From Poll Taxes to Gerrymandering: The Persistent Threat To Democracy In Texas

How Texas’s legacy of disenfranchisement continues to shape its political landscape.

https://www.lonestarleft.com/p/from-poll-taxes-to-gerrymandering




Voter suppression in Texas is not just a relic of the past; it’s a persistent force that has shaped the state’s political landscape from its inception. The ink was barely dry on the 15th Amendment when white conservatives began devising new ways to silence the voices of people of color. Today, as Governor Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton spearhead efforts to suppress voters, we are witnessing a disturbing continuation of this legacy—modern tactics with the same age-old purpose: to undermine democracy by excluding those who threaten their grip on power.

To understand the gravity of what’s happening today, we need to look back at the long history of voter suppression in Texas. From the poll taxes and literacy tests of the Jim Crow era to the gerrymandering and voter ID laws of recent decades, each tactic has been carefully crafted to maintain power by keeping certain voices out of the democratic process.

A brief history of voter suppression in Texas.