RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Legacies of Segregation and Disenfranchisement: The Road from <em>Plessy</em> to <em>Frank</em> and Voter ID Laws in the United States
JF RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences
FD Russell Sage Foundation
SP 134
OP 146
DO 10.7758/RSF.2021.7.1.08
VO 7
IS 1
A1 Paru Shah
A1 Robert S. Smith
YR 2021
UL http://www.rsfjournal.org/content/7/1/134.abstract
AB This article explores how voter ID laws further the dismantling of voting rights and the promises of full political engagement for racial minorities, especially African Americans. The authors highlight the racial politics that inform the emergence of these laws, and the racial intent and impact these laws have in diluting minority voting access and therefore political power. It begins with a short historical overview of voting rights since the eradication of slavery, then offers background on the current legal climate in which voter ID laws are situated. The essay concludes with an analysis of Frank v. Walker as a case study exposing the intent and impact of voter ID laws.