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Voting is a complicated process in the United States. If you are not registered, you cannot vote. Today is “National Voter Registration Day” again. Because voter discrimination is a big problem in America.
By Claudia Sarre, ARD Studio Washington
Long lines at polling stations. Early voting has begun in the state of Virginia. People have to wait hours to vote.
You’re here because you no longer trust mail-order voting As much as I had to wait, I would vote here and today, says this citizen under his mask. Not all Americans think like him. In general, voter turnout in the United States is extremely low. In the last elections of 2016, it was around 55 percent, which corresponds to around 126 million votes cast. Political scientist Clarence Lusane of Howard University in Washington explains that the low turnout is not only due to a lack of public interest, but also to the fact that many people deliberately get in the way to prevent them from voting.
“There are many types of voter suppression. That is why there are so many lawsuits. For example, often the number of polling stations is just reduced, it is difficult to vote early, and suddenly there are legal changes to the registry.”
Voting is particularly difficult for minorities
Interestingly, it is mostly Republicans who want certain sectors of the population not to vote, for example, Latinos or African Americans, as they are more likely to vote democratically. They find it difficult to vote, for example, simply by closing some polling stations in their neighborhoods. Or cleaning up the voter registers and removing thousands of voters from the register.
Since there is no mandatory registration or identification in the United States, all citizens must register to vote. In fact, registering or even possessing an ID is a stumbling block for many people, and again, it primarily affects minorities and already disadvantaged population groups, says college professor Cinder Cooper Barns of Montgomery College in Maryland.
“In some southern states, possession of identification is a requirement to vote. Sometimes you have to drive an hour and a half to request identification. This is problematic for older people, but also for blacks. It deprives them of the right to vote”.
Circumscriptions at will
Another measure of influence in elections is the so-called gerrymandering, translated into German, the cutting of electoral districts in such a way that a party has a solid majority in any case. The list of tricks to choose from that can be used to influence the outcome is endless, says Cinder Cooper Barns.
“Then all of a sudden the vote counting machines no longer work. Some people may say that this is certainly not an intention. But I think it is a strategy. Because it doesn’t happen everywhere, only in certain parts of the city.” .
After all, many states and districts have taken precautions to avoid crowds and jostling at polling stations on Election Day. In Kansas City, citizens can vote at Arrowhead Stadium. The football stadium has a capacity for about 76,000 people. So social distancing shouldn’t be a problem there.
