Nearly 100 Million Eligible Americans Didn’t Vote In 2016. Why Not? (The 1A)

For many people, voting is viewed as the foundation of American democracy. People fought and died for the right to cast a ballot. And some are still fighting to protect that right to this day. But almost 100 million eligible Americans didn’t vote in 2016.

While voting access has grown since women’s suffrage and the Civil Rights movement, the proportion of eligible voters to ballots cast has remained moderate. Despite being eligible to vote, voter turnout in presidential elections hasn’t cracked over 60 percent in more than 50 years.

The reason might be a combination of disenfranchisement, long lines, complicated mail-in-ballots, and even suppression. But that still doesn’t fully explain the politically disengaged that have eluded researchers for decades. So what gives?

We’re talking about why people don’t vote and what’s on their minds.
Interview:
https://the1a.org/segments/why-americans-dont-vote/

Civil death: how millions of Americans lost their right to vote

Voter disenfranchisement is an American tradition – we look at the historical roots of civil death https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/07/americans-voting-rights-disenfranchisement

Texas Supreme Court vote-by-mail decision could disenfranchise millions amid pandemic - Vox

Voters under age 65 could potentially be disenfranchised. https://www.vox.com/2020/5/29/21273063/texas-supreme-court-vote-by-mail-ruling-coronavirus-pandemic

Trump’s call to revert vote totals in Florida makes less sense than you might think - The Washington Post: Analysis

It's unenforceable rhetoric based on an incorrect assumption that would disenfranchise the military -- and lots of Republicans. ....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/11/12/trumps-call-revert-vote-totals-florida-makes-even-less-sense-than-you-might-think/

Robert Reich: Jim Crow Is Making a Furious Comeback | Alternet

The former secretary of labor warns hundreds of thousands are being disenfranchised....
https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/robert-reich-jim-crow-making-furious-comebackw

Two big problems with American voting have nothing to do with Russian hacking -- Business Insider

Voters look over their ballots at a fire station while a crew leaves on an emergency call during the U.S. presidential election in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., November 8, 2016. Beside the Russian hacking, the American voting system also suffers from gerrymandering and voter disenfranchisment. Politicians have systematically drawn districts to weaken the power of their opponent's party. ....
https://theconversation.com/two-big-problems-with-american-voting-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-russian-hacking-86889

Longtime Republican consultant: if black people voted Republican, voter ID laws wouldn't happen

He explained that the new wave of voting restrictions is about disenfranchising black voters, not stopping voter fraud....
http://www.vox.com/2016/9/2/12774066/voter-id-laws-racist

Wisconsin's Voter ID Law Is Back In Court Following Election Day Woes

In Tuesday’s primary election, Wisconsin saw its highest voter turnout in decades, leading Gov. Scott Walker (R) to boast that it’s “easy to vote” in his state. But many voters were burdened or disenfranchised by the state’s newly-implemented and poorly publicized voter ID law, which disproportionately impacts the state’s low-income voters of color....
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/04/08/3766577/wisconsin-voting-problems/