New book chronicles fight for voting rights legislation

BOOK CORNER

By Marissa Wells

Contributing Writer

Aug. 6 marks the 56th anniversary of the signing of the ground-breaking piece of federal legislation, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, that prohibited racial discrimination in voting.

“Bring Back the Poll Tax! The GOP War on Voting Rights” by political analyst Earl Ofari Hutchinson is a timely new book that surveys the history of voting rights in America, offering a comprehensive analysis of the fact and fiction of voter fraud.

The book was inspired by recent voting-related legislation.

“The [Republican Party] has introduced or passed nearly 500 bills in 48 state legislatures to suppress the Black and Hispanic vote,” Hutchinson said.

It was important for Hutchinson to produce this book, as it “sounds a clarion call that nothing less than the right of every citizen to fully enjoy the fruit of America’s democratic political process is on the line in this high-stakes war.”

“Bring Back the Poll Tax! The GOP War on Voting Rights” is intended for “all Americans deeply concerned that our most basic fundamental right, the right to vote, is in great peril.”

The book will educate readers and move them to action as it sheds light on the voter suppression tactics happening in present day such as rigid identification requirements, the ending of same-day voting, Sunday voting and counting of conditional ballots, the closing down of polling places in minority neighborhoods and much, much more.

It is Hutchinson’s hope that readers gain “the sense of mortal danger the GOP possesses to voting rights in American.” He also hopes readers “support groups and individuals that are waging campaigns to combat GOP voter suppression.”

Hutchinson’s favorite part of his book is the chapter that “totally debunks the Trump and GOP lie that there is massive vote fraud in the country and that vote tightening laws are needed to end the fraud.”

In addition to being an author, Hutchinson is the president of Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, a public advocacy and civil rights organization.

On Aug. 6 Hutchinson will have a book signing/reading at the National Action Network office and in September he will be at Maalik Books in Los Angeles. To connect with the author and learn more visit, him on Facebook.

“Bring Back the Poll Tax! The GOP War on Voting Rights” is available for $9.95 via Amazon and Ingram Spark.