1. @srl and @kira_lerner are out with major stories today looking at how DOJ and local governments are transparently hiding behind federal anti-discrimination law to close polling places in minority communities.
Here's a short thread on why polling place closures really matter
Here's a short thread on why polling place closures really matter
2. Before Shelby County essentially destroyed Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, counties covered by the VRA looking to close polling places would need to get federal approval
3. Since Shelby County, precincts previously covered by federal preclearance under the Voting Rights Act have closed polling places in alarming numbers
4. A 2016 report studied 381 of the roughly 800 counties that were previously under preclearance. The study found that since Shelby County, 165 of those 381 counties—43 percent—have closed polling places since 2013. civilrightsdocs.info/pdf/reports/20…
5. Stunningly, these precincts alone have shuttered at least 868 (!) polling places since Shelby County came down five years ago
6. The closing of polling places has a really significant impact on how long it takes to vote. Stephen Pettigrew found that White voters waited 12 minutes to vote in 2012; the average wait time for Black voters in 2012 was MORE THAN TWICE that, at 25:46 minutes.
7. Similarly, voters in predominantly minority precincts experience lines to vote that are twice as long, on average, than voters in predominantly White precincts.
8. White precincts also have more poll workers and voting machines than do Black precincts—a major problem because these two resources constitute “[p]erhaps the most important factor in determining how long a line to expect,” according to Pettigrew.
9. And of course, the same wait time likely burdens the average voter of color more significantly than it does the average White voter because of the overlap between race and wealth.
10. A federal judge recently noted that Black voters are “less likely to be able to take time off of work, find childcare, and secure reliable transportation to the polls." Ohio Org. Collaborative v. Husted, 189 F. Supp. 3d 708, 732 (S.D. Ohio 2016)
11. By increasing the costs of voting, longer lines at polling places decrease turnout. Charles Stewart III & Stephen Ansolabehere have estimated that somewhere between 500,000-730,000 eligible voters did not vote EXPLICITLY because of long lines in 2012 (!)
12. In the ten precincts with the longest polling place lines in Florida in 2012, nearly 70 percent of the voters were Hispanic or Black motherjones.com/politics/2014/…
13. All of this is to say: polling place closures disproportionately increase the cost of voting for voters of color, which tanks turnout.
In short, when DOJ and local governments close polling places in minority communities, they are engaging in serious voter suppression.
In short, when DOJ and local governments close polling places in minority communities, they are engaging in serious voter suppression.
