Voting Rights & Voter Suppression: 100 Years After the 19th Amendment

One hundred years ago, the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. 55 years ago, the Voting Rights Act, designed to protect Black Americans’ right to vote, was enacted. Yet efforts to suppress the vote continue. After the Supreme Court in Shelby County v. Holder (2013) invalidated part of the Voting Rights Act, states with a history of discrimination no longer needed federal approval to change their voting laws. Some states took advantage of this and passed voter ID laws, redrew districts, closed polling places, and took other less conspicuous measures that made it more difficult for voters to cast their ballots. In 2016, Laverne Berry and two other voter protection advocates went to North Carolina during the Presidential election to see for themselves how local election officials were enforcing the state’s new laws. Through a documentary film, Capturing the Flag, they recorded discrimination and voter suppression at the voting booths. This program will address issues raised in the film, ongoing efforts to erode the right to vote, and how attorney advocates can legally fight back to protect voters.

Moderators:

♦ Wendi S. Lazar, Esq., Partner, Outten & Golden LLP and Sheryl B. Galler, Esq., Law Office of Sheryl B. Galler

Speakers:

♦ Eliza Sweren-Becker, Esq., Counsel, Democracy Program, Brennan Center for Justice, New York University Professor

♦ Laverne Berry, Esq., Producer of CAPTURING THE FLAG

♦ Susan Goodier, PhD, Co-Author of Women Will Vote: The New York State Suffrage Movement, SUNY Oneonta