Today is Election Day 2024, and candidates all over the place – from president to congress, and on the state and native levels – are making their final push to get your vote.

Unfortunately, voter suppression tactics could also be among the many strategies used to influence the end result. As a reminder, voter suppression includes any motion that makes it difficult or discourages people from voting.

As you head to the polls today, check out these 8 common voter suppression tactics that can help make sure you and others in your community can exercise their right to vote freely and fairly.

1. Discouragement within the face of long lines

No matter when or where you vote, there’s all the time a risk of encountering a line that is simply too long. Pay special attention to individuals who suggest you “leave and come back later” when lines are shorter, and even try to discourage you from voting altogether. Be sure to plan your visit to the polling place when you’ve some free time in order not to be distracted by potentially long lines.

2. Strict identification requirements

If you might be a registered voter, generally a government-issued ID card might be enough to vote. In some cases, chances are you’ll be required to show your voter registration card, but should you notice that other voters are receiving different instructions than you or anyone in your group, don’t hesitate to ask questions for clarification.

3. Unofficial “Observers” survey

While polling places in lots of states have been a comparatively hassle-free environment previously, the changing nature of this election 12 months may lead to people trying to query you or do other things to deliberately annoy you until you allow or are asked to leave. Remember to remain consistent and never give in to anyone who tries to stop you from doing what you got here to do, which is vote.

4. Last minute changes to the voting site

Try to check where your polling station is often. In some states, there’s a high likelihood that there might be changes to your voting location, and if this happens, chances are you’ll not be notified upfront.

5. Inconsistent information in regards to the opening hours of the polling station

Polling stations will open at 6:00 a.m. and shut at 9:00 p.m. on election day. Hours of operation vary by state, so make sure to check ahead of time what the hours are in your state. On the day you intend to vote, check again before you go to be sure there have been no changes that can cause you to lose your ability to vote.

6. Review of defamatory campaign ads

Read up on the candidates and where they stand on the problems that matter most to you, so you do not get easily swayed by an influx of negative campaign ads that can undoubtedly come across as a last-ditch effort to get your vote by painting the opposite candidate in a foul light. Know your candidate’s history, but additionally keep in mind that the motion plans he has outlined for the current and future will prove most vital if he’s elected president.

7. Random voter purges

If you might be faraway from the ballot for questioning, reassignment, and even being prevented from voting by an election official, stay calm and ask questions to find out what is going on fairly than leaving without voting. It’s also helpful to familiarize yourself together with your voting rights upfront, or to bring someone with you who’s at the very least minimally informed in regards to the basics.

8. Blatant bullying

Whether it’s subtle comments from other voters, offended words from protesters, or an irate election official having a foul day, don’t let anyone intimidate you to the purpose of abstaining from voting by not doing all the things you’ll be able to all the things possible to be sure your vote is counted.

The undeniable fact that these tactics are used on their very own should let you know how beneficial and powerful your voice is. Otherwise why would they struggle to suppress it, right?

“They were willing to risk everything,” Plaskett said of the vulnerable communities that mobilized to elect Harris, including some white allies. Unfortunately, their efforts weren’t enough to place Kamala Harris within the White House in 2025.

While many feel helpless and terrified on the prospect of a second Trump administration, Plaskett had a direct message for these voters, especially Black women – 91% of whom voted for Harris.

Since the election was called, Democrats have engaged in a blame game, attempting to make sense of not only Harris’ loss but, more importantly, Trump’s growing share of the voting electorate, including from white women, Latinos – and to a small extent Black men – who they consider were voted against own interests.

“People chose to side with someone who at least felt comfortable saying that, which clearly sent a signal to his supporters that it was not only okay, but somewhat accepted,” explained Payne, who worked on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2016.

As Trump returns to the White House, Payne warned there might be a “very heightened level of concern for vulnerable communities, especially Black people.”

Plaskett, who served alongside Harris on the Congressional Black Caucus, stated that she believed Harris’ loss was partly a result of her identity as a girl and an individual of color. When President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris, the congresswoman recalled telling others, “I trust us black women, but I’m not entirely sure what white men and white women will do.”

When the election results confirmed her suspicions, she added: “It’s very painful.”

In addition to expected hurdles in winning over white voters on account of Harris’ identity as a black and South Asian woman, Clyburn, an in depth confidant of Biden, said he was particularly concerned about black men.

