Last month, the Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative, a coalition of national racial justice and civil rights organizations that includes Race Forward, released the groundbreaking voting rights report “We Vote, We Count”. Gathered via “People’s Hearings” in select states over several months in 2019, the report centers the voices of people of color and describes accounts of voter interference.
The report details first hand accounts of voter suppression, through stories collected during hearings held in several cities, as well as via listening sessions by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on House Administration. The report also features national court cases, and submissions collected via WeVoteWeCount.org, a website where voters were able to share their experiences facing interference at the polls, difficulties registering to vote, and other barriers to participating in the electoral process.
In 2013, the Shelby County v. Holder decision ruled a part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which compels states to get their voting rules approved by the federal government, unconstitutional. Since that ruling, several states have instituted restrictive voting measures that unfairly target and impact communities of color.
The report also includes recommendations for mitigating voter discrimination. The proposed solutions underscore the complex intersection between race, ethnicity, socioeconomic circumstances and access to the ballot. Some of the solutions include expanding same-day voting and registration, enhancing language accessibility at polling locations, and honoring federal treaties with Native American tribes and nations, among others.
With the United States Census and a presidential election happening in 2020, it is critical that we fight back against voter discrimination, and ensure communities of color have voting access.
To learn more about the Racial Equity Anchor Collaborative or to share stories of voter interference, please visit WeVoteWeCount.org. Join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #WeVoteWeCount.
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