2013 was pivotal for two reasons. First, it came after President Obama’s re-election, which shocked many Republicans and which depended—like Trump’s victory four years later—on new blocs of voters turning out in record numbers.
According to Carol Anderson, author of
One Person, No Vote: The Impact of Voter Suppression in America, the Obama coalition brought in 15 million new voters, mostly young people and people of color. 2012 was when the demographic writing was on the wall.
Second, 2013 is when the Supreme Court decided
Shelby County v. Holder, which eviscerated the Voting Rights Act and
made it much easier for states and municipalities to enact discriminatory measures. Prior to
Shelby County, states with a history of racial discrimination had to secure advance clearance from the federal government before changing voting processes. But
Shelby County did away with those requirements, opening the floodgates to voter suppression. In the case of polling places specifically, pre-
Shelby County, states had to notify voters if their polling places had changed, but that requirement was removed in 2013.