Although former President Barack Obama and others were heavily criticized for suggesting that some black men wouldn’t vote for Harris because she is a girl (78% of black men voted for Harris, in response to an exit poll), Clyburn said he and other Democrats have already recognized the primary signs of some defections within the party’s second most loyal voting bloc.

“(There was) a strong feeling growing among African-American men that…the black woman was the backbone (of the party)…black men took offense to that,” Clyburn said.

Congresswoman Plaskett said that given the white vote and the small portion of black and brown voters who joined them, she didn’t consider “we have aligned interests in this country.” She added: “In order to defeat Donald Trump and white privilege, we must acknowledge this.”

While it is argued that Harris lost the election because Trump won over voters together with his message on the economy and immigration, Democrats don’t exactly buy it. While they acknowledge that the present president-elect has won the knowledge and messaging war, they consider this only tells part of the story.

In their view, Harris had a more comprehensive economic plan (backed by data) that has been proven to grow the economy. Democrats also said Trump clearly encouraged Republicans to create chaos around the difficulty quite than work with Democrats to pass already proposed laws to deal with the country’s border and broken immigration system.

Plaskett said that despite Harris being the “perfect candidate” and running a “flawless campaign against a convicted felon, twice impeached, poorly disciplined man who said he would do terrible things to people,” voters felt “They have nothing to do with it.”

Regardless of the cause, Payne expressed concerns that the 2024 election results may lead to the “potential marginalization of already marginalized groups,” akin to Black voters, Arab-American voters and Latino voters.

“I am concerned that these groups who are already marginalized… may be judged or essentially blamed en masse for an election outcome that is less targeted and more systemic,” he continued.

“I would borrow words from modern hip-hop philosopher Jay-Z and remind people that no one wins when family feuds,” said Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist who advises on national campaigns.

“It was Joe Biden who helped bring Kamala Harris to the forefront of our party,” Seawright said, “as his running mate, vice president, and willing and able partner on the political floor and in the political dance.” floor for the last 4 years.

As they appear ahead to the 2026 midterm elections and the 2028 presidential election, Democrats proceed to view Harris because the viable leader of the party.

Congressman Clyburn said he hopes Harris will “turn this obstacle into a stepping stone and provide a vision for it.”

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“I see no reason why Kamala Harris shouldn’t have a place in the future Democratic Party,” Payne said, noting that the vp “has been put in an extremely difficult position,” including having only 100 days to construct a national campaign while competing with Trump in “attention economy,” raising money and reuniting the Democratic coalition.

“I think Kamala Harris has a lot to be proud of,” he said. “You could have put a lot of Democrats there – governors, senators, former candidates, etc., and honestly, a lot of them wouldn’t have done as well as she did.”

However, Payne also stressed that Democrats must “cast a wide net to determine who in the next group of leaders is best positioned to help the party make small reforms and help it grow and evolve.”

The Democratic strategist noted that many Democrats “felt similarly concerned about the party’s political future” after John Kerry lost the 2004 election to President George W. Bush.

“We didn’t know Barack Obama was going to happen,” Payne said.

As Democrats scramble to position themselves because the opposition party to Trump, which could include regaining a majority within the U.S. House of Representatives once the remaining races are called, Payne said: “We needs to be disenchanted because I believe we all know what a mean Trump presidency will do, but I do not think we must always hang our heads as if we were helpless.

“We have the power. We represent tens of millions of voters,” he argued. “Democrats were able to oppose Donald Trump in good faith in 2016, 2017 and beyond, and I think we are well-positioned to do so again.”

Ultimately, Seawright said, “the American people have spoken.” He added: “They gave (Trump) essentially unchecked power. So we just must see what this actually means.

Let the electoral blame game begin.

ESPN host Stephen A. Smith has he solid his vote in the post-election ritual of pointing to someone or something as the reason a candidate lost, pointing to Oprah Winfrey and Michelle Obama.

On Wednesday on his podcast “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” Smith said the media mogul and former first lady set an exclusionary tone that turned off men (Trump’s most credible voting bloc).

“If we don’t agree with you, are we against you?” Smith said, referencing the media mogul and former first lady’s speeches. “What do you think the men thought about this? So we must do what you tell us; otherwise we are against you? Did you think it worked? Do you know anything about most men? Do you think this will work?”

Smith’s hour-long podcast has garnered greater than 8,000 comments and nearly 700,000 views. Most viewers agreed with Smith’s assessment and openly shared their decision to vote for Trump.

