Voting Rights

What encourages political participation (making people vote)?

• civic duty

• courses on voting

• institutional and interpersonal ways

American history of denying voting rights to Blacks

The 15th Amendment guaranteed Black people the right to vote in 1869, but by 1910, only 2% of Black men in AL and MS were registered to vote

Why were so few Black men registered to vote by 1910?

• threat of lynching, racial violence

• political intimidation in southern states

• state level policies such as literacy tests, poll taxes, ad ex-felon disenfranchisement (example of bureaucratic discretion)

How did states start excluding poor white voters?

With grandfather clauses: if your grandfather was eligible to vote in 1867, you don’t have to take a literacy test or pay a poll tax. Was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1915

The Voting Rights Act of 1965

• bans any voting law, rule, or procedure that results in racial discrimination; applies nationwide; enforced through lawsuits (DOJ or private citizens)

• Coverage Formula: establishes a formula to identify jurisdiction with history of racial discrimination; covered jurisdictions that used discriminatory tests or devices and had lower voter registration as of certain dates (struck down in Shelby v. Holder 2013)

• Preclearance requirement: required covered jurisdiction to seek federal approval before making any changes to voting laws (struck down in Shelby 2013)

• prohibition on voter intimidation

Shelby County v. Holder (2013)

Struck down a number of provisions in the Voting Rights Act of 1964

• coverage formula

• preclearance requirement

Louisiana v. Callais (challenges VRA)

current practice: redistricting efforts can (and should) take race into account when drawing congressional districts to ensure minority representation and combat previously discriminatory practices (avoids the problem of vote dilution

current case: challenges the use of race in the drawing of congressional districts (in this case, the use of the Black population to draw a second majority Black district in LA). Multiple justices have suggested they don’t think race should be taken into account when drawing maps

Vote dilution

When district lines are drawn to pack, split up, or weaken minority communities

Descriptive representation

represented by someone who shares demographic characteristics of you

Substantive representation

Represented by someone who shares the same interests as you

Unintended consequences: the magnitude of early voting

Studies have found that it may have minimal/negative effects on turnout and exacerbates disparities

Unintended consequences: magnitude of same day registration

• boosts turnout and reduces income disparities in who turns out

• produces more excitement about voting for people

Unintended consequences: all mail voting

• increases turnout in younger voters

Consequences: polling place location

• longer wait time in south and rural areas

• once you stay in a long line, you’re less likely to want to get back in; in turn, reducing sense of efficacy and less likely to trust your government