61 Forms of Voter Suppression

By Barbara R. Arnwine
President & Founder
Transformative Justice Coalition
Author, 2011 Voting Rights Map of Shame

Print your own copy by clicking here, or view online at VotingRightsAlliance.org

1. Strict voter photo ID laws
2. Closing of DMV’s in strict voter ID law states
3. Failure to accept government-issued state university and college student ID’s
4. No early voting
5. Early voting cuts
6. No Sunday Souls to the Polls Early Voting
7. Harsh requirements/punishments for voter registration groups
8. Tough Deputy Registrar Requirements
9. Harsh voter registration Compliance Deadlines
10. Failure to timely process voter registrations
11. Cuts to Election Day (Same Day) registration
12. Polling place reductions or consolidations
13. Polling place relocations
14. Inadequate or poorly trained staffing at polls
15. Inadequate number of functioning machines, optical scanners or electronic polling books
16. Running out of ballots at polling sites
17. No paper ballots
18. Failure to accept Native American tribal IDs.
19. Barring Native American voters through residential address requirements for Native American lands which have PO Boxes
20. Failure to place polling sites on Native American lands
21. Refusal to place polling sites on college campuses
22. Lack of available public transportation to polling sites
23. Excessive Voter purging
24. Disparate racial treatment at polling sites
25. Student voting restrictions
    • Residency
26. Ex-felon disenfranchisement laws
27. Requiring Payment of Fines or Fees As Condition of Vote Restoration
28. Failure to Inform Formerly Incarcerated Persons of Their Voting Rights or Eligibility to Vote
29. Excessive Use of Inactive voter lists
30. No Public Outreach or Notification to Voters Placed on Inactive Lists
31. Language discrimination
    •  Failure to accommodate
32. Lack of language-accessible materials
33. Failure to accommodate voters with disabilities
34. No disability accessibility
35. No curbside Voting
36. Not enough disability accessible voting equipment
37. Barriers to assistance by family members or others for voters
38. Deceptive practices
    • Flyers
    •  Robocalls
39. Voter intimidation
    • Impersonating law enforcement personnel or immigration officers
40. Police at polling places
41. Racial gerrymandering
42. Creating polling place confusion by splitting Black precincts
43. Partisan gerrymandering
44. Barriers for homeless voters to voter registration
45. Voter caging
    •  Use of One-Time Post cards/Mailers
46. Voter challengers at polls
47. Voter challenges to voter registration lists
48. Use of Suspense lists
49. Absentee Ballot Short Return Deadlines
50. Exact match requirements for signatures or other information
51. Complicated Absentee Ballot Requirements
52. Proof of Citizenship Laws
53. Out-of-precinct
    • no vote counted requirements
54. Failure to pre-register 17 year olds
55. Restrictions on straight-party voting
56. Interstate voter registration Crosscheck system
57. Jailed persons’ pre-conviction
    • Denied right to register and/or vote
58. DOJ demanding voter records
59. Employers not providing time off or enough time
60. Failure to assist or accommodate voters displaced by natural disasters
61. Long lines