By the 1890s, whites demolished the political blacks had gained during Reconstruction. Stopping blacks from voting was not simply about political power. The right to vote symbolized citizenship and equality. If blacks could vote, they would be citizens with rights equal to whites. Whites used various techniques to disenfranchise blacks and restore blacks to an inferior status. One of the most effective techniques was the poll tax (a monetary tax paid to vote). One white man reported that in a county of 40,000 blacks, no more than 50 were qualified to vote. Besides poll taxes, whites used literacy tests, property ownership, and residency requirements to make it nearly impossible for blacks to vote. Whites were exempted from any of these tests if their fathers or grandfathers were entitled to vote in 1867. These mechanisms had little effect on the ability of whites to vote, even if they were illiterate.
Although the Supreme Court struck down poll taxes in 1966, a new form of poll tax has been devised recently by Republican Secretaries of States. Charging this new poll tax relies on the employment status of voters; many Democrats are hourly workers whose take-home pay depends on the number of hours they work. Many Republicans, on the other hand, are salaried workers whose income does not depend on the number of hours worked. In close elections, the difference in the number of hourly versus salaried workers can make swing an election. To make this difference even starker, Republican Secretaries of State reduce the number of voting machines in Democratic neighborhoods. The result of this reduced access to voting machines is to increase the hours these voters must take off from work. In effect, this increases the size of the poll tax.
Just as whites in the 1890s wanted to put blacks in their place, MAGA Republicans and some other Republicans wanted to reestablish their superiority over blacks, browns, and non-Christian Americans. Too many techniques used in the bad old days are being dusted off for use today. We will have to re-learn how to fight those techniques.
Although the Supreme Court struck down poll taxes in 1966, a new form of poll tax has been devised recently by Republican Secretaries of States. Charging this new poll tax relies on the employment status of voters; many Democrats are hourly workers whose take-home pay depends on the number of hours they work. Many Republicans, on the other hand, are salaried workers whose income does not depend on the number of hours worked. In close elections, the difference in the number of hourly versus salaried workers can make swing an election. To make this difference even starker, Republican Secretaries of State reduce the number of voting machines in Democratic neighborhoods. The result of this reduced access to voting machines is to increase the hours these voters must take off from work. In effect, this increases the size of the poll tax.
Just as whites in the 1890s wanted to put blacks in their place, MAGA Republicans and some other Republicans wanted to reestablish their superiority over blacks, browns, and non-Christian Americans. Too many techniques used in the bad old days are being dusted off for use today. We will have to re-learn how to fight those techniques.