With SCOTUS Appearing Ready to Strike Down More of the Voting Rights Act in 2026, MLK’s 1957 ‘Give Us the Ballot’ Speech is Still Relevant

With SCOTUS Appearing Ready to Strike Down More of the Voting Rights Act in 2026, MLK’s 1957 ‘Give Us the Ballot’ Speech is Still Relevant

Years before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke on the Brown vs. Board of Education decision during the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom at the Lincoln Memorial, May 17th, 1957. As the U.S. Supreme Court seems poised to strike down more of the VRA in 2026, his words are still relevant today.
Motor-Voter Laws Have Helped Register Millions to Vote, But Accidentally Signed Up a Relative Small Number of Noncitizens. It’s Still a Big Success.

Motor-Voter Laws Have Helped Register Millions to Vote, But Accidentally Signed Up a Relative Small Number of Noncitizens.  It’s Still a Big Success.

As a solution to declining voter registration rates, 24 states and the District of Columbia implemented automatic voter registration, also known as AVR or “motor-voter.” Mistakes including the registration of noncitizens have occurred, but it’s also resulted in helping millions more Americans register to vote.