Research Guides: Current Issues: Voting Rights

Introduction & Background

Voting rights have never been straightforward or universal in the United States, and full effective enfrachisement has been a gradual shift over the past 200-odd years of our history). Even today there are issues of access and equity for voters. While most citizens have been recognized as having the right to vote, there is now debate about whether felons should have voting rights reinstated.

In 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down parts of the 1965 Voting Rights act, which has contributed to the reduced numbers of polling places.

Income and job types potentially create an unofficial class barrier to voting, based on who can get to the polls on Election Day, while lower-income areas are more likely to have fewer polling places (and therefore longer waits).

Voting by mail -- and the frequent specter of voter fraud -- has been an ongoing debate for the 2020 election.

Click the image to view larger, pdf version of timeline.

Finding Resources

Important terms and concepts that are part of the overall issue of voting rights will help you both explore the possibilities as well as give you some starting search terms.

Voting Rights Act of 1965
- de-powered by 2013 Supreme Court decision for Shelby County v. Holder
Voter ID laws
Voter registration
- some states automatically register voters with their driver license registration
Suffrage, enfranchisement
- Felons
Polling places, polls -- access, hours, locations, waiting times
- vote by mail restrictions
- voting districts and gerrymandering
Voter fraud -- the reason behind many restrictions
- Fraud includes voting multiple times, voting when prohibited (e.g. due to felony conviction), voting in someone else's name
Voter suppression -- the consequence (and sometimes intended goal) of tighter requirements for registration and reduced polling locations; voters are discouraged by the barriers and do not turn out to vote in elections

Selected Databases

Find deeper analysis from experts with this type of academic source. (Note: some databases, like Academic Search Complete, contain a mixture of source types: look for filters to limit to scholarly.)

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Complete historical full text of all issues of peer-reviewed journals in a wide range of humanities and social science fields. (pronounced jay-store)
Military & Government Collection (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Full-text journal articles and magazines on military and political topics, plus books, reports, government documents, etc.
Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Nearly 575 full-text publications, including some 550 peer-reviewed journals, in psychiatry, psychology, and related fields.
Academic Search Complete (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Multi-disciplinary database; full text of articles from over 5,300 journals, magazines and newspapers, plus image collections.

Which US states make it hardest to vote?
Article provides interactive map regarding states' stances on: voter ID laws, voter registration laws, felony disenfranchisement, and early voting.
Pew Research Center: Voting Issues
Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan fact tank, conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research.
US Census: Voting and Registration
Reports, visualizations, news, and data relating to voter registration and turnout.

EBSCO eBook Collection This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Search complete e-books. Read in browser, or create an account to download books to various devices.
Ebook Central This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Over 100,000 e-book titles covering a full range of academic topics. General reference works are also included.

Selected Titles

Minority Voting in the United States by Kyle L. Kreider (Editor); Thomas J. Baldino (Editor)
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Collection: EBSCO Ebook Collection (1 copy)
ISBN: 9781440830235
Published: 2015
This book explores the history of minority voting blocs and their influence on future American elections. As the white majority disappears and politics shift with the changing tide, it is important to understand the voting behaviors of the significant minority voting blocs in the United States. In addition to factual and historical information about the minority voting blocs, chapters also explore how Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, felon disenfranchisement laws, and voter ID laws impact a minority group's voting rights. Finally, the authors and contributors anticipate which issues are likely to influence each group's voters and affect future elections.
The Politics of Voter Suppression: Defending and Expanding Americans' Right to Vote by Tova Andrea Wang
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Collection: Ebook Central
ISBN: 9780801466038
Published: 2012
Wang examines the history of how U.S. election reforms have been manipulated for partisan advantage and establishes a new framework for analyzing current laws and policies. The tactics that have been employed to suppress voting in recent elections are not novel, she finds, but rather build upon the strategies used by a variety of actors going back nearly a century and a half. This continuity, along with the shift to a Republican domination of voter suppression efforts for the past fifty years, should inform what we think about reform policy today. Wang argues that activities that suppress voting are almost always illegitimate, while reforms that increase participation are nearly always legitimate.
Reforming the Electoral Process in America by Brian L. Fife
- This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Collection: Ebook Central
ISBN: 9780313372278
Published: 2010
Author Brian L. Fife situates our current plight in the context of the growth of democracy, from the Founding Fathers through the Jackson era, the enfranchisement of blacks after the Civil War, women's suffrage, and the Voting Rights Act of the 1960s. He reflects on the work of the Framers as it pertains to voting and elections, compares voting laws and voter turnout in the various states, and offers an analysis of the impact of money in American elections. Ultimately, Fife proposes a blueprint for reform that includes national same-day voter registration, elimination of punch card and mechanical voting machines, reconsideration of felons' voting rights, regional primaries, and the abolition of the Electoral College.

Government

USA.gov | Voting and Elections
Explore topics relating to voting, including eligibility, registration, voter laws, and the election process.
Dept. of Justice Voting Section
The Voting Section enforces the civil provisions of the federal laws that protect the right to vote, including the Voting Rights Act, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, the National Voter Registration Act, the Help America Vote Act and the Civil Rights Acts.
Congress.gov ("voting")
Link goes to search results for "voting" to show what bills have been proposed relating to this issue. Adjust the search as needed to find full-text bills and their progress through Congress.
LBJ Presidential Library: Voting Rights Act
The LBJ Presidential Library has collected photos, videos, audio, and text materials related to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. All are public domain.

Recent Headlines via Google News

About This Page

This page was originally developed by Elaine Patton, Betty Rugh, and Stephanie DeLeon.

First published: Summer 2020