In two weeks, the nation will express its political will in the midterm elections of 2014. Unfortunately, this election cycle, similar to previous ones in American history, features discourse related to African American voter suppression.
Dating back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries, such devices as “Grandfather Clauses,” literacy tests, poll taxes and threats of physical violence were regularly employed to minimize African American participation in the political process. In 1965, Congress passed the historic Voting Rights Act, which abolished such obstacles to black suffrage.
In 2013, to the dismay of many, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of Shelby County v. Holde, undermined a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. It terminated the requirement that some states, particularly in the South, had to receive Justice Department approval before they could change their voting laws.
Predictably, this has generated a flurry of activity in states that have Republican-controlled legislatures and large African American populations. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, since the 2010 midterm elections, 22 states have passed new voting restrictions. In all of these locales, such decisions are being contested in court.
Considering the high stakes associated with the 2014 midterm elections, including their determining which political party will control the U.S. Senate, the next two weeks will be interesting, to say the least.
