In the US, the right to vote is one of the country’s most cherished and hard-fought rights. But it doesn’t mean that everyone has equal access to the polls. In 2013 the Supreme Court struck down a key civil rights provision of the Voting Rights Act. This November will be the first presidential election in 50 years where voters will not have the full protection of the original law.
In second installment of Making Contact’s Immigrants and Elections series, we explore some of the barriers immigrants and other historically disenfranchised voters face in gaining access to the polls.
Featuring:
Nse Ufot, Executive Director of New Georgia Project; Maria Rodriguez, Executive Director of Florida Immigrant Coalition; Marco Ponce, active supporter of Proposition N; Sandra Lee Fewer, San Francisco Unified School District Commissioner; Matt Haney, President of the Board of Education of San Francisco; Eric Mar, San Francisco County Supervisor; Aracelia Becerra, recently naturalized US citizen; Leonardo Aromin, founder of the Filipino American Journal; Samantha Pstross, Executive Director of Arizona Advocacy Network; Vic Reid, civic engagement manager for Asian Pacific Community in Action.
The Oyez Project (Special thanks to the Oyez Project for
A Closer Look at Voter ID laws Across the US:
Jurisdictions Previously Covered by Section 5
The New Georgia Project
Florida Immigrant Coalition
Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library