Voter Suppression

A panel discussion, Voter Suppression and the American Dream, took place at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library on Saturday, October 27, 2018, from 2 to 4 PM in Marvin Auditorium 101AB.

The purpose of the panel was to consider the historical roots of voter suppression in the United States, including links to white supremacy and anti-immigration movements, as well as recent trends in voter suppression including the efforts to enact legislation restricting voter registration, targeted voter ID laws in Kansas and across the US, and efforts to challenge voters at the polls. In addition, panel members will discuss what actually constitutes voter fraud, the impacts of voter suppression efforts on voter turnout and civil society, and the impact of these efforts on elections in Kansas and across the nation.

Panel participants included

• Margaret Ahrens, League of Women’s Voters Topeka/Shawnee County
• Shawn Alexander, Professor of African and African American Studies Department and Director of KU’s Langston Hughes Center, University of Kansas
• Davis Hammet, Loud Light & Topeka Center for Peace and Justice
• Teresa Leslie-Canty, Career Specialist, Topeka High School (unable to attend)
• Mark McCormick, Director of Strategic Communications, American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas

Organizers of the event include the Topeka Center for Peace and Justice, the Kansas League of Women’s Voters, the League of Women’s Voters of Topeka/Shawnee County.