RIGGED by DESIGN: The Architecture of Voter Suppression
 
MAY 13, Doors open 10:30am
Voter suppression is any attempt to prevent or discourage specific groups of Americans from registering to vote or casting their ballots. The worst forms — poll taxes and literacy tests — no longer exist but voting advocates argue that suppression has simply evolved rather than disappeared. Restrictive voting laws include measures such as tough photo ID and proof of citizenship requirements, limits on voting hours, early voting and mail-in ballots, aggressive voter roll purges and restrictions on voter registration drives. Some argue these laws protect election integrity, but the League believes they disproportionately burden low-income voters, racial minorities, the elderly and young voters — groups that are less likely to have required documents. Redistricting and gerrymandering redraw electoral maps in ways that pack minority voters into a single district to limit their broader influence or spread them across districts to dilute their collective power. The result can be that millions of votes carry significantly less weight than others. These tactics raise the question of whether the rules governing who can vote — and how much that vote counts — reflect the will of the people … or those who seek political power.