One user wrote, “We know Stephen A. voted for Trump, but he can’t say it or he’ll be recalled.” Just minutes into the podcast, Smith confirmed he voted for Kamala Harris. However, viewers weren’t entirely convinced. Another added in response: “He said he voted for Harris but I don’t believe him.”

It didn’t help matters when Smith shared on X (formerly Twitter) a link to his podcast episode on YouTube with the caption: “Donald Trump just completed the greatest comeback in American history.” Underneath that post, a user called Smith a “flip flop, nigga”

Donald Trump just accomplished the greatest comeback in American historyhttps://t.co/qcuVWm5u3V

— Stephen A. Smith (@stephenasmith) November 6, 2024

Oprah and Michelle O. are amongst the long list of celebrities who’ve endorsed Democrat Kamala Harris. She had on her side the hottest artists in the country (Beyonce and Taylor Swift), the most famous athlete (LeBron James) and two of the most famous actors (George Clooney and Harrison Ford). Stars from the past (Madonna and Bruce Springsteen) and current (Charli xcx and Lizzo) declared their support for Harris.

But together they were all fair sermon for the choirsaid Seth Abramovitch, senior author at the Hollywood Reporter.

“Oprah, Katy Perry, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Ariana Grande – these are artists whose audiences (black, female, liberal, queer) were already willing to vote for Kamala,” he told The Guardian.

Swift, popular with each country and pop fans, appears to be an outlier, Abramovich said, but her influence was negligible amongst two demographic groups which have shifted significantly toward Trump.

Of course, the same may be said about famous Trump supporters. Women of color, part of the demographic most proof against the former and future commander-in-chief, weren’t about to be influenced by the likes of Hulk Hogan, Kid Rock and Lee Greenwood.

Left or right, famously, they rarely, if ever, move the counter together with voters.

“In the academic literature,” said Professor Margaretha Bentley of Arizona State University, who has studied Swift’s cultural impact, “research has shown that while celebrity endorsements can increase civic engagement and voter registration, it has not been proven to have a direct impact on the way people make voting decisions.”

When Swift endorsed Harris, she directed followers to this page voting.gov. The website was visited by 405,999 people in 24 hours. However, not everyone was convinced to vote for the former prosecutor and current vice chairman.

In fact, Swift can have hurt Harris greater than helped. A poll conducted by YouGov shortly after her endorsement found that only 8 percent of voters could be “somewhat” or “much more” prone to vote for Harris, well below the 20 percent of respondents who said supporting Swift would make them less prone to vote for a Democrat.

Ashley Spillane of Harvard, who creator a study titled “Celebrities Strengthen Our Culture of Democracy” found that it’s unimaginable to quantify whether a celeb endorsement translates into more votes for a candidate.

This is a change from the past. A 2008 poll conducted by Northwestern University found that Oprah’s endorsement of Barack Obama added roughly a million votes to his final tally.

But that was in less divisive times.

Smith argued that it was Oprah’s message, not Oprah herself, that turned off male voters. Her warning on the eve of the election was that a second Trump term would herald an antidemocratic takeover of the United States

“This is something that alienates the electorate, alienates the voter,” Smith said. “Because the freedom you tell them you have, you’re trying to morally confiscate it by letting them know you’re worth nothing if you don’t vote the way we think you should vote.”

“Who will decide on this in the general election?” Smith asked. “In an economy full of inflation, with over 12 million people crossing the border?”

Stephen A Smith destroys Democrats and Oprah. Listen. pic.twitter.com/PWf14XxpPw

— The Godfather (@facts215_) November 7, 2024

The high-power recommendations also served to verify Republicans’ findings that Democrats were an elite party.

“Ultimately, stars value tons of of tens of millions, if not billions, who most American residents consider are incredibly out of touch with their lifestyle and the quality of it, weren’t going to run away and blame them for doing something different than what their experience says and what they need to do with it do,” Smith said.

The people almost certainly to learn from a celeb’s endorsement are the celebrity themselves, says Laurence F. Maslon, an art professor at New York University.

“I think sometimes it’s a way of tying your star to someone who seems to be good for you, and maybe there’s some kind of reflected glory in that,” Maslon said.

British comedian Ricky Gervais probably said it best video – he posted in June in which he ridiculed overly serious stars who consider that their political beliefs really matter.

“As a celebrity, I know everything about science and politics, so trust me when I tell you who you should vote for,” Gervais said. “If you don’t vote the right way it will be like a hate crime and it makes me sad and angry so I will leave the country and you don’t want that.”