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Georgia recently passed a series of laws restricting voting in the state. For example, the rules reduce the number of drop boxes where voters can cast ballots and forbid handing out food and water to people waiting in line to vote. The laws disproportionately affect minority communities. Other states are considering similar laws, and some see the trend as a deliberate effort to suppress voting among people of color. Listen to learn more about Georgia’s new voting restrictions, how they fit into U.S. history, and what they mean for voting rights in America.
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August 12, 2020
5:43
Congress passed the Voting Rights Act in 1965 to protect the right of every citizen to vote. It ensured that unfair tests for voters could be challenged in court and gave the federal government oversight over states with a history of voter suppression. In 2013, however, the Supreme Court decided that a key part of the Voting Rights Act could no longer be enforced. Listen to learn about this change in federal voter protections and why one expert believes it puts the legacy of voting rights activist John Lewis at risk.
Read MoreAugust 3, 2020
5:59
John Lewis, a celebrated civil rights leader and long-time member of Congress, has died. As a young man, Lewis fought courageously for racial justice alongside Martin Luther King, Jr., and others. Among other acts of nonviolent resistance, he led the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama in support of voting rights, where he was severely beaten and arrested. Lewis continued to champion issues of justice as a legislator, earning him the nickname, “the conscience of Congress.” Listen to learn more about the life of John Lewis and how his passion and commitment to racial equality has inspired lawmakers and citizens for generations.
Read MoreOctober 10, 2018
3:59
In some instances, voting laws cause confusion about who is eligible to vote. For example, laws about whether citizens with a felony record can vote vary from state to state. In addition, efforts to keep voting registration records accurate have sometimes mistakenly removed eligible voters from the list. Listen to learn how various legal barriers influence voting and hear about the experiences of some of the people who have encountered these obstacles.
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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