NPR’s "All Things Considered" presents an in-depth, multi-part series on efforts to restrict voting rights in the U.S.
"The Right to Vote," airing during "All Things Considered" Monday, July 12 through Friday, July 16 between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. on AM 1370/FM 107.5 and WRUR 88.5 FM, shares different stories and conversations that give context to efforts across the country to restrict access to the ballot box, restrictions that disproportionately affect people of color.
Airing Monday, July 12:
THE BIG LIE & THE RESPONSES: The series begins with a look at The Big Lie and the response. In the days and weeks after he lost the presidential election to Joe Biden, former President Trump claimed the election had been stolen from him and sparked a movement in statehouses across the country to restrict voting access.
VOTING RESTRICTIONS AFTER BIG LIE: Following Donald Trump's false claims about election integrity, at least 14 states enacted 22 new laws that restrict access to the vote; more bills are in the works. Ari Shapiro speaks with President Michael Waldman of the Brennan Center for Justice about what the center is seeing across the country and how it could change voting in future elections.
Airing Tuesday, July 13:
SHELBY V HOLDER: Ailsa Chang speaks to lawyer Debo Adegbile about how the Supreme Court case Shelby County v. Holder (2013), which gutted Section 5 of The Voting Rights Act, now allows states to pass new restrictive voting laws.
Airing Wednesday, July 14:
WE'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE: Audie Cornish talks with Civil Rights activists about fighting for the voting rights act. What was it like to live through that era and what are the stakes then and now?
Airing Thursday, July 15:
PEOPLE BEHIND THE LAWS: Conservatives behind recent voting measures argue they make the process more secure after pandemic-related voting expansions.
Airing Friday, July 16:
THE STAKES FOR DEMOCRACY: Mary Louise Kelly wraps the series, talking with historians about the impact that new restrictive voting measures might have on democracy. Could this moment change the course of the American experiment?