The Pew Research Center recently reported that the Black voter turnout in the 2016 election declined for the first time in 20 years “falling to 59.6% in 2016 after reaching a record-high of 66.6% in 2012.”.A convincing argument can be made that this is largely due to the fact that Barack Obama was no longer on the ballot , but voter registration efforts also contributed to that reduction. In the first election without the full protection of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, other factor that may have come into play included: efforts like the reduction of acceptable forms of voter ID, absence of early voting in some states, and the reduction in the number of polling places.
Changes in structural barriers that could be addressed to increase voter participation include implementation of universal automatic and online voter registration, same day voter registration, and returning voting rights to felons.
A seldom discussed additional reason for the reduction in Black voter turnout is the “don’t vote” rhetoric, particularly when it came from prominent Black Americans who encouraged Black people not to vote in the 2016 election. This also must also be addressed if the low Black voter turnout trend is to be reversed.