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Day 10: Transportation, Ableism & The Elderly – Countdown to November 3rd | Reflections on Voter Access

10 Days Remaining Although mail-in ballots have been incredibly beneficial to improving voter access, many citizens that prefer to vote in-person face barriers. In order to exercise the right to go to the polls and physically cast a ballot, one needs to be able to get there. Transportation access is a real issue for some […]

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Day 11: Felony Voting Rights – Countdown to November 3rd | Reflections on Voter Access

11 Days Remaining  It is well known that the United States has a prison crisis. As of 2016, there were 2.3 million people incarcerated in this country. This number just applies to those that were actually in prison. There is a whole percentage of the population that has already served their sentence that have been […]

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Day 12: Absentee Voting – Countdown to November 3rd | Reflections on Voter Access

12 Days Remaining In 1986, Congress enacted the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, more commonly referred to as UOCAVA. This act provides the legal basis for absentee voting for overseas citizens. What this means is that the right to vote is not suspended when citizens make the sacrifice to serve in the armed […]

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Day 14: Selma & the Voting Rights Act of 1965 – Countdown to November 3rd | Reflections on Voter Access

14 Days Remaining Our other countdown posts have tried to productively emphasize how the experiment of democracy in America has coincided with oppression, injustice, and exclusivity. As old as the United States itself is the idea of allowing the vote to some, but not all, people in the country. It is important to note that […]

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Day 15: Accessibility – Countdown to November 3rd | Reflections on Voter Access

15 Days Remaining Yesterday’s blog post talked about Congress’ efforts toward increasing accessibility for voters with limited English proficiency. It is only appropriate that we address other forms of accessibility that have hindered voter participation throughout history.  In 1984, Congress passed the federal Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act, which “requires accessible polling […]

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Day 16: Minority Provisions – Countdown to November 3rd | Reflections on Voter Access

16 Days Remaining The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was amended 10 years after its passage. The amendment contained many important provisions that made voting more accessible to the United States diverse population. One of the most valuable sections of the revised legislation was Section 203, which provides: “Whenever any State or political subdivision [covered […]

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Day 17: Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act – Countdown to November 3rd | Reflections on Voter Access

17 Days Remaining December 17th, 1943: “Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the . . . Acts or parts of Acts relating to the exclusion or deportation of persons of the Chinese race are hereby repealed…” In the midst of the […]

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Day 18: Countdown to November 3rd | Reflections on Voter Access

18 Days Remaining: Citizenship has always been a topic fraught with complications, especially from a U.S. perspective. Even now, citizenship is a topic that dominates the political sphere as well as tense conversations at the dinner table. Controversies surrounding citizenship, or lack thereof, are regularly catalysts for movements of all different kinds. Often lacking in […]