GETTING 2 EQUAL : UNITED NOT DIVIDED 1 NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE Getting 2 Equal : United Not Divided 2019A NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE PUBLICATION www.stateofblackamerica.org | #Getting2Equal2 2019 STATE OF BLACK AMERICA®ABOUT THE NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUEThe National Urban League is a historic civil rights and urban advocacy organization. Driven to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights for our nation’s marginalized populations, the National Urban League works towards economic empowerment and the elevation of the standard of living in historically underserved urban communities. Founded in 1910, and headquartered in New York City, the National Urban League has improved the lives of more than 2 million people annually through direct service programs run by 90 local affiliates in 36 states and the District of Columbia. The National Urban League also conducts public policy research and advocacy work from its Washington, D.C. bureau. The National Urban League is a BBB-accredited organization and has earned a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, placing it in the top 10 percent of all U.S. charities for adhering to good governance, fiscal responsibility and other best practices. PUBLISHERMarc H. MorialEDITORIAL DIRECTORShu-Fy H. PongnonCREATIVE DIRECTORRhonda Spears BellMANAGING DIRECTORTara ThomasRESEARCH PARTNERSBrennan Center for JusticeThe Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund of the United StatesEXECUTIVE EDITORDr. Silas LeeSENIOR EDITORSabine LouissaintCONTRIBUTORTeresa CandoriDESIGNUntuck3About the State of Black America4From the President’s Desk6The History of the Vote in the United States8The Battle for Your Vote: Restrictions & Expansions10Foreign Election Interference12Authors15National Urban League AffiliatesGETTING 2 EQUAL : UNITED NOT DIVIDED 3 NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUEABOUT THE STATE OF BLACK AMERICA®The State of Black America® is the signature annual reporting of the National Urban League. Now in its 43rd edition, the State of Black America has become one of the most highly-anticipated benchmarks and sources for thought leadership around racial equality in America across economics, employment, education, health, housing, criminal justice and civic participation. Each edition contains thoughtful commentary and insightful analysis from leading figures and thought leaders in politics, the corporate and tech sectors, the nonprofit arena, academia and popular culture.The 2019 State of Black America, Getting 2 Equal: United Not Divided, focuses on the state of the Black vote with an emphasis on its power—and heightened vulnerability to suppression. Today, there is no denying that American democracy is under serious threat and sustained attack. Our reporting takes a deeper dive into voter suppression’s bold new frontier: social media. Through our partnership with The Alliance for Securing Democracy at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, we expose the massive, state-sponsored Russian operation to interfere in and influence the high stakes 2016 presidential election. Russian internet trolls were on a seek, destroy and divide mission, targeting African Americans with surgical precision on social media platforms and chipping away at our nation’s exposed racial fault lines. Our research partners, the Brennan Center for Justice, generously provided the National Urban League with maps that lay out in alarming and full display where barriers to the ballot are being feverishly erected and where civil rights groups, grassroots activists and men and women of good will are tearing down the walls of obstruction brick by brick. It is impossible to untangle voting rights and the ability (or inability) to exercise political power from the history of race in America: a history that has advantaged some while perpetually disadvantaging others. Our authors explore the potential impact of the For the People Act, a House bill that expands access to the ballot box, reduces the influence of big money in politics and strengthens ethics rules; and the Voting Rights Advancement Act, designed to restore key provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Our nation’s pursuit of liberty, justice and economic empowerment for all hinges largely on the right to determine who will govern us and how. Because the right to vote is the price of full admission to participate in our democracy, the National Urban League will remain on the frontlines of the battle to protect your fundamental right to vote. From the testimonials of first-time voters to the platforms of presidential candidates, we explore the solemnity and significance of voting and its power to effect change at the local, state and national level.To access the 2019 State of Black America suite of offerings—including author essays, data and expert analysis and a ready-for-download version of this executive summary—head to the State of Black America website.Learn more and get more atwww.stateofblackamerica.orgWHERE IS THE 2019 EQUALITY INDEX™? Given the incremental rate of change to the areas measured by the Equality Index: economics, health, education, social justice and civic engagement, the National Urban League will publish the Equality Index every two years beginning with the 2020 Equality Index. You can find the Equality Index from 2011–2018 on the State of Black America website. 4 2019 STATE OF BLACK AMERICA®FROM THE PRESIDENT’S DESKBY MARC H. MORIALPresident & CEO, National Urban LeagueOur rights are under attack by forces that are clever, sinister, diabolical, and intentional; and their allies run from the Supreme Court of the United States, to state legislatures all across the nation and around the globe, to allies inside the Russian Federation.According to some estimates, the Black voting rate matched or exceeded the white rate for the first time in American history in 2008, the first time a major party Black presidential candidate was on the ballot. Not coincidentally, a wave of racially-motivated voter suppression legislation swept the nation the year of the next federal election in 2010.According to the Brennan Center, our partners in this report, state lawmakers in 2010 began introducing hundreds of voter suppression measures, from strict photo I.D. requirements to slashing early voting and throwing up roadblocks to registration.The 2013 Supreme Court decision in Shelby v. Holder gutted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act which required federal approval for states with a history of discrimination to make any changes to voting laws. Because preclearance had achieved its goal of eliminating racial disparity in voting rates, Chief Justice John Roberts reasoned that it was no longer needed.