• JackbyDev@programming.devEnglish
    0·
    11 months ago

    Fuck no. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy_test

    Between the 1850s and 1960s, literacy tests were used as an effective tool for disenfranchising African Americans in the Southern United States. Literacy tests were typically administered by white clerks who could pass or fail a person at their discretion based on race. Illiterate whites were often permitted to vote without taking these literacy tests because of grandfather clauses written into legislation.

    • TheFogan@programming.devEnglish
      0·
      11 months ago

      Also worth pointing out, WHY the test is so bad… 1. obviously not even well educated people today can agree on the meaning of a good portion of the questions.

      but the biggest thing is, not everyone had to take them… IE the key point intention was “if a parent or grandparent has ever voted, you can skip this test”. which is such a blatant giving away that they don’t care of an individuals knowledge, they aren’t actually worried if they can read, they were just keeping first generation voters from voting… at a time when in particular a specific subset of american’s were in position to be first generation voters.

    • AItoothbrush@lemmy.zipEnglish
      0·
      11 months ago

      This is like the kryptonite of autistic people… and black voters whenever they had this…

  • abbiistabbii@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    0·
    11 months ago

    If voting needed an exam, they would use that exam to stop certain demographics from voting. And no, I’m not talking about the ignorant.

    • bestagon@lemmy.world
      0·
      11 months ago

      They used to do this and it turned out exactly how you describe. I would probably also add it’d incentivize politicians to dismantle educational institutions serving certain demographics

    • apftwb@lemmy.world
      0·
      11 months ago

      Surely there are no examples in American history that voting eligibility exams were used to stop certain demographics from voting.