Threat to voting rights not only in southern states

When I was in law school, I saw voting access as a problem limited to some former Jim Crow states and others that followed their lead. But after joining the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights as a legal fellow last summer, I have seen firsthand the barriers that black and Latino communities in Chicago too often encounter when trying to cast their ballots.

These obstacles come in two categories. The first can be fixed when civil rights lawyers and government administrators work together to enforce the law— problems like language barriers, voter intimidation, missing ballots and long lines at the voting booth. The second category has to do with voter registration, a problem that’s subtler but in some ways more insidious because it is enshrined in Illinois law. In the 19th century, states like Illinois changed existing law to burden voters — rather than the government — with complex registration requirements in efforts to disenfranchise freed slaves and ethnic European immigrants. The discrimination planted in these laws continue to bear fruit, making it difficult for people of color to vote today.

The good news is that Illinois could soon pass a law — Senate Bill 1933 — that would shift the burden of registration from voters to the government and vastly expand access for many of these communities by creating Automatic Voter Registration. AVR would modernize our voting system by allowing eligible voters to register to vote whenever they interact with state agencies.

National research shows that Latino and black voters move significantly more often than whites, putting their registration status continuously in peril. Blacks and Latinos are also much less likely to have driver’s licenses and state IDs than whites, making traditional motor voter protections less effective. With race disparity in voter registration hovering at 50 percent higher in Illinois than nationwide, AVR would be a huge step in fulfilling the ideals of our democracy and guaranteeing the right of each eligible voter to make their voice heard.

With both Democrat and Republican sponsors of Senate Bill 1933, there should be no question about this commonsense legislation. It’s time for Illinois become a national leader in civic engagement and pass AVR.

Ryan Cortazar, Edgewater

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