(Resist) The US Department of Justice is Suing Georgia over a bill that was passed that made voting disproportionately harder for black people.

People of color have been fighting for equal voting rights for over a hundred years. After the civil war freed slaves, the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified, and gave equal citizenship to all men. Although they were granted citizenship, black people were still turned away at polls. Because of this, the 15th amendment was created. It was established in 1869 stating that  “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” However, new ways were continually being implemented to prevent black people from voting. This came in the form of literacy tests, poll taxes, intimidation, and the grandfather clause, which was fortunately abolished later on in 1915. The grandfather clause forbade anyone from voting unless their grandfather had voted. For descendants of slaves however, this was impossible.  
Many years later in 1964, thanks to the work of Martin Luther King jr, the 24th amendment was passed and got rid of poll taxes. In 1965, literacy tests were also banned in the Voting Rights Act. We’ll get back to this later. 153 years after the Fifteenth Amendment was passed, a new bill is trying to do everything possible to destroy these rights. 
This bill was passed in Georgia and made voting disproportionately harder for black people. The bill, signed by Republican Governor Brian Kemp, declared that the amount of time to request to vote by mail would be cut in half and make the voter identification rules tighter. It also stated that passing out food and drinks within 150 feet of the polls was prohibited. This law also limits voting resources by banning grants that would open up more polling places and makes voting after 9 pm much more challenging. On top of that, bans were put into place that would make the majority of out-of-precinct voting except for on election day from 5-7 pm. The bill went into effect in March of 2021, and a few months later in June, the United States Justice Department filed a lawsuit against it. 
The law came into place when section 4 of the voting rights act was overturned. Because section 5 cannot work without section 4, section 5 is no longer used either. Both of these sections protected people against discrimination in areas that had a history of disenfranchising African Americans. The Supreme court decided that there is no longer any need for the formula because it was outdated. 
Modern discrimination comes in the forms of Jerry meandering, voter identification laws, and not enough polling stations in certain neighborhoods. Fewer polls create longer lines, and longer lines may discourage people from voting because they simply do not have the time. This indirectly discriminates against areas of people of color who lose money from taking time off from work to wait in line for long hours to be able to vote.  
Discrimination has become increasingly subtle and it is up to everyone to look out for it and educate others on it.  Thank you for listening!!

Monica Dibello-Hitta

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