American democracy has no greater threat than voter suppression.
Several weeks ago, the Huffington Post reported that a bus full of elderly African American voters was stopped at the direction of Georgia’s Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who ran for governor against African American Democratic candidate, Stacey Abrams.
Georgia officials said the voters were engaging in unlawful “political activity” and were ordered off a bus on tour to encourage African Americans to vote.
Rolling Stone reported that Georgia officials also purged an estimated 340,000 voters off the state’s voter rolls.
The state faces a lawsuit and heated public backlash over its voter suppression tactics.
If elected officials turn to voter suppression to keep their seats, then America breaks its promise of democracy.
While the elections may be over, the rise in voter suppression demands citizens remain vigilant to protect their right to vote.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed to protect voting rights, especially for minority people in the South.
In 2013, the Supreme Court struck down Section 4 of the law, overturning a U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling
“Although the new provisions target African Americans with almost surgical precision, they constitute inapt remedies for the problems assertedly justifying them and, in fact, impose cures for problems that did not exist,” the ruling states.
Section 4 required certain parts of the country to have their voting laws reviewed by the federal government to ensure the laws were not discriminatory.
Despite the Fourth Circuit’s warning, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy reasoned racial discrimination from voting laws no longer existed.
Clearly, some states have taken drastic measures to prevent minorities from voting.
With Section 4 gone, states like Georgia began implementing voter suppression tactics.
Other states remain guilty of attempting to disenfranchise citizens, too.
North Dakota faces scrutiny over its voter I.D. laws.
After democratic senator Heidi Heitkamp won an upset victory in the historically Republican state, the state’s Republican party passed strict laws requiring voters to present I.D.s with valid street addresses.
The law was aimed at suppressing Native Americans who overwhelmingly supported Heitkamp into victory.
Republican-led states are not the only ones guilty of suppressing votes.
California democratic officials disenfranchised thousands of voters.
Without giving voters notice, 45,000 mail-in ballots were discounted in the 2016 elections on suspicion that voter signatures did not match signatures that were on file.
Before deemed unconstitutional in California, the so-called “signature mismatch” laws allowed unqualified government officials to analyze signatures and arbitrarily toss out ballots.
California has changed its own laws to give voters a chance to verify their signatures.
Even though California’s law was declared unconstitutional by a San Francisco Superior Court, many states still practice “signature mismatch laws.”
Georgia, Florida, Illinois and New Hampshire have adopted the “signature mismatch laws” that discount ballots.
Government officials argue Voter I.D. laws and “signature mismatch” laws are necessary to prevent voter fraud which they argue is widespread.
Widespread voter fraud is a widespread myth.
The Washington Post’s review of the 2016 election only found four credible instances of voter fraud out of about 138 million cast ballots.
A Dartmouth College review of the 2016 election found no evidence of widespread voter fraud.
Actual instances of voter fraud are extremely rare.
When states actively implement policies to impede voting, they smother the voice of the people and stifle democracy.
Protecting the vote is central to any democracy.
While many Republican-led states have added more restrictions to voting, the right to vote is still nonpartisan.
Citizens from all sides of the political spectrum must unite to protect the franchise.
Voters should draw on the full force of the First Amendment to protest, call representatives, and distribute petitions to hold elected officials accountable.
And voters should demand the reinstatement of Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act to ensure everyone’s right to vote is protected.
If citizens do not demand this fundamental democratic right, their power to affect change will diminish.
