By Johanna Kaiser, Communications and Development Associate

One of the fundamental promises of America is that every person has a say in our government, and it is in the polling booth that this promise becomes a reality. For too long, however, Americans were denied their fundamental right to vote solely because of their race. Long after the passage of the 15th Amendment these denials continued in the form poll taxes, impossible literacy tests, and other dubious rules.

Finally, on August 6, 1965, after great progress and sacrifice by civil rights activists, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law, and made good on the promise that no American would be unjustly denied their right to cast a ballot. The landmark bill ensured black Americans across the country could register and vote without difficulty and prevented states with a history of discriminatory voting practices from falling back into their ways. 

But, 50 years later, the spirit of the law has been undermined. Voter ID laws, and cuts to early voting and same day registration have disproportionately disenfranchised minority voters as well as the elderly, students, persons with disabilities, and low-income and homeless individuals. From 2011 to 2012, 27 measures were passed or implemented in 19 states that make it harder to vote. The ACLU has been fighting these measures in states across the country, including Texas, North Carolina, and right here and Rhode Island. This fight was made much more difficult in 2013 when the U.S. Supreme Court gutted a vital portion of the Voting Rights Act that required federal approval of election law changes in certain states, but we are not giving up.

As we commemorate the Voting Rights Act and celebrate its undeniable impact, we continue to stand up for the spirit of the law and push for the repeal of voter suppression laws and a new measure to restore the federal protections needed to protect this the fundamental right to vote. 

Join the ACLU of RI on Wednesday, August 12,  at 6 p.m. at the Providence Public Library for a panel discussion with representatives from the NAACP-Providence Branch, RI Coalition for the Homeless, and the RI Disability Law Center to mark to learn about the challenges to voting rights we continue to fight right here in Rhode Island.