Voting rights

Why are people against legal restrictions against voting?

Some people believe this is a way to suppress votes from certain groups by making it logistically harder to vote and fostering cynicism about the entire process.

Why do some people argue legal restitution are a good thing?

There are other arguments that state that legal requirements are a part of modern society and helps maintain the integrity by reducing fraud in elections. Also it’s constitutional since states can control the conduct of elections

What was the significance of the 15th Amendment?

Before the amendment, during the Jim Crow era, there was poll tax and literacy rates that would exclude African Americans from voting but the Voting Rights Act of 1965 addressed these barriers that many southern states put in place (pre clearance)

What happened to the pre-clearance element in the 15th Amendment?

In 2012 the SC struck a his down allowing states to make it harder to vote

What are the stats on voting before the Voting Rights Act and after?

• Pre-1965 there was a 50% difference in Whit Americans and African Americans voting

• In 2006, the number was equal

What is the statistics with voter fraud?

Between 2010 to 2014 there only 31 instances of voter fraud

What did 9 states do in 2016? What was the impact?

Introduce voter ID - African American voting numbers dropped to 59.6%

What percentage of people voted in person in 2022?

50% of the electorate

Define gerrymandering

The way that districts are drawn out for elections

What do senators represent?

The whole state

What are states divided into?

Single member districts - supposed to be equal in size

What is the problem with single member districts?

They can exclude minorities by dividing demographics

Who decides the districts?

State legislators