1. Activate prior knowledge. Begin by asking the class: What are the rules and requirements that must be followed/met in order to vote in the U.S.? Are these rules the same in every state? Write down their responses on a piece of chart paper, board, or screen displayed at the front of the room. Students will likely know that you must be 18 years old but are less likely to know the details of how voter registration works in their state (and that it differs from state to state). Prompt them to think about other requirements such as deadlines, citizenship status, identification requirements, polling locations, etc.

Once you have a list of rules and requirements, compare the list created by students with your state’s actual policies, which you can find at Rock The Vote’s How to Vote state database. After reviewing your state’s actual voting laws, ask students which, if any, of the current laws are fair/unfair, reasonable/unreasonable, discriminatory, and/or necessary.

1. Framing the film in historical context. Before viewing the film, provide a brief explanation of the history of voter suppression and the fight for voting rights in America. Trace how voter suppression has evolved from the times of slavery, to Reconstruction, to the Jim Crow era, to the Civil Rights Movement and the Voting Rights Act of 1964, to the present day. If possible, find historic examples or primary source texts (e.g., flyers, photos, legal documents) from the community you live in. (Recommended resources: Voting Rights: A Short History; TIMELINE: History of voter suppression in the United States; The Voting Rights Act: Ten Things You Should Know.) Tell students to watch the film with this history in mind.
2. Sidebar discussion: Spotlight on Asian American disenfranchisement and activism (Note: for teachers viewing the film over multiple class periods, this may be a good end-of-day-one discussion.) Discuss some of the ways the film (e.g., film clip #1 and film clip #2) shows how Asian American voters are discouraged or prevented from voting. What do the activists in the film do to respond? How did you respond to seeing Asian American political activists organize at the grassroots level? Is it something you’ve seen portrayed in the media before? Did it change any preconceived notions you had about political activism in the Asian American community? In lesson one, we discussed the term intersectionality. What are the dimensions of intersectionality in the Asian American community shown in the film? (Race/ethnicity, language, immigration status.)
3. Jigsaw group research activity: Voter suppression laws. Break students up into groups, and assign each group to research 1-2 voter suppression laws/tactics (bullet-pointed in the list below) from film clip #3. Each group should construct a poster, PowerPoint, or other form of visual representation that explains the laws or regulations that enable these tactics, the justifications for these policies, and how they work to suppress voter turnout and/or voter participation. Have each group present their findings, or do a gallery walk.

• Voter ID laws
• Proof of citizenship requirements
• Poll closures and poll site changes
• Voter roll purges
• “Use it or lose it” laws
• No paper ballots
• Not enough provisional ballots
• Outdated software
• Not enough voting machines, power cords, or other necessary hardware
• Signature match laws
• “Exact match” laws
• Untrained poll workers

Teachers may provide students with a list of quality secondary sources to draw from, such as the one below, or have students locate sources on their own.

Voter Suppression Resources

League of Women Voters: Fighting Voter Suppression

The Brennan Center: The New Voter Suppression

Center For American Progress: Voter Suppression During the 2018 Midterm Elections

ACLU - Block the Vote: Voter Suppression in 2020

ACLU: The Facts About Voter Suppression

Teaching Tolerance: Teaching the Truth About Voter Suppression

1. Discussion. Facilitate dialogue around voter suppression and the scenes depicted from election day in film clip #4. What about these laws, policies, or tactics surprised you most? Do you think any of these laws are necessary -- why or why not? If you were in charge, how would you change these policies? What new policies would you create? Introduce current debates around felon voter rights (such as Florida’s 2018 Amendment 4), mail-in ballots, and same-day voter registration. Have students discuss the merits of these policies, and evaluate the arguments against them.
2. Advocating for change. Have students research local voting rights or elections-related grassroots activist/advocacy organizations in their community. What are their current initiatives and/or campaigns? How are they working to build political power? Are there particular laws or policies they are currently advocating for? What volunteer opportunities do they have?