Thread by @lexaxtina

Heard on @cafedotcom Insider with @PreetBharara and @AnneMilgram that the voter turnout in this election is expected to be the highest since 1908. Here's who couldn't vote in 1908. THREAD 1/14

Women. 19th amendment passed in 1920 granting equal access to the polls for #womenvoters. 2/14

Native Americans. The Indian Citizenship Act passed in 1924 granting #citizenship for all Native Americans (that's some audacity that the original inhabitants of this land were not citizens🤨). Some western states still didn't fully allow Native Americans voting until 1948. 3/14

Chinese immigrants granted access to citizenship, and therefore voting rights, through the Magnuson Act of 1943. 4/14

In 1961, residents of the NATION'S CAPITOL are allowed to vote in presidential elections thanks to the 23rd Amendment to the Constitution. 5/14

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (upheld entirely for almost 50 years) made landmark moves in voter protections for minorities who, though technically allowed to vote previously, had faced widespread #disenfranchisement due to voter discrimination (ahem, Jim Crow laws). 6/14

Adults aged 18-20 were allowed the right to vote in 1971 thanks to the 26th Amendment enacted during the Vietnam War when people protested if they were old enough to be drafted to fight in a war for their country, they were old enough to #VOTE. 7/14

Former felons, who now based on numerous states passing legislation to restore voting rights since 1996 can now vote again. Many states continue to permanently ban anyone with a felony conviction from voting for life. 8/14

And while technically most Americans enjoy the right to vote, it is tragic to see so many states, jurisdictions, and the President's campaign try to suppress free and fair access to voting. 9/14

No eligible American should have to stand in line for hours, drive to a single drop-off location in a massive county, or have a correctly completed ballot mailed by election day not count. 10/14

Republicans claim to be fighting voter fraud. The conservative @Heritage documents 1,298 cases of voter fraud in ALL American elections (including local elections) since 1979. Do you know how many millions of votes were cast during that time? 11/14 heritage.org/voterfraud

It is laughable to believe they think these measures are designed to protect #election integrity. They're designed to keep eligible Americans from voting, especially those in impoverished and often racial minority communities. 12/14

One of the things I'm most troubled about regarding Amy Coney Barrett's nomination is the insistence that her conservative values stem from an #originalist reading of the Constitution. As this thread shows, the founders didn't get it all correct. 13/14

Please #VOTE. Stand in line for hours if you have to. I'll be a poll official in Arlington Co and proudly casting my ballot next Tuesday for @JoeBiden/@KamalaHarris because I believe they can work towards a more free, fair, civil and hopeful future for all. 14/x #Election2020

@threadreaderapp unroll