Art by Eve Faulkes

Access and Intimidation

What would keep you from voting?

Though voter intimidation and access interference is prohibited under federal law, it still occurs in subtle and overt ways. Federal law states that “no person . . . shall intimidate, threaten, coerce . . . any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of [that] person to vote or to vote as he may choose.” 

Section 2 of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution  allows states to block citizens from voting based on “rebellion, or other crime” without losing seats in the House of Representatives. 

Voter Intimidation may include:

• aggressively questioning a voter about their citizenship, criminal record or other qualifications to vote
• falsely presenting oneself as an elections official and spreading false information about voter requirements, such as the need to present a certain type of photo identification when there is no such requirement
• shouting and abusive language
• following a voter and/or photographing their license plate 
• baseless or discriminatory challenges to one’s eligibility to vote
• brandishing of weapons in front of a voter. 
   

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