Is Voting Too Hard in the U.S.?

Americans face many obstacles when it comes to voting and it reflects in our voter turnout numbers. The process of getting registered and getting to the polls isn’t the same for everyone and depending on where you are it can make voting really hard and these hurdles can discourage people from voting altogether. So...is voting too hard in the U.S? Teachers: Check out the lesson plan. https://docs.google.com/document/d/14tFAauaT71oK0_rkoBX3rFA0wScMx_k4SqpJVVCW0To/ SUBSCRIBE so you never miss a video! https://bit.ly/3tNKzhV And follow us on Instagram and Twitter! https://www.instagram.com/abovethenoisepbs/ https://twitter.com/ATN_PBS **What Are Voter ID Laws?** The intention of voter ID laws is to make sure a voter is who they say they are and aren’t trying to impersonate someone else or vote multiple times. However, these laws are said to disproportionately affect elderly, minority, and low-income voters. According to the Brennan Center, about 11 percent of U.S. citizens, or roughly 21 million citizens, don’t have a government-issued photo ID. A total of 36 states have laws requesting or requiring voters to show some form of identification at the polls, 35 of which are in force in 2020. The remaining 14 states use other methods to verify the identity of voters but the list of acceptable IDs varies substantially from state to state. **What Are Poll Closures?** If you’ve seen long lines outside of polling places that may be caused by poll closures. This has been an increasing issue since the 2013 Supreme Court decision Shelby County v Holder which removed provisions to the Voters Rights Act that required states and cities with a history of discriminatory practices to get approval from the federal government before making changes to voting laws and since the decision, nearly 1700 polling places have closed across 13 states. **What Are Voter Purges?** Voter purges are the act of removing ineligible voter registrations from the rolls, it’s meant to clean up the voter list. This happens when elected officials do “maintenance” and remove names because they moved, passed away, or didn’t vote in a certain number of prior elections. However, what happens when these purges get rid of hundreds of thousands of eligible voters by deleting or removing them incorrectly without notice? Selected Sources https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/05/21/u-s-voter-turnout-trails-most-developed-countries/ https://www.aclu.org/news/civil-liberties/block-the-vote-voter-suppression-in-2020/ https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/07/poll-prri-voter-suppression/565355/ https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/03/us/politics/voting-suppression-elections.html https://www.heritage.org/voterfraud https://civilrights.org/democracy-diverted/ http://www.electproject.org/2016g https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/02/how-voter-id-laws-discriminate-study/517218/ https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/truth-about-voter-fraud TEACHERS: Get your students in the discussion on KQED Learn, a safe place for middle and high school students to investigate controversial topics and share their voices. https://learn.kqed.org/discussions/ About KQED KQED serves the people of Northern California with a public-supported alternative to commercial media. An NPR and PBS member station based in San Francisco, KQED is home to one of the most listened-to public radio stations in the nation, one of the highest-rated public television services, and an award-winning education program helping students and educators thrive in 21st-century classrooms. A trusted news source, leader, and innovator in interactive technology, KQED takes people of all ages on journeys of exploration — exposing them to new people, places, and ideas. Funding for KQED’s education services is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Koret Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the AT&T Foundation, the Crescent Porter Hale Foundation, the Silver Giving Foundation, Campaign 21 donors, and members of KQED. #votersuppression #votingrights #voterfraud #voting