To the Point
Voter Suppression and November’s Elections
Voting may be the lynchpin of democracy, but it’s not a right guaranteed by the Constitution. The Founding Fathers set the stage for the dirty tricks and legal discrimination we see today.
By Warren Olney • • 36m ListenAmerica’s constitutional democracy began by restricting voting rights to property-owning white men. As the “privilege” has expanded for 200 years, so have efforts to limit turnout and manipulate outcomes. Voter ID, purges and closure of polling places target African Americans, Latinos and college students. Congressional district boundaries have been drawn to favor one party over the other.
Warren Olney
former KCRW broadcaster
Andrea Brody
Senior Producer, KCRW's Life Examined and To the Point podcast
Colin Campbell
News and Observer
Carol Anderson
Professor of African American Studies at Emory University and author of “One Person No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy.”
Allan Lichtman
American University; author of “The Embattled Vote in America: From the Founding to the Present"