61 Forms of Voter Suppression

By Barbara R. Arnwine
President & Founder Transformative Justice Coalition
Author, 2011 Voting Rights Map of Shame

1. Strict voter photo ID laws

2. Closing of DMV’s in strict voter ID law states

3. Failure to accept government-issued state university and college student ID’s

4. No early voting

5. Early voting cuts

6. No Sunday Souls to the Polls Early Voting

7. Harsh requirements/punishments for voter registration groups

8. Tough Deputy Registrar Requirements

9. Harsh voter registration Compliance Deadlines

10. Failure to timely process voter registrations

11. Cuts to Election Day (Same Day) registration

12. Polling place reductions or consolidations

13. Polling place relocations

14. Inadequate or poorly trained staffing at polls

15. Inadequate number of functioning machines, optical scanners or electronic polling books

16. Running out of ballots at polling sites

17.No paper ballots

18.Failure to accept Native American tribal IDs.

19. Barring Native American voters through residential address requirements for Native American lands which have PO Boxes

20. Failure to place polling sites on Native American lands

21. Refusal to place polling sites on college campuses

22. Lack of available public transportation to polling sites

23. Excessive Voter purging

24. Disparate racial treatment at polling sites

25. Student voting restrictions

• Residency

26. Ex-felon disenfranchisement laws

27. Requiring Payment of Fines or Fees As Condition of Vote Restoration

28. Failure to Inform Formerly Incarcerated Persons of Their Voting Rights or Eligibility to Vote

29. Excessive Use of Inactive voter lists

30.No Public Outreach or Notification to Voters Placed on Inactive Lists

31. Language discrimination

• Failure to accommodate

32. Lack of language-accessible materials

33. Failure to accommodate voters with disabilities

34. No disability accessibility

35. No curbside Voting

36. Not enough disability accessible voting equipment

37. Barriers to assistance by family members or others for voters

38. Deceptive practices

• Flyers

• Robocalls

39. Voter intimidation

• Impersonating law enforcement personnel or immigration officers

40. Police at polling places

41. Racial gerrymandering

42. Creating polling place confusion by splitting Black precincts

43. Partisan gerrymandering

44. Barriers for homeless voters to voter registration

45. Voter caging

• Use of One-Time Post cards/Mailers

46. Voter challengers at polls

47. Voter challenges to voter registration lists

48. Use of Suspense lists

49. Absentee Ballot Short Return Deadlines

50. Exact match requirements for signatures or other information

51. Complicated Absentee Ballot Requirements

52. Proof of Citizenship Laws

53.Out-of-precinct = no vote counted requirements

54. Failure to pre-register 17 year olds

55. Restrictions on straight-party voting

56. Interstate voter registration Crosscheck system

57. Jailed persons’ preconviction: denied right to register and/or vote

58. DOJ demanding voter records

59. Employers not providing time off or enough time

60. Failure to assist or accommodate voters displaced by natural disasters

61. Long lines

© 2019 Barbara Arnwine. All rights reserved.