NAACP: Restrictive laws 'assault' Americans' voting rights
Editor's Note: In America is producing a documentary, airing in July, which looks at whether a flurry of new state laws are designed to suppress votes, or protect against voting fraud.
By Stephanie Siek, CNN
(CNN) – The voting rights of minorities, students, the poor, the elderly and the disabled are threatened by a concerted campaign to restrict access to the polls, according to a report released by the NAACP and NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
“Defending Democracy: Confronting Modern Barriers to Voting Rights in America” states that Americans “are experiencing an assault on voting rights that is historic, both in terms of its scope and intensity.”
In 2011, 14 states passed laws that restrict the voting or voter registration process in ways that disproportionately impact minorities, according to the report released Monday. The states are Florida, Texas, Maine, Ohio, Wisconsin, Alabama, Kansas, Tennessee, Iowa, Georgia, West Virginia, Mississippi, Rhode Island and South Carolina. "Dozens” of other laws have been proposed around the country. FULL POST
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"Why?" she wrote in a CNN iReport video. "He's black. I'm white."
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About In America
What defines you? Maybe it’s the shade of your skin, the place you grew up, the accent in your words, the make up of your family, the gender you were born with, the intimate relationships you chose to have or your generation? As the American identity changes we will be there to report it. In America is a venue for creative and timely sharing of news that explores who we are. Reach us at inamerica@cnn.com.
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