In 1965 Congress enacted the Voting Rights Act to combat discriminatory election procedures that denied Black Americans their right to vote. A key aspect of the law was Section 4, which consisted of a formula that outlined states and localities subject to preclearance from the federal government prior to enacting any new legislation concerning their respective election procedures. The formula included two elements intended to determine the most egregious states and localities subject to preclearance: “whether, on November 1, 1964, the state or a political subdivision of the state maintained a "test or device" restricting the opportunity to register and vote” and “if the Director of the Census determined that less than 50 percent of persons
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The Traditionalist culture is defined by its lack in emphasis on both the marketplace and the commonwealth. Traditionalists believe the purpose of government “is to maintain the existing social and economic hierarchy.” Society’s elite are expected and almost obligated to run, while the common citizen is “not expected to participate in political affairs or even to vote.” The Traditionalist political culture lends itself most easily to the passage of stringent voter ID laws. In order to maintain the political power of the social elite, discriminatory and disenfranchising laws will eliminate minority and ordinary citizens from the list of possible voters. The potential voters who would be enfranchised by less stringent voter ID laws are more likely to form a coalition against the political elite and are therefore a threat that must be neutralized by means of voter ID …show more content…
As seen in Appendix 2 the majority of states to enact these new laws are in the south and the Midwest with the only outliers being New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Southern states are significantly more likely to have a population of white citizens below the national average of 79% as seen in Appendix 4. In addition, they are also more likely to have had a slower growth rate in gross domestic product (GDP) at the state level in comparison to other states in the country as seen in Appendix 5. This indicates that for Southern states there may be racial and wealth reasons for trying to impose stricter voter ID laws on its citizens. The south has a history of racial bias and therefore could be attempting to keep minority voters, who are less likely to have a form of voter ID, from voting. Additionally minority and poor voters, both of whom are less likely to have a form of voter ID, are historically Democratic voters and the majority of Southern states are Republican elite strongholds. Therefore, Southern states are more inclined to try and limit the number of minority and poor voters, who turn out to vote in elections, through strict voter ID
The Traditionalist culture is defined by its lack in emphasis on both the marketplace and the commonwealth. Traditionalists believe the purpose of government “is to maintain the existing social and economic hierarchy.” Society’s elite are expected and almost obligated to run, while the common citizen is “not expected to participate in political affairs or even to vote.” The Traditionalist political culture lends itself most easily to the passage of stringent voter ID laws. In order to maintain the political power of the social elite, discriminatory and disenfranchising laws will eliminate minority and ordinary citizens from the list of possible voters. The potential voters who would be enfranchised by less stringent voter ID laws are more likely to form a coalition against the political elite and are therefore a threat that must be neutralized by means of voter ID …show more content…
As seen in Appendix 2 the majority of states to enact these new laws are in the south and the Midwest with the only outliers being New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Southern states are significantly more likely to have a population of white citizens below the national average of 79% as seen in Appendix 4. In addition, they are also more likely to have had a slower growth rate in gross domestic product (GDP) at the state level in comparison to other states in the country as seen in Appendix 5. This indicates that for Southern states there may be racial and wealth reasons for trying to impose stricter voter ID laws on its citizens. The south has a history of racial bias and therefore could be attempting to keep minority voters, who are less likely to have a form of voter ID, from voting. Additionally minority and poor voters, both of whom are less likely to have a form of voter ID, are historically Democratic voters and the majority of Southern states are Republican elite strongholds. Therefore, Southern states are more inclined to try and limit the number of minority and poor voters, who turn out to vote in elections, through strict voter ID