The Disenfranchisement of Minority Groups Essay Sample

The disenfranchisement of minority groups, mainly people of color and women, causes many people who deserve the right to speak for what they believe in and vote to be ignored, shunned, and restrained, ultimately ending in reverting back to times where only white men could vote. A big issue is the lack of access to translated voting materials, which lowers minority voter turnout significantly. In 2004 translated voting ballots were found to have increased voter turnout by 11 points in communities where English was a second language. Translated ballots allowed for enhanced voter involvement, and increased voter turnout. (Vij). This evidence shows the lack of urgency that  political figures see within these voting injustices and voter discrimination.This should be brought to people's attention because many people who are eligible to  vote are not getting the privilege of voting.

Ultimately, many people are being disenfranchised and restrained from their rights to vote because the American government is trying to silence them from sharing their story and their culture. If the ballot is available in their native language, a notion known as "voter fall-off" encourages people who are at the polls to vote on more laws and answer more questions. (Vij).Vij represents the language barrier between many immigrants and the voting system by showing that people whose native language is the language on the ballot have more opportunities to vote for what they believe in. This is an urgent issue because as America becomes more and more diverse people are going to opt for not voting at all if they can't understand what they are using to vote. As people are becoming more aware of the many different cultures that are a part of America and the many different people that are being disenfranchised they are also becoming conscious of how they can help but are not choosing to do it. 

Minorities vote less frequently than white people, which has resulted in biased polling station distributions in several cases. Polling place disparities can also be the result of a movement in the majority of election authorities; minority groups are more likely to be left-leaning, therefore officials may transfer polling stations to areas that are more representative of their communities. (Vij). Placement of polling stations is a huge factor of voter bias because politicians and their campaigners can place voting polls in areas that they know will vote for them. Therefore, the people who won't vote for said politician are less likely to vote at all because it is not accessible to them or convenient. 

In the long run, the people who cannot vote are the people who need to vote the most because their rights depend on it since they are already starting to be taken away. By making it harder to vote many people are missing out on the opportunities that they would normally have if voting was convenient and available to them, ultimately many people are deprived from the right to vote due to the lack of practical voting poll locations Voting should be as simple and straightforward as possible, and it is in many circumstances. However, over 400 anti-voter measures have been presented in 48 states in recent years. (ACLU). Voting should not be a hard thing to do but for a significant amount of people it is. By giving numbers and data it is coming across as a logical appeal and it really shows how much of the population is being affected by these laws. 

Disenfranchisement is making voting a lot harder than it needs to be and many people need to vote but cannot due to the anti-voter measures. These bills place unnecessary obstacles in the way of people registering to vote, voting by mail, and voting in person. Causing many people to not be able to vote because it is not available to them or convenient. (ACLU). Circling back to how polling placement is important, many people are being denied the right to vote by mail and so voting in person needs to be as convenient as possible.  These are pressing issues because if people do not act soon then there will be more people who are unable to vote leaving a small group of people who are still able to vote. 

By making voting harder, we as a country are drastically reverting back into times where people who were not straight white cis men had less rights. As a result, democracy has been badly harmed and does not reflect the desire of the people. All eligible voters should be able to participate and have their voices heard in our democracy. (ACLU). It is not just ineligible voters who cannot vote but many eligible ones are being deprived of that right. People who have every right to vote, have not done anything to make people at voting polls think they are ineligible are being restricted from voting mostly because of the color of their skin. 

Everyone should have a say and should be heard in order to make the United States a true democracy and have it be a place that is all inclusive. A pathos appeal highlighted in Biden's speech emphasized on the many impacts that voter disenfranchisement has on people who are  trying to vote and the effect it has on the United states as a country.  “This year alone, 17 states have enacted — not just proposed, but enacted — 28 new laws to make it harder for Americans to vote, not to mention — and catch this — nearly 400 additional bills Republican members of the state legislatures are trying to pass.”  (Biden).Biden is speaking on the laws that have made it very hard for Americans to vote easily. By giving numbers and statistics such as “17 states” “28 new laws” “nearly 400 additional bills” Biden is giving a clear and strong look into how unconstitutional this is and can be if we continue on this path of holding back others from their rights. Shows how many states are in favor of making voting harder and showing how many bills there are to support that. States are making it harder and harder to have Americans vote and it is getting even worse. Things can change in such a short amount of time and so people need to take action now or very soon. “The daughter who voted in the memory of her dad who died of COVID-19 so others wouldn’t have the experience of pain and darkness and loss that she was going through.”  (Biden).

Biden addresses the feelings of most Americans who have lost someone due to COVID-19 and who are actively trying to represent them but when they are oppressed they do not have the opportunities that some do but take advantage of. Specific language and phrases such as, “dad who died of COVID-19”, “pain and darkness and loss” give off a negative feeling. This causes the reader to feel as though they should vote because there are real problems that were not being fixed or handled. People should vote to change the things that caused the others to be unable to vote. There was not enough COVID-19 protection and so this woman voted because she did not want others to feel how she was after losing her Father to the virus. “The denial of full and free and fair elections is the most un-American thing that any of us can imagine, the most undemocratic, the most unpatriotic, and yet… not unprecedented… denying enslaved people full citizenship… denying women the right to vote… poll taxes and literacy tests… the Ku Klux Klan campaigns of violence and terror… weakened the landmark Voting Rights Act...” (Biden). Biden confronts the major problems and issues happening in the US and is attesting to them and how to deal with them. The specific phrases “the most undemocratic, the most unpatriotic….” makes people feel like they are contributing to America declining and that the voting system needs to be more inclusive. This language is used to make the reader feel as though America needs to make a better and broader voting system. Unfair elections are hurting America as a country and making it hard to continue forward and progress when a significant number of Americans aren't able to vote due to their race and/or felony records.