Barriers to Voting and Voter Suppression

Barriers to voting are the practical and legal obstacles that make it harder for eligible people to cast a ballot. Voter suppression is the term used when such obstacles are seen as meant to keep certain groups from voting. Examples include registration hurdles, limits on polling places and hours, voter roll purges, and identification rules. Legislatures, election officials, courts, and advocacy groups are all involved, and they often disagree about which measures are barriers and which are safeguards.

People usually ask how hard voting is in practice, how list maintenance affects eligible voters, and what recourse exists when someone is blocked from voting.