If all political power derives from the people, then the people must ultimately be responsible for the discriminatory exercise of that power. Thus, while Chapter 7 explained the complicity and legal fault of candidates and political parties, this chapter examines the legal culpability of voters themselves and proposes legal remedies and deterrents.

In an ideal world, Congress would pass a law outlawing racial discrimination in voting pursuant to its enforcement powers under the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, and the law would impose penalties for its violation. Whitelashers, however, hide in the privacy of the ballot box, casting their vote at least in part based on their resistance to progress by people who look different than they do. This privacy—to say nothing of First Amendment concerns—makes an edict prohibiting racial discrimination impractical.