We are at a critical juncture as we face the biggest voter suppression laws since the 1960’s...

friend,

We’re at a critical juncture. We are facing a wave of voter suppression laws that threaten to erase the progress we’ve made since the Civil Rights Movement.

All across the South, conservative lawmakers are passing legislation that keeps people of color away from ballot boxes — like requiring returning citizens to pay all legal fees prior to registration and using racial gerrymandering to prevent people from electing their candidate of choice.

It’s imperative that we do all we can to ensure everyone can exercise their sacred right to vote. That’s why we are asking you to support the SPLC’s Voting Rights Action Plan, which will help put an end to anti-voter laws in the Deep South and beyond.

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States have gone as far as permanently shutting down voting precincts in majority Black areas, restricting alternative voting methods such as vote-by-mail. Georgia even passed a law that prevents volunteers from distributing food and drink to  people waiting in long lines to cast their ballots.

We cannot afford to go back to the days of Jim Crow-style literacy tests, poll taxes and other barriers designed to keep Black and Brown people out of the voting booth. Before they were outlawed by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, literacy tests were implemented and designed to keep Black people away from the polls. While white applicants always seemed to get the easiest questions, or perhaps even none, Black applicants got the hardest.

You can see for yourself by taking our sample test here.

Bred out of hate, these tests were used as tactics to instill fear and intimidation and worked effectively to uphold white supremacist infrastructures.

For over 50 years, we’ve been leading the fight against hate and bigotry — tracking white supremacist groups, taking legal action against them and combating legislation designed to keep racist systems intact. Make a special gift to the SPLC today to empower us to ramp up our work when it’s needed most.

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We are working with partners and local nonprofits to conduct voter registration, education and outreach in Black and Brown communities, advocating at the state and federal level for real voter protections and fighting against felony disenfranchisement laws that keep people of color from casting their votes. 

Your gift plays an essential part in the fight against voter suppression. Since the founding of this country, people of color have fought hard battles to overcome systemic racism and disenfranchisement. While states in the South continue to enact voter suppression laws, we will keep standing strong and refuse to back down until all people can freely and fairly vote. 

Sincerely,

Your friends at the Southern Poverty Law Center

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