Michelle Obama gave a speech at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation last Saturday night focused on getting out the vote. Although Obama made no direct reference to the voter-ID laws that have dominated much of the news cycle this election season, she drew comparisons between turning out the vote to the civil rights struggles of the past.
“Make no mistake about it, this is the march of our time,” Obama said . “Marching door-to-door registering people to vote, marching everyone you know to the polls every single election.” This, she said, “is the movement of our era- protecting that fundamental right, not just for this election but for the next generation and generations to come.”
Voter suppression laws are currently being contested in swing states like Pennsylvania, Virginia, Iowa, Ohio, and Florida, among others. A study released earlier in September by the Black Youth Project projects that one million young minority voters could be affected by new voter suppression laws enacted in 17 states.
Media Resources: Washington Post 9/22/12; The Root 9/23/12; Huffington Post 9/22/12; Daily Feminist News Wire 9/13/12
