Voting and Civil Rights: 2000-2006

2000

Voter Suppression is the imposition of new laws and rules that require voters to show specific forms of identification in order to vote. Proof-of-citizenship requirements, rules mandating that registration applications be sealed, and identification requirements pose a special burden to the approximately 12% of voting-age Americans – mainly the poor, racial minorities, senior citizens and students – who do not have a driver’s license.

Arizona

Proposition 200 requires citizens to present proof-of-citizenship documents in order to register to vote. Such documents include driver’s licenses, birth certificates, and passports. Voter applications have been rejected bases on Proposition 200’s restrictions.

California

Irrational requirements for matching new voter names to existing state databases resulted in numerous voter registrations being rejected.

Florida

In 2006 a new Florida law is passed that restricts the activities of voter registration groups. This law requires third-party voter registration groups to meet unusually short deadlines for the return of forms and imposes large fines.

Georgia

2006 restrictive registration rules require groups registering voters to accept only sealed voter registration applications and prohibit the copying of such forms. These rules prevent them from reviewing applications to make sure they are filled out correctly, and the rules also hinder "getting out the vote” efforts which aimed at increasing the voter turnout in one or more elections.

Ohio

In early June of 2006, the Secretary of State issued guidelines, which made it difficult for nonpartisan groups to carry out their work, hire and train voter registration workers. The guidelines expose voter registration workers to felony charges for making mistakes, diminishing registrations of young people, first-time voters, racial minorities, poor people, and new citizens by preventing efforts to register these potentially eligible voters.

Texas

The U.S. Representative for Texas has suggested implementing literacy tests and English-only ballots, despite the existence of a federal law requiring minority language ballots at the polls.

Indiana, Pennsylvania, Georgia, & Arizona

Since the 2002 passage of the federal Help America Vote Act, state legislatures have passed new voter identification rules that would exclude thousands of elderly and poor voters who do not have drivers' licenses or passports.