Thread by @vanitaguptaCR

BREAKING: @civilrightsorg’s sister org just released a major new voting rights report. The analysis found 1,688 polling place closures in areas with a history of voting discrimination that were formerly covered by Section 5 of the VRA. democracydiverted.org #DemocracyDiverted

@civilrightsorg The report also analyzes polling place reductions in the years between the 2014 and 2018 midterm elections. It found 1,173 fewer polling places in 2018 – despite a significant increase in voter turnout. #DemocracyDiverted

@civilrightsorg The Shelby County v. Holder ruling paved the way for systematic statewide efforts to reduce polling places in TX, AZ, and GA. Quieter efforts to reduce the number of polling places without clear notice or justification spread throughout LA, MS, AL, NC, and AK. #DemocracyDiverted

@civilrightsorg The analysis also found that South Carolina is unique among southern states in that it has state laws for polling place changes. Despite barriers to voting in other contexts, South Carolina has closed relatively few polling places since Shelby County v. Holder. #DemocracyDiverted

@civilrightsorg While there are justifiable reasons for closing polling places, the sheer scale of closures identified since Shelby County v. Holder, coupled with other, more nakedly racially discriminatory actions to deny voting rights to people of color, demand a response. #DemocracyDiverted

@civilrightsorg Here's one conclusion: Congress MUST restore the Voting Rights Act, reactivate Section 5, and strengthen its other provisions that require elected officials to seek the input of communities of color and provide notice of any polling place change for any reason. #DemocracyDiverted

@civilrightsorg Failure to do so will only lead to more of the same: a democracy for some, but not for all.

Read our sister organization’s report – #DemocracyDiverted: Polling Place Closures and the Right to Vote – here: bit.ly/PollClosures