[krapp]

>You register to be able to vote? Why isn't every citizen automatically allowed to vote?

Voting isn't a Constitutionally guaranteed right in the US, it's a privilege. Although the Supreme Court and various Constitutional Amendments greatly restrict the power of states to disenfranchise their citizens, states do have that power (for instance convicted felons often lose the right to vote.)

Also, voter registration laws have traditionally been an effective way of suppressing African American and immigrant voters[0] (who tend to vote Democrat) so red states tend to vigorously support such laws.

[0]https://time.com/5855885/voter-registration-history-race/

[edbob]

> Also, voter registration laws have traditionally been an effective way of suppressing African American and immigrant voters[0] (who tend to vote Democrat) so red states tend to vigorously support such laws.

I've yet to see a single source that can show any significant effect of "voter suppression". One guy in 1836 doesn't count. If you truly think that minorities in America can't figure out how to register, than I would suggest that you check your patronizingly racist view of minorities.

The argument about linking Republican registration policies to Jim Crow etc. is worthless, because those were all Democratic laws that were opposed by Republicans. Stop blaming Republicans for the Democratic Party's legacy of populist racial identity politics.