Make Voting Great Again
Critical Analysis
In the 2018 American midterm elections, was it harder for Whites or Nonwhites to vote?
What story does the data tell about race and voting?
Why do you think that is?
Based on the data and in the chart and the current administration’s attitudes about voting access what do you predict voting will be like for people of color in the 2020 presidential election?
What would be some specific steps the government could take to combat these voting problems?
Imagine that you are testifying before the House Oversight and reform committee (the House committee overseeing elections) on ways to make voting easier, what would be the first step you would recommend we take?
My Ancient U.S. House Representative and professional grandmother, Virginia Foxx (NC 05) is a member of the House Oversight and reform committee. Considering that she is a republican and the chair of the committee is Democratic, how much power will she have to influence policy coming out of this committee?
Carolyn Maloney (NY 12) who is not quite so ancient is the chair of the House Oversight and reform committee. What are some specific powers she has as chair that will help her advance her agenda?
The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, created in 1957 by the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans. List two specific things they can do to ensure the voting rights of Americans:
In 2013, in Shelby v. Holder the Supreme Court ruled Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act unconstitutional, and said that states no longer need the Justice Department’s pre-clearance (pre-approval) to alter voting rules or enforcement. Explain whether there is a connection between that ruling and the data in the chart above?
The U.S. Constitution does not EVER use the word Democracy. NOT ONCE. Make a claim about what the framers of the Constitution would have said about the current difficulty of voting for some Americans.
In federalist No. 10, James Freaking Madison wrote, “Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security, or the rights of property; have in general been as short in their lives as they are violent in their deaths.” Explain whether James Madison sounds like a strong advocate of democracy here. (Fun Fact: Did you know that James Madison’s grandfather’s slaves poisoned him to death?! It’s true!)
Visual Extension
Learning Extension
Download and read the entire PRRI report on voting and the crisis in American Democracy.
Action Extension
The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice has a form to report voting violations. SHare this form with anyone who is 18 or older and eligible to vote.
