新作坊 Humanity Innovation and Social Practice

Promoting civic engagement post-release from correctional facilities/purtle responds

摘要：

Among those registered to vote in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, for example, a survey found that 6.0% of Whites lacked an acceptable form of voter ID compared with 11.3% of Hispanics and 15.3% of African Americans.4 Voter ID laws are likely to become more common in light of the Supreme Court's recent ruling rendering Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 unconstitutional. 5 Many jurisdictions with a history of discriminatory voting practices will no longer have to obtain federal preclearance before changing election procedures. Texas, for example, announced that a voter photo ID law would go into effect immediately.6 Legislators in North Carolina quickly began to work on similar legislation.7 With Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act struck down, community-based initiatives like Unlock the Vote will be evermore important in helping individuals navigate within discriminatory electoral systems and in "fortify[ing] the relationship between civic engagement and health." Jonathan Purtle, MPH, MSc About the Author Jonathan Purtle is with the Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, and the DrPH program in Health Policy and Social Justice, Department of Health Management and Policy, Drexel University School of Public Health.