Speech #920190883

But this fact stands out above all others: when there were no registration laws in our States. voter participation was quite high. When registration laws were enacted. participation sank below 50 percent in most States. Why were these laws enacted in the late 1890s? Was it to prevent fraud. to insure fair elections? Far from it. We all know why they were enacted. They were enacted to prevent people from voting. The poll tax in some States. the grandfather clauses in others. the effort to discriminate against some nationalitiesthe oriental in the Western States and the European immigrants in the Eastern Statesthese were the real reasons. And they were effective. They still are.