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A near impossible literacy test Louisiana used to suppress the black vote

(www.openculture.com)
319 points rcarmo | 1 comments | 21 Oct 24 21:29 UTC | HN request time: 0.301s | source
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nneonneo ◴[21 Oct 24 23:35 UTC] No.41909665[source]▶
Note: there are questions about this test's authenticity. Per a note on https://www.crmvet.org/info/la-test.htm:

> [NOTE: At one time we also displayed a "brain-twister" type literacy test with questions like "Spell backwards, forwards" that may (or may not) have been used during the summer of 1964 in Tangipahoa Parish (and possibly elsewhere) in Louisiana. We removed it because we could not corroborate its authenticity, and in any case it was not representative of the Louisiana tests in broad use during the 1950s and '60s.]

Each parish in Louisiana implemented their own literacy tests, which means that there wasn't really much uniformity in the process. Another (maybe more typical) test: https://www.crmvet.org/info/la-littest2.pdf

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InvaderFizz[dead post] ◴[21 Oct 24 23:44 UTC] No.41909723[source]▶
[flagged]
kelnos ◴[22 Oct 24 00:15 UTC] No.41909911[source]▶
> That literacy test seems reasonable

Except not, because any test whatsoever should be disallowed when it comes to voter registration.

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shiroiushi ◴[22 Oct 24 05:49 UTC] No.41911539[source]▶
I think voter registration itself should be disallowed and banned. Why should voters need to register beforehand? You should be able to just show up on election day and cast a vote. The entire process of voter registration is nothing more than a means to disenfranchise voters.
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M4v3R ◴[22 Oct 24 06:03 UTC] No.41911604[source]▶
In many parts of the world voter registration is a perfectly normal practice and no one challenges it. The biggest reason for having it is that it disallows voting multiple times.

What in your opinion makes the voter registration disenfranchising for voters?

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shiroiushi ◴[22 Oct 24 06:11 UTC] No.41911644[source]▶
It's an additional step that must be completed well ahead of election day, making voting a two-step process. It shouldn't be necessary: you can determine on election day whether someone's already voted or not before they cast a vote.
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alexey-salmin ◴[22 Oct 24 06:58 UTC] No.41911872[source]▶
> you can determine on election day whether someone's already voted or not before they cast a vote.

Can you suggest a specific mechanism to do it that would be transparent to the public?

I don't know about the US specifics but in Russia people voting multiple times was the main strategy of fraud in 2010s (that is before they gave up all the pretence). Before this scheme came into being, the system of isolated voting points where every action was observable and verifiable based solely on the local context had worked reasonably well, to the displeasure of authorities.

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PeterisP ◴[22 Oct 24 09:18 UTC] No.41912559[source]▶
Some time ago every election or referendum simply put a stamp in the passport when voting, but that was before plastic ID cards. Now they have an online verification process before handing you the ballot papers; this also reports your ID for the invalidation of any pre-election votes (e.g. mail-in ballots) elsewhere.
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Thorrez ◴[22 Oct 24 13:32 UTC] No.41914091[source]▶
You used to need a passport to vote? 42-47% of Americans have passports currently. In 1990, only 5% of Americans had passports.
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1. PeterisP ◴[23 Oct 24 15:47 UTC] No.41926245[source]▶
That comes from a time/place where it was issued to 100% adult citizens and it was illegal not to have it - i.e. you have a duty to get one when you come of age or become a citizen or your old one expires, and it's a misdemeanor with some fines if you don't, plus quite a few other legal interactions will be simply refused until you get that sorted out.

Now an ID card is a valid option so some people have only the ID card and not a proper passport; but there is an expectation that everyone (who isn't e.g. actively hiding from the authorities as an outlaw) would have a valid ID and if they don't it's acceptable to require that they get one before they can fully interact with the rest of the society e.g. government, banking, driving, owning real estate or cars, any legal contracts such as rent or credit, etc.