If you have been following politics, than you know that Wisconsin is a major battleground this year. Well, Wisconsin isn’t the only state where voters are being challenged to get to the polls. Suppression tactics can be seen across the nation in places like Indiana, Kansas, and Georgia just to name a few. Recently the Fair Elections Legal Network and Campus Progress, have unveiled their interactive voter suppression map. This map shows us where voters rights are being challenged.

What does this mean for us, you ask?

Well, the Voter ID bill is deigned to disenfranchise the very young and very old voters who may not have state IDs, or who have recently moved and do not have a current ID with their new address. At first, I didn’t understand what the big deal was either, but I learned that in Wisconsin, that minorities, and poor and transient people are disproportionately effected by this law. If you’re a college student from Milwaukee, living in Madison, you may not be able to vote. Or if you are a homeless teenager, who wants to exercise your right to vote, you may be denied because you have nowhere to receive mail. These may seem like small problems, but when you add it all up, many people will lose the right to vote.

So what’s the solution? Well, in Milwaukee, the Wisconsin League has been mobilizing young people for weeks to get the word out that the current voter ID bill has been suspended, and you can currently vote without restriction in the upcoming election. They are informing the minority communities, that unless they get out to vote, bills like this may become laws! Not only are they informing people, but The League of Young Voters Education Fund is working hard nationwide to get young, new, and old voters registered.

Our best defense, may be our offense, and nothing will help get more voters out, than making sure they are currently registered at their correct address. Do it online here if you need to: bit.ly/99votes

Get involved in your area, because voting is your right!