In their own words
when The VoTing righTs acT was passed in 1965,
it promised every American a vote. But that doesn’t mean
every American has an easy time casting it.
Over the past 10 years, at least 24 states have enacted new
restrictions on voting, including requiring voters to show photo
IDs and reducing time for early voting. Millions have been
purged from voter rolls. State officials say the measures prevent
voter fraud and keep registration lists updated. Voter advocates
say the intention is to suppress voting, particularly in black and
low-income communities. (Several studies have concluded that
U.S. voter fraud is extremely rare; the Washington Post said it
found just four cases from the 2016 election.)
The Voting Rights Act prohibited jurisdictions with histo-
ries of racial discrimination from changing voting rules with-
out federal approval. Since that provision was struck down
in 2013 by the U.S. Supreme Court, more than 1,600 polling
sites have closed, according to the Leadership Conference on
Civil and Human Rights.
Here, four people describe their experiences.
—melissa chan
LARRY HARMON SR., 63
U.S. Navy veteran Larry Harmon Sr. did not vote for at least six years.
When he returned to the polls in 2015, he learned he had been struck from
Ohio’s voting rolls. Because of a uniquely aggressive practice of purging
voters who fail to vote in a single federal election cycle, Ohio had started
sending notices in 2010 to roughly 4 million people who had not cast
ballots in the previous cycle, eventually erasing from voter rolls those who
did not respond to the mailers, according to civic groups. Harmon says
he doesn’t remember receiving the notice. In 2016, he joined a lawsuit
against Ohio’s secretary of state to challenge the practice, and won. But
in 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Ohio was within its rights to purge
Harmon, who has since re-registered to vote there.
“I’ve lived in Ohio my entire life, except between 1974 and 1979 when
I was in the Navy. My father and my grandfather were also in the Navy. I
never thought my basic right to vote would change. It’s really infuriating.
They tell you that you’re fighting for freedom, but whether that’s the case is
not true. You think you’re a law- abiding citizen, and you go to vote and they
say, ‘No, you’re not on the list.’ It doesn’t make any sense to me at all. If we
can’t vote, we’re not American. That’s what makes us an American—that
we actually have a voice that matters. It always meant something to me,
and as soon as they took it from me, I was ready to fight for it.”
CRYSTAL MASON, 44
Crystal Mason made headlines after she was
convicted in 2018 of illegally voting in Texas in the
presidential election. Mason, who had served time
for tax fraud, says she didn’t know the state bans
formerly incarcerated felons from voting if they’re
on supervised release, as she was. For voting-
rights advocates, Mason’s prosecution and the
lengthy penalty she faces are meant to intimidate
others. Mason, who is free on bail while she
appeals, faces five years in prison if her conviction
is upheld.
“I wouldn’t have dared try to vote if it was explained
to me, if it was in my papers or anything. There’s no
way that I would have done anything to jeopardize
going back to prison. My dad and stepdad died
while I was in prison. I was not able to go to their
funerals. I went through a divorce in prison. I missed
my kid’s graduation and prom, holidays. I lost two
great jobs. I’m fighting for my house. I not only take
care of my three kids, but I raised my brother’s four
kids. It was devastating, overwhelming and hurtful
to leave my kids again, to go to prison for something
that I really believed that I had the right to do.”
HARMON: MADDIE MCGARVEY; MASON: BRYAN SCHUTMAAT FOR TIME
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