A 🧵:
7 years ago, in a 5-4 decision, #SCOTUS handed down Shelby Co. v. Holder, effectively gutting the Voting Rights Act. Since we’re in the “most unprecedented election year,” let’s talk about voting rights and fighting voter suppression. #VRA #ShelbyCountyvHolder 1/X
7 years ago, in a 5-4 decision, #SCOTUS handed down Shelby Co. v. Holder, effectively gutting the Voting Rights Act. Since we’re in the “most unprecedented election year,” let’s talk about voting rights and fighting voter suppression. #VRA #ShelbyCountyvHolder 1/X
100 years post-Civil War, the VRA guaranteed the right to vote for Black folx. VRA became the most important piece of civil rights legislation that century and one of the transformational laws in history. 2/X
VRA suspended literacy tests, authorized Dept of Justice to file lawsuits to challenge poll taxes, sent federal observers to monitor elections, and, VRA§5 forced states w/ the worst history of discrimination to clear electoral changes with the fed govt. 3/X
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(Those were all racist laws passed by legislatures to keep Black folx from voting. The reason those in power suppress the right to vote is to hold on to that very power and keep The People from being autonomous.) 4/X
(Those were all racist laws passed by legislatures to keep Black folx from voting. The reason those in power suppress the right to vote is to hold on to that very power and keep The People from being autonomous.) 4/X
Since 1965, DOJ and fed courts had stopped more than 3000 discriminatory voting laws / rules from taking effect under VRA§, which gave the fed govt the power to preemptively block voting restrictions. 5/X
Prior to early-2010s and with the VRA, voting rights trended toward justice. At the federal level, we saw passage of the Motor Voter Act (1993), Help America Vote Act (2002), and the VRA was reauthorized in 2006. 6/X
The fight over voting rights intensified after @BarackObama's election in 2008. After President Obama won, 395 new voting restrictions were introduced in 49 states from 2011-2015. 7/X
Then, in 2013: Shelby Co. v. Holder. SCOTUS held that VRA§4(b), which enables §5 (requiring preclearance) is unconstitutional. Court stated that VRA imposes burdens that are no longer responsive to the current conditions in the voting districts in question. 8/X #ShelbyCo
In other words, Court says: C'mon! It's been 40 years! Racism is dead and the states who were required to meet the §5 preclearance standard would never pass racially discriminatory laws.
(🙄🙄🙄) 9/X
(🙄🙄🙄) 9/X
Post-Shelby, more than 500 bills creating new obstacles to voting appeared. What does voter suppression look like now? Look no further than the primaries of the last few months in WI, OH, GA, and KY. 10/X
To get specific, we’re talking about roll purges, voter ID bills, closed precincts, moved precincts that require over an hour on a bus to reach, cuts to early vote - and that’s just the beginning. 11/X
When you saw this video of voters locked out of their polling place in KY on Tuesday, were you shocked that all these voters were Black? I wasn't. You shouldn't be. 12/X
We can change the tide though - electorally at the ballot box and through advocacy work. 13/x
VOTE.
Vote down-ballot.
Look at secretaries of state, attorneys general, state legislators, and figure out who administers elections in your state AND your county.
VOTE for the individuals who want to uphold the right to vote, not suppress it. 14/X
Vote down-ballot.
Look at secretaries of state, attorneys general, state legislators, and figure out who administers elections in your state AND your county.
VOTE for the individuals who want to uphold the right to vote, not suppress it. 14/X
If no one inspires you on the ballot, have you considered running for office? You should. Do it. Or someone who wants to take away your right to vote will. @runforsomething can help you get under way. 15/X
After you’ve figured out who to vote for, call / email / text / stand outside the office of the people who administer your elections. Tell them that you want to vote safely this November. You want - and need - vote by mail AND safe in-person voting options. 16/X
Why safe in-person voting too? Because VBM doesn’t work for all communities - those experiencing homelessness, young people, BIPOC communities, and the elderly. 17/X
Also make sure you’re registered to vote. Do this now and do check again 6 weeks out from Election Day. Seriously, it takes 30 seconds. vote.org/am-i-registere… 18/X
Figure out what it will take to cast a ballot by mail. Note: not every one can VBM in their state!
Do you have to apply? How do you apply? Are you eligible to VBM or is it only a subset of the population that can? Get this information early! 19/X
Do you have to apply? How do you apply? Are you eligible to VBM or is it only a subset of the population that can? Get this information early! 19/X
And if you have to go or are committed to voting in person, make sure you take a mask!
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Oh, and if you wanna read more: The March series by @johnlewis, One Person, No Vote @profcanderson , Give Us the Ballot @ariberman
