URCAD Sneak Peek: Cameron Rybacki

Fri, 02 Apr 2021 15:12:02 -0400

Voter Suppression in America: How Voices are Kept Quiet

Don't miss this topical URCAD research presentation!

Presenter: Cameron Rybacki

Mentor: Sarah Fouts, American Studies

The 2020 election is officially over and Joe Biden has been inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States, yet over half of the Republican party continue to question the election results. As unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud fueled by Trump and his supporters dominate the headlines, I argue that voter suppression of Black and Latinx voters should instead be foregrounded as a major threat to democracy. This research will examine voter suppression in presidential elections using content analysis of newspaper and scholarly articles. First, I will compare incidents of voter suppression found in the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections to evaluate the effects of the 2013 Shelby County v Holder decision which rendered some sections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 unconstitutional. Next, I will evaluate incidents of voter suppression in the 2020 election. Lastly, using scholarly work, law reviews, and policy proposals, I will analyze ways to protect the right to vote. This research bridges the fields of American Studies and Political Science by evaluating the topics of voting and elections through a humanities lens to bring a greater understanding of how voter suppression affects the citizens of our democracy.

URCAD is April 19-25, 2021 online at:

URCAD.umbc.edu