Suppressing the Vote is Not Democracy

Guest Post by Kristine Schwartzman

Voter suppression is nothing new. Even after Black men attained the right to vote in 1869, laws, threats, long distances to polling places, and unattainable qualifications kept many from exercising that right.

Grandfather's Gift posted about this very issue in a September 2, 2020, feature about Otis Moss, Sr., who in the Jim Crow south in 1946, was turned away from polling place after polling place, until time was up. The polls closed. Otis Moss, Sr. never got the chance to cast his vote. Voter suppression never stopped.  Instead, it became much more sophisticated over the years.

An election looms. Voter suppression laws and tactics threaten the fairness of each and every race. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, studies about the effect of laws and suppression tactics, such as strict voter ID requirements, voting restrictions on Sundays, longer wait lines at polling places for people of color, the closures of many polling places in neighborhoods where people of color reside, and higher rejection rates for mail-in ballot votes cast by Black and Latina voters than those cast by white people, show that time after time, eligible voters are denied the opportunity to make their voices heard. 

Voter suppression laws undermine our democracy. It's up to each one of us to fight against voter suppression and keep our elections fair.  What can we do?

Volunteer:
Protect the Vote: If you agree that every eligible voter deserves to have their voice count, you can take action from home or in person by serving as a nonpartisan Election Protection volunteer.

Donate to any of the following organizations that use legal means to fight voter suppression:
The ACLU
League of Women Voters
The Legal Defense Fund

Vote for Candidates Who Believe That Every Eligible Voter Deserves a Voice:
Check Your Registration
Check Your State's Voting Requirements
Mail-in Ballot Requirements by State
Find Your Polling Place
Personalized Ballot Info About Candidates and Issues