Hundreds of thousands of Americans are being denied the Right to Vote because they are poor.
In Ten States, Republican Legislators have enacted Laws that Disenfranchise anyone with outstanding Legal Fees or Court Fines.
For example, in Alabama more than 100,000 People who owe Money, roughly 3% of the State’s Voting-Age Population, have been struck from Voting Rolls.
And Nine other States: Arizona; Arkansas; Connecticut; Delaware; Florida; Georgia; Iowa; Nevada; Tennessee, anyone who has lost the Franchise cannot regain it until they Pay Off any Outstanding Court Fines, Legal Fees, or Victim Restitution.
This is Unconstitutional. In 1964, the 24th Amendment abolished the Poll Tax, a Jim Crow tactic used to bar Poor Blacks from Voting.
These New Laws are a modern reincarnation of that Unconstitutional system, disproportionately Disenfranchising People of Color.
Income and Wealth should have no bearing on the Right to Vote. Many Americans are struggling to make ends meet. But they still have a Constitutional Right to make their Voices heard.
Preventing People from Voting because they owe Legal Fees or Court Fines muzzle Low-Income Americans at a time in our Nation’s History when the Rich have more Political Power than ever.
These State Laws are another form of Voter Suppression, like Gerrymandering, Tougher Voter ID Requirements, and anyone with Felony Convictions, bars Voters from Voting.
The Supreme Court Case Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966) Ruled that the Poll Tax was Unconstitutional at every Level, not just for Federal Elections.
The Harper Decision relied upon the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, rather than the Twenty-Fourth Amendment. As such, Issues related to whether Burdens on Voting are Equivalent to Poll Taxes in Discriminatory effect have usually been Litigated on Equal Protection grounds since.
We must Not let them Stand.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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