“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
forms of voter suppression: Can they register; can they access the ballot; and does the ballot count? To her credit, voter turnout during the election increased by 1 million votes. “We talked to people we were told to ignore,” Abrams states. “People for the first time felt like they had a right to choose.” Recognizing that Georgia has growing Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander populations, her team ran ads in ten different languages, and was the first to run Spanish ads on television. She was also the first elected official to march in a Gay Parade. “I had to fight the notion that white voters wouldn’t vote for me because I was black,” she recalls. Through these efforts, the election saw an increase in democratic, Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander votes, and black participation increased by 40 percent.
Yet despite these efforts, thousands of votes were actively suppressed and continue to be across the country. One method of voter suppression is purging, where voters lose their right to vote if they haven’t voted in past elections. Georgia, Florida and Michigan all have a signature match, meaning that if the signature doesn’t match, the votes are thrown out, which is a major concern for the elderly and people who are disabled. Voter restriction is another method that is exemplified by North Dakota’s clause that people need a residential address to vote. Since the state refuses to give an address to any reservation, everyone living on the reservation is unable to vote. Other factors include shift workers who aren’t able to get time off to vote, or have limited transportation to access voting places. Some African American communities experienced 4-hour wait times for voting. “Jim Crow didn’t die, he went to law school,” Dr. Johnson remarks. In Texas, you can vote using your gun license but not your university ID, problematic due to the stark demographic differences as it pertains to party affiliations. “Voter ID is voter suppression because [the right to vote] is not about identification,” Abrams says. “We are going to keep fighting until all your votes are counted.”
This is the work Abrams and the rest of Fair Fight advocates are doing: engaging voters, and suing whenever necessary to change unjust laws that target our marginalized and disadvantaged communities. “Georgia is a purple state,” Abrams explains. “We can mitigate the harm… and remake it blue.” Having the resources to fight back, and understanding what is taking place will hopefully change future elections. “The law is wrong,” she says. These laws undermine our country and its people. “There is no higher form of patriotism than service,” Abrams states. “I would be honored to serve.” Students, faculty and professional staff asked what they can do. “You have to get registered,” Abrams advocates. “Make sure you have three friends registered by the end of the week. Bring friends with you to vote, and run for office.” One audience member asked what white people can do to help. “There is more of ya’ll than there are of me,” retorts Abrams. “Part of this privilege is that it can be used for the benefit of all…. the best way to honor your privilege is ask someone to share it… use it for those who don’t know they have power.” <>
References:
1. Brazeau, C., Schroeder, R., Rovi, S. , Boyd, L., Timm, C. & Gusic, M. (2011). Relationship Between Medical Student Service and Empathy. Academic Medicine, 86(10), S42-S45. doi: 10.1097/ACM.0b013e31822a6ae0.
2. Fair Fight. https://fairfight.com/fair-fight-2020/
Grandfather Clauses Are Coming to Town
I'm Dreaming of a Blue...
Maine Governor, Janet Mills, posing with Stacey Abrams, and UNE's President James Herbert, PhD, and Erica Rousseau, MA