primary, showing their personal trust in mail-in voting. Similarly, millions of Americans have requested and received absentee ballots for years without voter fraud issues. Trump also claims that Democrats’ funding request for the USPS is ‘election money’ for universal mail-in voting, even though this funding request is part of the upcoming COVID-19 relief bill. However, until there is a compromise in USPS funding, negotiations on the relief package is at a standstill.

Trump is not only blatantly disregarding America’s democracy, but he is also disregarding the negative impacts of his decision. Millions of citizens rely on the efficiency and expediency of the USPS for social security benefits, veteran’s benefits, disability benefits, small business aid, and medication. Withholding federal funding would result in the backing up of the mailing system, ultimately forcing the USPS to warn 46 states and the District of Columbia that they cannot guarantee mailing and returning ballots within the allotted time. Trump is further kneecapping the USPS by naming Louis DeJoy, an RNC fundraiser and a major contributor to Trump, as the new Postmaster General. This conflict of interest is concerning, as DeJoy has ordered the removal of sorting machines and letter collection boxes. Although the order for the removal of letter collection boxes has been halted, it’s not guaranteed that the freeze is applied across the nation. DeJoy is aiding in Trump’s attempts to force citizens to risk their health during this pandemic to vote.

It should be noted that the US President and his officials aren’t alone in suppressing votes and undermining democracy. The RNC is suing about 40 states that fund universal mail-vote, claiming that main-in voting leads to ‘ballot harvesting’ - the process of voters filling out their ballots, but party volunteers mailing ballots in for voters. However, Democrats state this method is only collecting ballots to ensure they are delivered (Goodin).

Voter suppression affects everyone, not just those who are being oppressed. Blocking even a few thousand from voting can be the difference between correct representation and incorrect representation. The threatening existence of voter suppression doesn’t represent the will of the people, it demonstrates the power of current unpatriotic leaders. Its presence is a sign of the United States’ democracy decaying. People have tried, and continue to try, to manipulate political outcomes for personal gain. The government knows that voting is a powerful tool. It’s the people’s right to vote, which is why government officials do everything they can to suppress the voice of the people. President Trump is the first president to openly block votes for his benefit and not aid the people for the sanctity of the US’ democracy. The US was founded on the ideology that government officials should be elected by the people, but that ideology is being degraded by people’s thirst for power. Our democracy fails when votes are suppressed, when voting is not accessible, and when there’s incorrect representation of the people.

Voting in America was originally reserved for white landowners. Voting has not and will not be given to all of the people. Government officials have no desire to create and expand accessibility because it has the potential to decrease their odds of winning. Republicans actively pass voter suppression laws, while Democrats refuse to take action to combat this attack on democracy. Both parties are guilty of not being a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. No government is infallible to corruption and greed, but a government can be better by giving power to the people. We must ask ourselves, are our elected representatives public servants? Are they only trying to stay in power or are they trying to make change for the betterment of society? If you aren’t willing to ask these questions, then America will not survive. If you think nothing of this article because it doesn’t directly affect your vote, then I ask you this: Is the US a true democratic system or a fake democracy that masks the subtle tyranny in our government? Voting matters and it’s every American’s right. This is for you.

USA Voter Online Registration

Sources Cited

“Block the Vote: Voter Suppression in 2020.” American Civil Liberties Union, 3

Feb. 2020, www.aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/block-the-vote-voter-suppression-in-2020/.

Feldman, Max, et al. “The Myth of Voter Fraud.” Brennan Center for Justice, 27 May

2020,

www.brennancenter.org/issues/ensure-every-american-can-vote/vote-suppression/myth-voter-fraud.

Gibson, Brittany. “The Many Varieties of Voter Suppression.” The American

Prospect, Pulitzer Center, 26 May 2020,

https://prospect.org/politics/the-many-varieties-of-voter-suppression/.

Goodin, Emily. “Obama: Trump Aims to 'Kneecap Post Office' to Discourage Voters.”

Daily Mail Online, Associated Newspapers, 14 Aug. 2020,