Samuel Fink

Date of Award

2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Social Sciences

First Advisor

Fitzgerald, Keith

Area of Concentration

Political Science

Abstract

My thesis examines five related topics: The history of voter suppression and gerrymandering in the United States; the modern iterations of these practices; potential solutions to these problems; how to determine whether a state is guilty of suppression; and what effect suppression has on turnout. To understand the history of voter suppression, I examine Jim Crow Laws and gerrymandering. My analysis of iterations of voter suppression in the 21st century demonstrates how varied and insidious these methods have become. Today voter suppression is achieved through voter ID laws, voter purges, felony disenfranchisement and other tactics. Importantly my research demonstrates how the Republican party effected a state’s level of suppression. For my data I developed a scale measuring a state’s voter suppression against its commitment to voting rights. This scale analyzed various factors, including whether a state was a swing state or in the South. Unfortunately, the research I conducted did not yield unequivocal results. I did, however, discover various modern forms of suppression and gerrymandering, along with practical solutions to these problems. While the research findings in this thesis were not conclusive, important recommendations are made towards fixing our country’s broken democracy.

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