| Title | : | Voter Suppression in U.S. Elections (History in the Headlines Ser.) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 082035774X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780820357744 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 176 |
| Publication | : | First published June 15, 2020 |
Perhaps most notably, former state legislator Stacey Abrams's campaign for Georgia's gubernatorial race drew national attention after she narrowly lost to then-secretary of state Brian Kemp, who had removed hundreds of thousands of voters from the official rolls. After her loss, Abrams created Fair Fight, a multimillion-dollar initiative to combat voter suppression in twenty states.
At an annual conference of the Organization of American Historians, leading scholars Carol Anderson, Kevin M. Kruse, Heather Cox Richardson, and Heather Anne Thompson had a conversation with Abrams about the long history of voter suppression at the Library Company of Philadelphia. This book is a transcript of that extraordinary conversation, edited by Jim Downs.
Voter Suppression in U.S. Elections offers an enlightening, history-informed conversation about voter disenfranchisement in the United States. By gathering scholars and activists whose work has provided sharp analyses of this issue, we see how historians in general explore contentious topics and provide historical context for students and the broader public.
The book also includes a "top ten" selection of essays and articles by such writers as journalist Ari Berman, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Blight, and civil rights icon John Lewis.
Voter Suppression in U.S. Elections (History in the Headlines Ser.) Reviews
-
Voter suppression makes my blood boil. This was a great conversation with a bunch of informative articles to reference.
-
This was a quick read...a compilation of writings on current issues surrounding voter suppression. I learned about policies like “use it or lose it”, targeted poll closures, third party registration penalties, and exact match requirements, along with other discriminatory practices clearly designed to reduce voting in marginalized communities. Stacy Abrams was a significant contributor to this book, and her work is remarkable. Particularly, her statement to the House Judiciary Committee and her work opposing Shelby County vs. Holder...which has reopened all kinds of doors for states to ensure voting goes the way they want it to. The concept of voter fraud, never demonstrated to the magnitude it’s been touted, compared to the literal, evidential practices of suppression, is despicable.
-
Whilst this is an important topic - the format of this book was a bit disappointing. It's mainly the transcript of a panel discussion including Stacey and then a number of news articles on the subject. It's lacks the overall structure and depth that I was hoping for.
That said, the timeliness of this book did make it pretty special. To hear Stacey talk about the ways she mobilised Georgia and yet saw so many acts of voter suppression in 2018... just a few weeks after that same mobilisation effort helped the Democrats to win back the United States senate! Very cool.
"I can't built it just so I can win an election. I have to build an infrastructure that allows the next person, because I may not win" - how right Stacey was.
Overall, I feel like this book lacks the depth that others on the subject of US voter suppression have covered - however, it does include a lot of great facts and examples of recent voter suppression, so does provide a welcomed update to how this is continuing to grow in the US. -
Everyone should read this book.
Stacey Abrams, Heather Richardson, Carol Anderson, and Kevin Kruse got together one night for a conversation about voter suppression in the United States. What emerged from these conversations was this book, a lightly edited transcript of the conversation, followed by a series of essays and other works giving the conversation more depth.
It's an easy dive into this topic, and one ripe with meaning today, as Republican state legislatures, knowing they can't win unless they suppress the vote try to pass ever more restrictive laws. It's a call for democracy and civic engagement, for government of the people, by the people. -
The compilation of articles documenting the many ways voters are denied the right the vote and, the transcript of a roundtable discussion discussing current and historical voter suppression efforts. Very thoughtful essays and discussion.
-
Essential reading for the present.
-
Quick read, and I learned about so many different and horrible successful voter suppression efforts.
-
Read paperback copy
-
I read this for a law essay for class. It was extremely insightfully and a get compilation of essays.
