Whose Vote Counts | American RadioWorks

The fiasco in Florida got the most attention in the 2000 election, and it would be easy to assume that better voting machines will solve America's problems at the polls. But the flaws in our voting system are deeper than that. It turns out that in the 2000 race, the people whose vote most often got lost or rejected were citizens who have been traditionally discriminated against - African Americans and other minorities, new immigrants and the disabled. And when it comes to one whole class of Americans - the nation's 5 million convicted felons - a criminal sentence can mean losing the power to vote for life.


			The Promise of Electronic Voting Counties across America are getting rid of their old punch card ballots and installing high-tech voting machines. But some computer scientists worry that the new systems could be vulnerable to fraud.


			Disenfranchisement in America Forty years after the civil rights movement fought to end discrimination at the polls, many Americans are routinely stymied when they try to cast a vote. Minorities, immigrants and the disabled are the most likely to encounter problems.


			Felons Struggle to Vote Five million Americans cannot vote because they are convicted felons. Voting rights for felons may be the next suffrage movement in the United States, one that could make a considerable difference in upcoming elections.

Read the transcript.

What exactly is HAVA?

How does your state compare?

Links and Resources

To order a CD, send a check or money order for $20 to: American Public Media CDs, 45 East 7th Street, St. Paul, MN 55101

CREDITS

Whose Vote Counts? was a produced by the Center for Investigative Reporting and American RadioWorks as part of public radio's special coverage Whose Democracy is It?

Producers: Rebecca Perl, Jamie York and Michael Montgomery
Editors: Deborah George and Dan Noyes
Mixing: Craig Thorson
Coordinating Producer: Sasha Aslanian
Project Coordinator: Misha Quill
Web Manager: John Pearson
Web Production Supervisor: Michael Wells

Web Producer: Ochen Kaylan
CIR Executive Director: Burt Glass
Managing Editor: Stephen Smith
Executive Producer: Bill Buzenberg
Production Assistance: Sarah Lancaster, Phoebe Larsen, Sarah Fazio, Inna Ponomarenko, Jason Dearen, Michael Chandler, Patrick McGrath, and Tennessee Watson

Major funding for American RadioWorks comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Additional funding for Whose Vote Counts? came from the JEHT Foundation, The Schumann Center for Media and Democracy and the members of Minnesota Public Radio.