Analysis by Brandon Tensley, CNN
“We are witnessing right now a massive and unabashed assault on voting rights, unlike anything we’ve ever seen since the Jim Crow era. This is Jim Crow in new clothes.”
That was newly elected Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, giving his maiden floor speech in March. His focus on the past — on how racial hierarchies persist — makes good sense.
As of March 24, lawmakers in 47 states have introduced more than 360 bills this year with provisions that restrict voting access, according to New York University School of Law’s Brennan Center for Justice.
(For a rough comparison: The Brennan Center’s tally in early February 2020 identified 35 restrictive bills in 15 states.)
Much of this legislative blitz, which follows Joe Biden’s victory over Donald Trump in the November presidential election, disproportionately targets voters of color — in particular Black voters, who played a critical role in winning both the White House and the US Senate for Democrats.
The current assault on participatory democracy is consistent with a long US history of political machinations intended to ensure power for White men and keep it at a distance for everyone else, most especially Black Americans.
The timeline below lays out some important dates in this history, as well as dates that mark significant advancements in voting rights.
