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2022 Midterms2022 Election Spark2022 Election

Civil Rights and the 2022 Elections

Posted on in 2022 Midterms · 2022 Election Spark · 2022 Election

One of the main Civil Rights issues discussed during the 2022 election was voting rights. After the 2020 elections, over 400 bills were proposed in state legislatures that would restrict voting rights. 19 states adopted laws that restricted voting by eliminating at-the-polls registration, limiting early voting, or limiting voting by mail. In response the House of Representatives passed the For The People Act (HR 1) which was designed to expand voting rights. Among its provisions, this law would require states to offer at-the-polls registration, hold two weeks of early voting, allow voter registration forms to be completed online, allow 16- and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote, and set up automatic voter registration. However, Republicans in the Senate blocked the bill from being considered for debate. This led some to fear that states might restrict voting in ways that would impact the outcome of the 2022 election.

Instructors, click the link below to download this week’s lecture for use in your classroom. The deck contains a writing prompt and a debate question as well as other assessment questions.

Download: Civil Rights and the 2022 Elections

Videos

News Articles on Voting Rights

19 States Enacted Voting Restrictions in 2021. What’s Next?

NBC News

12/21/2022

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/elections/19-states-enacted-voting-restrictions-2021-rcna8342

Map: See Which States Have Restricted Voter Access, and Which Have Expanded It

NPR

09/07/2021

https://www.npr.org/2021/08/13/1026588142/map-see-which-states-have-restricted-voter-access-and-which-states-have-expanded

Two Groups Quietly Spent $32 Million Rallying Voters Behind Voting Rights

New York Times

12/12/2022

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/12/us/politics/midterm-elections-voting-rights.html

News Articles on Voting Restrictions

How New US Laws Could Trip Up Voters This November

Reuters

09/6/2022

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/proceed-with-caution-how-new-us-laws-could-trip-up-voters-this-november-2022-09-06/

Here’s How Democrats’ Sweeping Voter Rights Law Would Work

New York Times

03/30/2021

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/30/us/politics/voting-rights-law.html

The Sorry State of Voting Rights in America

WBUR

10/27/2022

https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2022/10/27/voter-restriction-midterms-absentee-ballot-jamie-hoag

The New Voting Restrictions Aren’t as Restrictive As People Think

Politico

04/06/2022

https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/04/06/the-new-voting-restrictions-arent-as-restrictive-as-many-think-00023390

Assessment

Debate: What restrictions, if any, should states consider when it comes to voting?

Is voting a right or a privilege?

Poll: Should the National Government pass voting rights legislation in response to state restrictions on voting?

Is voting too difficult, too easy, or at an appropriate level of difficulty in the US?

Short Answer: It is often argued that voting restrictions target what groups of people?

 

 

 

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