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Election Perspectives: Dr. Tim McCarthy, Part 2

Election Perspectives: Dr. Tim McCarthy, Part 2

Sara Kugler and Morgan Franklin @sarakug and @morganmfranklin November 5, 2012 We asked Dr. Tim McCarthy, Lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School, about coalition building in our current political moment and about what’s at stake in this election. This is part two of his response. How do Voter Challenge Initiatives, such as voter I.D. laws and mandates restricting the ability of citizens to vote outside of an “Election Day” window, affect the state of American elections, and by extension, American democracy. The United States has a long history of attempting to deny or suppress the right to vote. The recent voter I.D. laws—dozens of state-level statutes designed to restrict voting rights among racial minorities, recently naturalized citizens, young people, and …

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Election Perspectives: Dr. Tim McCarthy, Part 1

Election Perspectives: Dr. Tim McCarthy, Part 1

Sara Kugler and Morgan Franklin @sarakug and @morganmfranklin November 5, 2012 We asked Dr. Tim McCarthy, Lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School, about coalition building in our current political moment and about what’s at stake in this election. This is part one of his response. What is at stake for women of color in this election? So much. When it comes to the fundamental rights of citizenship for historically marginalized and disfranchised groups—women, people of color, immigrants, LGBT folks, the poor and working-class (in other words, the majority of Americans)—the choice this election season could not be more clear. Neither candidate is perfect, by any means, but as I have written elsewhere, I’d much rather be struggling for justice in …

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