1. Past Voting Discrimination By: Andrea Gonzalez, Erika Esquivel, and Sophia Bailey

2. What is it? Past Voting Discrimination persists nationwide. It is the discrimination towards someone or a specific group of people when it comes to voting. Basically NOT allowing and individual or a specific group of people to vote.

3. What is it? Continued… It began in 1896 when Louisiana passed the “grandfather clauses” to keep former slaves and their decedents from voting. As a result registered black voters dropped 45%. Till today there is a form of voting discrimination in America, and the worst offenders are the Southern States.

4. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a federal law that protects every American against racial discrimination in voting. Additionally, the law also protects the voting rights of many individuals who have limited English skills. Everyone’s vote is equal no matter the race or the language. The Act was passed by Congress in 1965 at the height of the civil rights movement in the South, a movement committed to securing equal rights for African Americans.

5. How did the Voting Rights Act assist minority groups? In previous years before the act, many states made laws that served to prevent minority citizens from voting. A few requirements the states made for certain people: Take reading tests Interpret some passages out of the constitution Made it a requirement, in some states, for those registering to bring a person already registered to vouch for their “good behavior.” The VRA made all the discriminatory practices, listed above, illegal.

6. Voting Discrimination → African Americans African Americans have been treated unjustly in many ways but have also been discriminated when it comes to voting. Since 1896 African Americans have been dropped from registration. In 1940 only 3% of eligible African Americans in the South were registered to vote. The Jim Crows Laws like poll taxes (a tax required as a qualification for voting) were meant to keep African Americans from voting.

7. Case → March from Selma to Montgomery Discrimination towards African Americans occurred mostly at the height of the civil rights movement in the South. Action towards this injustice came after a very important event which occurred on Sunday March 7, 1965. This was the march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Although police used violence to disperse African Americans they didn’t give, they continued to fight back. At least 500 marchers started a 50 mile walk to demand equal rights in voting. What happened that day was shocking for our nation and also moved President Johnson to call for immediate passage of a strong federal voting rights law.

8. Voting Discrimination → Hispanics/Latinos Latinos were categorized under “language minorities” which also consisted of Puerto Ricans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Alaskans, Hawaiians, etc. This group was kept from voting for at least a decade after the Voting Rights Act was passed due mainly to the fact that several didn’t know a word of English. It isn’t much of a surprise to America the struggle Hispanics and Latinos are put through, not only today but in previous accounts in history. They have for several years been discriminated against and it is very noticeable due to the continuing increase in hate crimes. Like African American’s and other minority groups we still see the segregation amongst America as we did previously in history, although we aren’t segregated by law, it is a great shame that we aren’t united as one nation, several groups are pushed to the side and have to work and fight twice as hard as everyone else to get what they deserve, such as EQUAL voting rights.

10. Case → Extension to the Voting Rights Act 1975 Several Latinos/ Hispanics see a greater significance in the 1975 extension to the Voting Rights Act than they do the original 1965 Act. The act, signed by President Gerald Ford, ended the discrimination against the “language minorities” who were kept from voting for at least a decade after the 1965 Voting Rights Act was passed. Due to the extension, voting rights protections to Latinos made it possible to translate registration materials into Spanish, sparking an increase in larger Latino voting registrations. Additionally, it gave Latinos power to begin to build political influence. No matter the laws made and extended we still must take into account how much Latinos struggle to get what's deserved, Laws only go into effect when challenged as Gloria Molina states, “The Voting Rights Act is only as good as somebody who is willing to challenge the laws and make a case.”

11. Voting Discrimination → Women It is no shock that women would follow under the many groups discriminated against. As we take a look back into history we see that women have always struggled to earn rights equal to that of any living man. Women were NOT entitled to the same rights and privileges as men, their educational and occupational opportunities were greatly limited, as well as their right to own their own property or even their earnings. Their right to vote was one issue, taken from so many others, that they fought hard for. In 1777, all states pass laws which take away any women’s right to vote.

12. Granting Women the right to vote! The first state to ever grant women the right to vote and serve on juries was Wyoming, who passed a women suffrage law in 1869 and later allowed them to vote in all elections in 1890. A few other western states slowly followed and started granting women the right to vote. Women were outraged that the fifteenth amendment ratified in 1870, prohibited all the states from denying voting rights on the ground of race, however, not on the basis of sex. Around the late 1870s Congress considered a Constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote however it failed to pass. The movement for women’s suffrage grew significantly, and was led by several including Susan B. Anthony and Lucy Stone. In 1920 women were finally given the constitutional right to vote in the 19 th amendment which states, “[t]he 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 sex."

13. References: Gibson, S. (2015). Discrimination Against Hispanics, Latinos and Mexican Americans, and the Need For More Civil Right Lawyers in California. Hg.org. Retrieved from http://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=6051http://www.hg.org/article.asp?id=6051 Gamboa, S. (2015, August 6). For Latinos, 1965 Voting Rights Act Came A Decade Later. Nbcnews.com. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/latinos-1965-voting-rights-act-impact-came-decade-later-n404936/http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/latinos-1965-voting-rights-act-impact-came-decade-later-n404936/ Reuters, T. (2015). Voting Rights And Discrimination FAQ. Civilrights.findlaw.com. Retrieved from http://civilrights.findlaw.com/other-constitutional-rights/voting-rights-and-discrimination-faq.htmlhttp://civilrights.findlaw.com/other-constitutional-rights/voting-rights-and-discrimination-faq.html Childress, S. (2014, August 6). Where Is Voter Discrimination The Worst? Pbs.org. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/government-elections-politics/where-is-voter-discrimination-the-worst/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/government-elections-politics/where-is-voter-discrimination-the-worst/