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The Rotunda
Friday, July 11, 2025

Democracy dies as voter suppression lives

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Voter ID laws, a controversial topic amongst states, deny potential voters the chance to participate in voting if they lack access to a form of an ID in order to register and receive a ballot. 

Editor's note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

With Election Day taking place in less than a week, the definition of democracy will be tested. As the country that upholds its truth in providing a government run for and by the people, the United States has experienced a flaw within its traditional electoral process.

Though democracy can generally be defined by dictionary.com as “a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives,” this has somehow become a facade masked with the intent of unfairness.

Over time, this has misconstrued the actual intent of democracy by people of authority who have misused the electoral process to withhold certain individuals, specifically African-Americans and Latin Americans, the opportunity to vote. Voter suppression is a tactic used in an effort to discourage and prevent specific groups of people from voting.

This is contrary to federal law acts like the National Voters Act, that are meant to "enhance voting opportunities for every American" and make it "easier for all Americans to register to vote and to maintain their registration," according to the United States Department of Justice. However, this evidently is not enough and is in constant efforts meant to benefit a certain demographic.

On the surface level, voter suppression may not be viewed as detrimental, but in reality, it is. Whether it is suppressing the young, poor or people of color, voter suppression comes in various forms that can deter these minorities from the option to freely express their vote at the ballot box.

More so, such forms of voter suppression include having the polling hours changed, eliminating early voting days, reducing the number of polling places, changing election dates and the most commonly known tactic of enforcing Voter ID laws as Local Majority.org can attest to. 

Voter ID laws, which are deemed discriminatory, deny potential voters the chance to participate in voting if they lack access to a form of an ID in order to register and receive a ballot. New York University reported, "In 2018, voters in at least eight states will face more stringent voting laws than they did in the last federal election."

Furthermore, these type of laws are unfortunately thriving among 34 states, including Virginia.

Minorities across the country are continuously being refused their natural right to vote because of indoctrinated racially biased ideals.

"Whether it’s intended to harm 600,000 African-American and Latino voters or 2 million, our concern is people are passing these laws with the intent to discriminate or the effect of discriminating," said Civil Rights Attorney for the Legal Defense Fund Deuel Ross. 

Meanwhile, vigorously living through the era of Trump where fake news is prevalent, voter suppression is alive and well, and quite frankly, nothing is fake about that.

According to Wired, “Racially biased election laws, such as voter-ID legislation favored Republican candidates in 2016.”

It’s needless to say, voter suppression may have furthered President Trump’s seat in The White House, however, who will it further on Nov. 6?

As the fate of democracy is actively being exercised through the exclusion of others, voter suppression is becoming the new standard. However, to counter, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is combating the fight against voter suppression.

Their website states, “The ACLU is engaged in advocacy and litigation across the country to get rid of these harmful voter suppression measures once and for all.”

Needless to say, minority voters should not be dismissed nor ignored, but instead encouraged to display their right to vote. As for the majority, please hold your politicians accountable, especially at the polls for the upcoming midterm elections on Nov. 6.

Voter ID laws, a controversial topic amongst states, deny potential voters the chance to participate in voting if they lack access to a form of an ID in order to register and receive a ballot. 





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