Voting is the cornerstone of democracy. In the United States, this constitutional right has been reinforced and expanded through constitutional amendments and landmark legislation, including the Fifteenth Amendment and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The ballot box is the one place where citizens, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, income, or social status are equal under the law. Yet, throughout history, there have been forces at work to deny or suppress this fundamental right. In North Carolina, voter suppression has occurred through violence and intimidation, poll taxes, literacy and identification requirements, and more. The ongoing lawsuit over North Carolina’s 2013 voter ID law shows that the question of who can vote and when remains contested in North Carolina even today. This year, 2020, marks another historic juncture in voting history as the country attempts to complete the decennial census and carry out a presidential election, both marred by the effects of an international pandemic.

Featuring:

• Nadine Gibson, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Wilmington 
• James Leloudis, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Robert Korstad, Ph.D., Duke University 

Please join us for a virtual panel discussion on these topics and more, September 22, 2020, at 5:30 pm.

Zoom: https://lib.uncw.edu/barrierstotheballot

This event is made possible through Randall Library Special Collections, in part from grant funding received through the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Randall Library Special Collections would also like to thank the UNCW History Department for co-sponsoring the event.