“Throwing out preclearance when it has worked and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet,” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in her dissent.Shelby was just one of several blows against democracy the Supreme Court has struck in recent years. When it struck down campaign finance reform laws in Citizens United v. FCC in 2010, it unleashed the power of these super PACs, where wealthy individuals could pour unlimited money into the American political process. And most recently, in Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute, the Court upheld the right of states to use aggressive purges to remove voters from registration rolls, a process that disproportionately affects communities of color.Racism also was a powerful tool used by Russian and other hostile foreign hackers and troll farms to manipulate the 2016 presidential and 2018 midterm elections. A Russian-linked social media campaign called “Blacktivist” used Facebook and Twitter in an apparent attempt to amplify racial tensions during the U.S. presidential election. It used the integrity of the Black Lives Matter hashtag (#BlackLivesMatter) to carry out an insidious campaign of voter suppression.Efforts to suppress the Black vote have coincided with a rapid diversification of the voting public. The projected 2020 electorate is 66.7 percent white… Read President Morial’s entire letter atwww.stateofblackamerica.org POLICY RECOMMENDATIONSEliminate strict, discriminatory voter I.D. requirementsAllow automatic voter registration, online registration and same-day registrationRestore voting rights to citizens convicted of felonies as soon as their sentences are completedRequire paper verification of ballots in federal elections to prevent computer tamperingWhen necessary, conduct post- election audits to compare paper records to computerized resultsEnact the Voting Rights Advancement Act, which restores the full enforcement protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965Eliminate voter roll purging based on failure to vote or failure to respond to mailed documentsProhibit distribution of false information intended to dissuade people from votingGrant statehood for the District of Columbia, giving residents in the nation's capital full voting rightsCreate a national commission to identify and eliminate foreign interference in the American democratic processMove the U.S. toward the popular election of presidents through states’ participation in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, with the goal of eliminating the Electoral CollegeGETTING 2 EQUAL : UNITED NOT DIVIDED 5 NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUEThe right of African Americans to vote—our right to participate in the civic processes of this nation—quite simply is under attack.— Marc H. Morial President & CEO, National Urban League6 2019 STATE OF BLACK AMERICA®The History of the VoteBefore the ink could dry on the Declaration of Independence, the right to vote was established as a privilege granted to the few. American history is littered with the stories of men, women and movements that fought to expand the voting franchise to all American citizens. 1776The right to vote restricted to white, Protestant, land-owning men age 21 or olderAll states allow all white men to vote18561868The 14th Amendment recognized African Americans as citizens, giving them the right to voteThe 15th Amendment granted African-American men the right to vote 1870 1884The Supreme Court ruled Native Americans are not citizens and cannot vote 1920 The 19th Amendment guarantees Black and white women the right to voteThe Indian Citizenship Act/Snyder Act established citizenship for Native Americans and granted them the right to vote19241957The Civil Rights Act of 1957 authorized the U.S. attorney general to file lawsuits on behalf of African Americans denied the vote1962New Mexico became the last state to guarantee Native Americans the right to vote1964The 24th Amendment outlaws poll taxes in federal elections President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act banning discrimination on the basis of race or non-English speaking status in voting practices 1965 6 2019 STATE OF BLACK AMERICA®GETTING 2 EQUAL : UNITED NOT DIVIDED 7 NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUEPhoto: Marion S. Trikosko, August 1963 1971 The 26th Amendment lowered the voting age to 18President Gerald Ford signed a seven-year Voting Rights Act extension19751982President Ronald Reagan signed a 25-year extension of the Voting Rights ActPresident George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act, guaranteeing polling place accessibility for voters with disabilities19902006President George W. Bush signed a 25-year extension of the Voting Rights Act In Shelby County v. Holder the Supreme Court struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act which established a formula for identifying jurisdictions that required federal oversight and approval before changing election rules 20132014Congressman James Sensenbrenner introduced the Voting Rights Amendment Act to amend the Voting Rights Act of 19652019Congresswoman Terri Sewell introduced the Voting Rights Advancement Act (H.R. 4) to revise criteria for determining which jurisdictions are subject to Section 4 of the Voting Rights ActThe House of Representatives passed the For The People Act (H.R. 1) to address voter election integrity, election security, political spending and ethics for the three branches of government 2019 GETTING 2 EQUAL : UNITED NOT DIVIDED 78 2019 STATE OF BLACK AMERICA®VOTING RESTRICTIONS & EXPANSIONSVoter suppression is destroying American democracy from sea to shining sea. The maps—provided by our research partner, the Brennan Center for Justice—display where the vote is in danger and where the civil rights community and people of good will are vigorously pushing back against any and all tactics to block voter access to the ballot. Restrictive Bills Introduced or Carried Over(March 12, 2019)As of March 2019, several states are moving restrictive bills through their legislative process, including in Arizona where its Senate passed bills restricting the use of emergency voting centers (SB 1090) and adding voter ID restrictions for early voting (SB 1072). The legislature has passed both bills and Governor Ducey has signed them into law.GETTING 2 EQUAL : UNITED NOT DIVIDED 9 NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUEExpansive Bills Introduced or Carried Over(March 12, 2019)Major Expansions to Voting Access (2013–June 2018)Ongoing Litigation Against Voting Restrictions (March 2019)Restrictive Voting Laws (2011–2018)**As of March 2019, bills expanding access to early and absentee voting, modernizing the voter registration process, and restoring voting rights to people who have lost them due to a felony conviction remain popular.While many states have moved to restrict their citizens’ access to the ballot in the past decade, others have expanded access to their voting process.Over the past decade, states enacted a wave of laws restricting access to voting. During the 2018 elections, voters in 23 states—nearly half the country—faced tougher restrictions than they did in 2010, with additional restrictions passed since then.As of March 2019, there are significant challenges to restrictive voting practices in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin.Passed significant voting reforms including AVR, election-day registration, early voting and rights restoration.Next >