1. Minorities USA
What attempts have been made to increase minority participation in recent years?

2. The Voting Rights Act Won as result of civil rights movement in 1960s
outlawed the barriers which had prevented minorities from voting:
literacy tests
residence qualifications
property qualifications

3. Federal Government Attempts
Minority / Majority Redistricting - redrawing constituency boundaries to increase chances of minorities being elected
Motor Voter Law - to allow people to register to vote in places like drivers licence and welfare offices

4. Minority Group Campaigns
Registration Drives have been attempted throughout the years by various minority groups such as:
- C.OR.E. (Congress of Racial Equality)
- N.A.A.C.P. (National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People)
- Rainbow Coalition - Jesse Jackson

5. Case Study - Operation Big Vote
OBV is an attempt by The National Voter Coalition on Black Voter Participation to increase the Black vote by:
increasing black registration and turnout
educating Black Voters in how to influence elected representatives
promoting the ‘empowerment’ of Blacks through full voter participation

6. Has it worked?
Minority / majority redistricting is being challenged in the Supreme Court and is being very closely scrutinised in every case
Motor voter law - only 9 million of the 20 million who used it were actually new or re-registering voters. It was also used more by middle and upper class car owners! It is also claimed that it was used by many illegal immigrants to vote

7. Has it worked? (continued)
Voting turnout did increase in the 2000 Presidential election but…
Support for the Democratic Party (favoured more by minorities) has fallen by 30% since the 1960s
There have been instances of increased minority turnout being influential at the local level - e.g. Hispanic vote has increased in states where immigration control has been an issue e.g. Texas and California

8. Has it worked? (Cont’d)
There is certainly clear evidence of political progress over the last three decades although more recent voting and turnout rates are declining.
For statistical evidence of improvement see you text and checklist, but note...

9. Has it worked? (Cont’d)
Increased numbers of representatives at local, state and national level
Increased Numbers of minorities achieving high office e.g. Cabinet, Supreme Court
increased turnout in the 2000 Presidential Election