Want To Suppress The Vote? A New Documentary Shows How It Can Be Done

The American Issues Initiative’s new documentary “Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook, ” wants to alarm people. It shows the myriad tactics that states, including North Carolina, used to suppress citizens’ right to vote leading up to and during the 2016 election. “Many people don’t understand that a whole series of laws have been passed in over 20 states with the intent, and effect, of making it more difficult to vote,” says Mac Heller, co-executive producer on the film. Footage in the film includes one Cumberland County woman, who had been displaced by Hurricane Matthew, being turned away from voting after finding out she was purged from the list of registered voters. Host Frank Stasio talks with Heller about making the film, and his appearance at a Halifax County field hearing on April 18 to discuss the ways voters in North Carolina have had their rights suppressed. The American Issues Initiative is an independent production company with a progressive bent. "Rigged: The Voter