Derivative of Image by Laura LaRose licensed under CC BY 2.0
Interest in the upcoming midterm elections is higher than it has been in a long time, yet many Americans who are eligible to vote do not do so. More people tend to vote when there is a presidential race on the ballot. However, elections between those races (called midterms), which include important Congressional races, also have a significant impact on the lives of Americans. Listen to hear why some Americans who are able to vote have chosen not to cast a ballot and what that may mean for the election outcomes.
Story Length: 6:45
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April 27, 2018
3:56
Youth organizers want the voting age lowered to 16. There have been some successes and some setbacks in this effort. People who want to keep the voting age at 18 cite issues with maturity and think this might support Democrats only, however 50 percent of millennials self-identify as political independents. Other say that many issues affect 16 and 17 year olds, so they should be allowed to vote on them. Listen to hear from a youth advisory board member for Vote16USA and then debate: Should the voting age be lowered?
Read MoreFebruary 23, 2016
2:53
As we head into Women’s History month in March, one woman stands out as an early pioneer for women’s rights, Susan B. Anthony. Her birthday is remembered this month, but she is known for a November day in 1872, when she and other women registered to vote. When Anthony attempted to vote, she was arrested and convicted of the crime of illegal voting. She was also an anti-slavery activist and joined forces with abolitionist Frederick Douglass in Rochester, New York. Although it wasn’t legal for women to vote until 1920, Susan B. Anthony led the campaign to for women’s suffrage. Listen to hear more about her legacy as an advocate for women’s rights in the United States.
Read MoreMarch 26, 2015
5:00
In the U.S. all voters are required to cast their ballots in the district that’s been assigned to them by their state legislature. The state has the power to create and change legislative districts. In some states legislative districts look like jigsaw puzzles, created to increase the chance that the party in power remains in power. This process is called gerrymandering. Some states are fighting this practice by creating independent commissions to control redistricting. One case has risen to the U.S. Supreme court, where the constitutionality of independent commissions is being challenged.
Read MoreMarch 10, 2015
7:16
Fifty years ago, a bloody confrontation on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama exposed the nation to the racial injustice and brutality of the American South. This event paved the way for the Voting Rights Act of 1965, forcing all municipalities to allow black residents to register to vote. Listen to learn more about this historic event in the Civil Rights Movement from people who participated in Bloody Sunday.
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