![voting/ballot box](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Copy-of-Blog-Lead-Image-Template-2024-02-13T101249.495-1000x600.jpg)
Voting rights
![](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/person-holding-i-voted-sticker-1500x900.jpg)
In a healthy democracy, marginalized communities could use the political system to overcome inequities—but in the United States, gerrymandering, voter suppression, and other forms of disenfranchisement too often block that path.
![voting/ballot box](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Copy-of-Blog-Lead-Image-Template-2024-02-13T101249.495-1000x600.jpg)
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![plane with "scientific integrity" banner](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Copy-of-Blog-Lead-Image-Template-2023-04-20T100801.131-1000x600.jpg)
![engaged student in lecture hall](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/engaged-student-in-classroom-1000x600.jpg)
![a diverse group of students in graduation gowns stand in front of an academic building, looking up at their graduation caps that they've tossed into the air](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Copy-of-Blog-Lead-Image-Template94-1000x600.jpg)
![from the rocky shores of the Detroit River, the Detroit city skyline is pictured at sunrise](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Copy-of-Blog-Lead-Image-Template89-1000x600.jpg)
![The front of the Westcott Building at Florida State University, featuring a large brick building and a decorative fountain](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Copy-of-Blog-Lead-Image-Template86-1000x600.jpg)
![A pile of colorful postcards that read BE A VOTER in block letters, with a fun and cheerful star pattern around the text](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Copy-of-Blog-Lead-Image-Template85-1000x600.jpg)
![](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/angry-frustrated-student-looking-at-laptop-1000x600.jpg)
![US Supreme Court](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Copy-of-Blog-Lead-Image-Template-2023-06-09T145223.055-1000x600.jpg)
![Four preschoolers of different races/ethnicities sit in a school holding their hands up as though they're reciting a song or lesson](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Copy-of-Blog-Lead-Image-Template66-1000x600.jpg)
![A view of the US Capitol building in a snowstorm, through the haze of yellowish streetlights](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Copy-of-Blog-Lead-Image-Template40-1000x600.jpg)
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![US Supreme Court Justices](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Copy-of-Blog-Lead-Image-Template-94-1000x600.jpg)
!["What Now?" neon sign](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Copy-of-Blog-Lead-Image-Template-14-1000x600.jpg)
![polling station](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Copy-of-Blog-Lead-Image-Template-91-1000x600.jpg)
![A young Black woman hands in her ballot at a polling station in 1964, in Washington, DC](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Copy-of-Blog-Lead-Image-Template33-1000x600.jpg)
![people in line to vote](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Copy-of-Blog-Lead-Image-Template-80-1000x600.jpg)
![](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/right-to-vote-sign-1000x600.jpg)
![People voting](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Copy-of-Blog-Lead-Image-Template-67-1000x600.jpg)
![](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/voting-american-flag-1000x600.jpg)
![A cityspace of buildings in Milwaukee, WI, with a Shephard Fairey mural on the side of one building reading, "Voting rights are human rights"](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Copy-of-Blog-Lead-Image-Template16-1000x600.jpg)
![](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/ALEC-Chicago-Demo-1000x600.jpg)
![A person wearing a face mask, hat, and hoodie holds a candle and a sign reading "Remember Jan. 6, senators. Protect our democracy now," at a candelight vigil in Washington, DC, after the attack on the US Capitol](https://blog.ucsusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Copy-of-Blog-Lead-Image-Template12-1000x600.jpg)
In a healthy democracy, marginalized communities could use the political system to overcome inequities—but in the United States, gerrymandering, voter suppression, and other forms of disenfranchisement too often block that path.