By Abinaya Balaji
For decades, governments have found under-handed and illegal ways to stop certain minorities from voting in order to increase their chances of being elected again.
This is known as voter suppression.
Politicians use tactics that include but are not limited to: public policies, laws and deceptive practices. Voter suppression is illegal, even if it happens very often. Voter suppression comes in many forms, however it can be grouped into 3 categories: identification, discriminatory laws or public policies and issues around poll workers. During this post, we will primarily be focusing on identification, as it is the most common and widespread form of voter suppression.
In most states in the U.S and Canadian provinces you need some type of identification to register to vote. This is because when voting, the voter must prove he or she lives in the country and in order to prove this, you need to produce your name and address. The issue is that some states in the U.S will need you to produce alternate forms of identification and are stricter about whether it’s the right identification or not, which targets racialized communities. This is done under the guise of “election fraud” which doesn’t happen often—usually being a mistake on the voter’s part. It is also often the excuse used when government officials are trying to hide the fact that they are swaying the election. These states often ask for a utility bill, a recent bank statement, a property tax bill with the voter’s name and address AND a government issued form of photo ID to prove voter identification. Photo ID can include a driver’s license or a passport. The U.S State Department found that over 70% of people living in the United States don’t own a U.S passport, the majority of them being immigrants. For this reason racialized populations are targeted because the majority of these people don’t have most of this identification, which makes them ineligible to vote. A study found that people of colour were 20% less likely to own two or more forms of identification than white people. They were found to be 24% less likely to possess a recent bank statement, 18% less likely to own a utility bill and 11% less likely to produce a property tax bill with the voter’s name and current address on it.
In terms of Canada, allow me to introduce you to the Fair Elections Act of 2014 created by former Prime Minister, Stephen Harper. The point of this law was to reduce election fraud, which we’ve learned is an excuse to hide voter suppression. The Fair Elections Act called for people to have to use two pieces of voter ID; however, the voting ID given BY Elections Canada itself wasn't usable. In Canada, this targets the Indigenous peoples, a population that Canada has a long history with regarding their mistreatment and stripping of their culture. This is why many of them choose not to take part in “white man’s voting”. However, recently the Indigenous vote has become more important, with Indigenous candidates standing for seats in government in Manitoba and Alberta. The issue with voter identification still comes into play as the reserves that the Indigenous peoples live on don’t have traditional addresses, with many generations living under the same roof due to poverty and overcrowding. Vouching also played a very important part in getting the Indigenous vote because in Canada, you can get someone who is a resident of Canada to vouch for you. This was helpful to Indigenous peoples as they would get their chief to vouch for them at the voting station. However, with the Fair Elections Act this was removed. The Assembly of First Nations has stated that they believe the Indigenous peoples of Canada could affect the difference between having a majority or minority government. Even changing the political outcome in at least 51 ridings within Canada. However, with the suppression of Indigenous voters, it’s going to be almost impossible to rely on their vote.
Identification is the easiest way to strip minority voters of their right to vote, and because they often don’t have knowledge about their rights, these tactics work. The best way to fight against this is to know your rights. Knowing what you need to produce and when, will help in getting these communities to get their vote in. When it comes to laws like the Fair Elections Act going to court and getting these laws appealed is another way. As citizens, we have a lot of power to change our country. Voting is absolutely vital, and suppressing a minority doesn’t allow for equality among everyone. This just ends with minorities choosing not to vote because of the many barriers they face. As the Indigenous peoples of Canada say: why would they want to take part in “white man’s voting” if they aren’t even being heard?
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