This documentary is about voter suppression in the United States that affects the young, low-income, elderly, and voters with disabilities. The fight to cast a ballot in U.S. elections continues today. The purpose of the documentary project is to expose racially motivated voter laws, such as requiring photo I.D. to request a mail-in ballot and early voting cutbacks.
Why the Documentary is Needed Now
Several states have enacted or advanced bills that would make it harder to vote since the 2020 election.
According to a new report issued by the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, state lawmakers have enacted nearly two dozen laws since the 2020 election that restrict ballot access, The Brenan Center identified 19 laws enacted in 14 state legislatures. Most of the new laws make it harder to vote absentee by mail after a record number of Americans voted by mail in the November 2020 election. In addition to the new regulations, the Brennan Center’s May 2021 report identified 61 bills advancing through 18 state legislatures. More than half of the 61 advancing bills target absentee and mail-in voting. About a quarter include statements that target voter I.D. requirements and voter roll purges. The dark orange color represents states where restrictive voting bills have been enacted into law.
The map below shows states that have enacted or advanced bills that would make it harder to vote since the 2020 election. The orange color represents states where restrictive voting bills have been enacted into law The yellow color denotes states where restrictive voting bills have advanced in the legislature but have not yet passed both chambers.
Reference,
Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law. May 2021
Voter suppression is nothing new in America. Since the first elections, it has been a part of the nation’s fabric, when only white, land-owning men over 21 were allowed to vote. Then, after the Civil War, when African Americans were given the right to vote, racially motivated registration regulations of poll taxes and literacy tests were used to make it harder for them to register to vote.
The newer voter laws have led to significant burdens for eligible voters trying to exercise their most fundamental constitutional right. Since 2008, states across the country have passed measures to make it harder for Americans—particularly black people, the elderly, students, and people with disabilities—to exercise their fundamental right to cast a ballot.
In addition to these new voter laws and bills, other challenges to voting exist. For example, in Georgia, thousands of voters waited hours to cast their ballot during early voting. Many attribute the long wait to voter enthusiasm, but other factors - like a limited number of polls, understaffing, or computer glitches - have also been blamed.
In Nevada, members of the Pyramid Lake Paiutes drive almost 100 miles round trip to get to the closest early voting location. In Arizona, a lawsuit filed by members of the Navajo Nation asked for extra time to get postal votes in because there is just one post office every 707 square miles.
A survey conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that black voters waited, on average, 16 minutes in line during the 2016 election, while white voters only waited 10 minutes. And long lines disproportionately affect wage workers; many don’t get paid time off to vote.
Voting Rights in the U.S.
are Under Attack
Americans’ access to the vote is in unprecedented peril. But Congress can protect it. The “For the People Act,” recently passed by the House of Representatives, is awaiting action in the Senate. The Act would block many of the state-level restrictions that have been or may soon be enacted into law.
