During my childhood, in the years before I could vote, only 2% of African Americans voted in elections because of Jim Crow laws and threats of violence. I lived through the Civil Rights Movement and witnessed the signing of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that banned racial discrimination in voting practices. A few years before my 18th birthday, the 26th Amendment was expanded, giving 18-year-olds the right to vote. I was wise enough to understand the importance of voting and the sacrifices made to provide this right to people like me (black and female). I take pride in the fact that I have voted in nearly every election at all levels of government since I turned 18. Voting is our collective voice. It is having our say in who makes the laws and policies and spending decisions that govern our nation and affect our daily lives. Voting matters!
Since Biden defeated Trump in the 2020 Presidential Election, many Republicans have signed on to the “Big Lie” that the election was stolen from Trump. Given the opportunity to prove voter fraud in multiple courts, they were unable to provide any evidence. Even multiple recounts have not overturned any election results. Trump supporters and Fox News have lost defamation lawsuits made by voting machine companies whom they falsely accused of rigging. However, none of this has not stopped Republican-run state legislators from enacting new state voting laws that will effectively suppress the vote of minorities, the poor, and the youth who typically vote for Democrats. In addition, and most egregiously, they are passing laws that give Republican state officials the power to alter the outcome of election results. I’m convinced that the 2013 Supreme Court decision that ended pre-clearance of voting law changes in Southern states with a history of voter discrimination was premature. As a result, it is going to take additional legislation and multiple lawsuits to defend the voting rights of millions of Americans against the tidal wave of voter suppression laws and anti-election integrity efforts to preserve our actual democracy. Many political scientists, historians, journalists, political commentators, and constitutional scholars are desperately sounding the alarm that we are in real danger of losing our democracy. Below is a graphic depiction of where we stand as of September 2021.
Voting is the cornerstone of democracy. It should be made easier for citizens to vote, not harder. Elected officials are supposed to represent the people. However, none of us should be surprised that conservatives are seeing things differently these days because they now hold views that the majority of Americans disagree with. Most Americans are for reasonable gun control laws. They are not. Most Americans value diversity and inclusion. They do not. Most Americans value a woman’s right to choose. They do not. Most Americans respect LGBTQ rights. They do not. Most Americans value universal healthcare and a social safety net. They do not. Most Americans want a reasonable and fair immigration system. They do not. Most Americans embrace truth, teaching of history, and rectifying injustice. They do not.
It is said that desperate people do desperate things to get their way. And the Republicans are desperate. They see the rapidly changing racial demographics. They recognize their inability to win the culture wars around social and religious topics. So, because democracy may no longer work for them, they are willing to throw democracy out the window to maintain power and authority over the majority of Americans. And their greatest weapon is gerrymandering district maps to favor Republicans. They are basically choosing their voters and limiting opposition. Republican legislators are carving out more seats for themselves for Congress, giving more populace democratic areas fewer representatives or diluting democratic areas by adding them to more heavily populated Republican districts. Hopefully, it is not too late to stop them from succeeding in this ploy in tandem with their outright voter suppression efforts.
The states putting up barriers to voting itself are using tactics that include voter ID laws that restrict the kind of ID that is acceptable. They are not allowing felons to vote, the large majority being people of color due to the racialized criminal justice system. They are limiting early and absentee voting which restricts voting by people who cannot afford to miss work or pay for childcare. And they are removing names from voter registration lists of voters who didn’t vote in the most recent elections, meaning people have to take extra steps to re-register. The thing I have noticed for years is how some people must wait 9-11 hours to vote while others don’t have to wait at all. Honestly, living in an upper-middle class neighborhood, I have never had to wait more than 15 minutes to vote no matter what time of day I showed up to my local polling station. And these days, I vote by mail simply because I choose to. In California, I don’t need an excuse. Some states are requiring an excuse to vote absentee while also eliminating or limiting drop boxes and voting hours.
The time is now for us to do something. Collectively we must demand that Congress enact federal laws before the 2022 midterms to secure our voting rights and our elections against partisan interference. In addition, we need to financially support those organizations that are poised to fight these voting restrictions in court. Donations are being accepted by the ACLU for their Voting Rights Project. This democracy hangs in the balance along with many of the rights we now take for granted. I may be a Christian, but I’m not in favor of fanatical white Christian authoritarianism and that is what we are facing.
In closing this series on what it means to be a better human, the ninth tenet of the project is that better humans vote in elections for better humans. It is not only respectful to those who fought for this right to vote, but it’s imperative for our future and the future of the planet that we scrutinize the people who are running government offices at every level and then hold them accountable. Even school boards are important these days to ensure safe schools where true history and science are taught. Better humans vote in elections. However, our immediate challenge is to ensure we still have them.