The right to vote is a key pillar of any democracy. But in America, it has been under siege for decades. Voting rights are legal and constitutional protections designed to ensure that citizens have an opportunity to participate in local, state and national elections free of arbitrary and discriminatory obstacles. The fight for voting rights is intertwined with the struggle for civil and human rights. Its history is deeply rooted in the African American experience, and it has had an impact on women, youth and people of color as well.
In the early years of this century, voters were subject to laws like poll taxes and literacy tests that denied them the franchise. By the 1960s, states had moved to a new system of voter suppression that was more subtle but equally injurious. Jim Crow-style barriers such as same-sex marriage bans, voter ID requirements and shortened early voting periods were on the rise.
A central function of the Voting Rights Act was to forbid election rules that deny citizens the opportunity to vote on account of their race, color or membership in a language minority group (American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian American, Hispanic heritage and language minorities). The act also identified jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination and required them to get “preclearance” from the federal government before adopting any changes in their voting practices.
The Supreme Court’s gutting of Section 5 of the act in 2013 opened a floodgate to new voter-suppression techniques. Voting-rights advocates can close the door on these tactics by passing state voter protection laws, and by ensuring that state constitutions explicitly describe the right to vote as a fundamental one whose burdens will be tested under the highest standard of constitutional scrutiny.