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  • Give Us the Vote!: Over 200 Years of Fighting for the Ballot by Susan Goldman Rubin
  • Elizabeth Bush

Rubin, Susan Goldman Give Us the Vote!: Over 200 Years of Fighting for the Ballot. Holiday House, 2020 [160p] illus. with photographs Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-8234-3957-7 $19.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-8234-4407-6 $11.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 5-8

Who in the U.S. has been fighting for the ballot across the span of more than two [End Page 224] centuries? Just about every citizen, at some time or other, who wasn't a propertied white man. A prologue discussing voter suppression in the 2018 North Dakota election, which involved a state law requiring IDs with house numbers, which many Native Americans lacked, is a strong and provocative opener, reminding readers that voting rights must be continually reviewed and safeguarded. Then, however, Rubin shifts to a fairly generic treatment of voting rights history centered on women's suffrage and Black civil rights, returning in later chapters to consideration of quasi-legal methods of voter suppression (e.g., public voice votes, literacy tests, drivers' license IDs, gerrymandering), and extension of voting rights to citizens under twenty-one. As the book straddles the line between chronological and topical approaches, readers with little background are left with a less than satisfying history, and those ready to explore extension and/or suppression of voting rights among various demographics will find specific accounts scanty. Photographs are scattered throughout; back matter references to pertinent Constitutional amendments, a timeline, an extensive list of print and online resources, source notes, and an index are included.

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