Voting is a fundamental right for all Americans to enjoy that may hang in the balance in a year marked by change.
Whether under assault or denied to any group in our society, the right to vote must be protected by every American willing to fight with all they have to keep it around for future generations.
Several factors have emerged in recent years to hinder us from voting that we cannot let stand in the way, such as a shortage of voting locations, voter ID laws, and Georgia's Exact Match rule. Minorities and the elderly may find it difficult to satisfy these unnecessary requirements because of barriers to transportation, finances, and COVID-19, which is still on the rise.
Most of the current attacks on voting are related to the gutting of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. In Holder vs. Shelby in 2013, The Supreme Court removed a provision that required states with a history of voter suppression to get the approval of the U.S. Justice Department before making changes to how they conduct elections. In the wake of Obama's two decisive victories and shifting demographics, Conservatives rushed to get their argument before the high court that such protections were no longer needed with startling consequences since many states seeking the change fell under Federal guidelines. A bill to restore the historic measure to its original glory, which has passed the House, currently sits on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's desk.
Gerrymandering, a much older form of voter containment, which has been practiced by both Democrats and Republicans, impacts voting too. Every ten years, districts have to be redrawn based on population changes. The party in power may skew or carefully draw the Congressional map to increase their representation in Congress. It was recently used by Democrats to enhance black voting strength in Georgia, which led to a majority African-American Democratic delegation from the state.
In addition to Gerrymandering, many Southern States introduced the Runoff Primary system in the 1960s to curtail black and Republican voting. It mandates that if no candidate receives a majority of the votes or 50.1 percent, a second election will be held between the two top vote-getters. The theory was that if blacks or Republicans were to vote in a bloc, giving their candidate the most votes in a crowded field, it could give Democrats and Segregationists, who made up a majority of the electorate, a chance to mobilize against the minority opponent.
A new form of voter suppression may be in the works involving the U.S. Postal Service. Due to COVID-19, Democrats and Republicans may have to rely on their local post office to cast their ballots in the general election. The country's mail system, however, is facing financial setbacks. The president has tied any attempt to fully fund the agency to the money to help fight the Coronavirus outbreak, which will fall far short of what it needs to function. The president has even threatened to withhold funding altogether if he does not get what he wants as a way to punish the Democratic Party. Lastly, the postmaster general, who donated handsomely to the Trump campaign in 2016, has reportedly eliminated much-needed employee overtime, dismantled sorting machines, and removed drop boxes. If Democrats lose this election and it is proven that mail delays or White House corruption played a role, there will be a civil war in this country.
We cannot wait to prepare the U.S. Postal Service for an onslaught of mail-in ballots or closely monitor any efforts by the president to disrupt the process. The post office can process millions of Christmas cards any given year. But now, we have a president who stands in the way of progress. Thus, we cannot use or rely on the mail system as a primary source of voting and must, as former First Lady Michelle Obama said, vote early, wear a mask, pack a lunch, and be willing to stand in long lines well into the night if necessary and make sure everyone has the documents to vote and fix any voting irregularities.
America needs bold leadership. We must put partisan differences aside in favor of the right to vote. Let's vote whether we are Democrats or Republicans.
