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We Have a Voting Problem . . . And It Has Nothing to do with Voter Fraud
Posted by Katie James on August 08, 2013 at 04:19 PM CDT

Clouds hang heavy this week over what should be a commemoration of President Johnson’s signing into law the Voting Rights Act of 1965. A historic piece of legislation, the VRA played an integral role in the Civil Rights Movement. It safeguarded the right to vote for all citizens in an era of severe inequality and in a culture not only tolerant of, but also perpetuating, racial discrimination; it also increased accessibility for those previously disenfranchised to freely, safely, and fairly participate in the voting system. So in June when the Supreme Court struck down the section of the VRA requiring certain states and local communities to receive pre-approval from the federal government for any changes made to local election law, the once holistic and highly effective regulatory system protecting voting rights turned into a free-for-all in which many states grabbed this small window of opportunity to pointedly disenfranchise not only racial groups, but other voters who tend left, including students and women. How quickly this turn-around happened. And how backwards it is that, 48 years after President Johnson’s signature, we find ourselves fighting a battle against restrictive voting laws and voter suppression efforts that are popping up in a number of historically discriminatory states.

For three weeks, North Carolina has been making headlines for its hasty, almost manic, sprint to push through a GOP-controlled state House, Senate, and governor’s seat legislation that seeks to prevent voter fraud by reigning in current registration and voting practices. Whether or not voter fraud is a problem plaguing our country is better left to be determined by evidence and not assumptions made on my part (although, these numbers show that the data supports my assumption); however, given the pattern that this complaint is lodged by states with a long history of discriminatory laws, my moral bias notes the correlation and considers North Carolina’s (and a handful of other state’s) voting restriction efforts as suppressive in nature and a thinly veiled attempt to manipulate voting outcomes in a way that would forward a specific political agenda—a view I am certainly not alone in declaring. As a nation, it is crucial that we perceive this hurried action by lawmakers as a cowardly display of defense for their own party ideology—one that is inflexible to the demands of a modern nation taking great strides toward a fully engaged concept of equality, and thus one that is in effect contrary to the democratic principles of our country.  

When President Johnson signed the VRA on August 6, 1965, he spoke at length about the significance of the Act as a “triumph for freedom,” arguing for its due relevance and necessity nearly a century after the culmination of the Civil War. He states,


This act flows from a clear and simple wrong. Its only purpose is to right that wrong. Millions of Americans are denied the right to vote because of their color. This law will ensure them the right to vote. The wrong is one which no American, in his heart, can justify. The right is one which no American, true to principles, can deny.


His ethical simplification of voting restrictions to a wrong that must be righted should be remembered today as the country observes the latest (and yet entirely outdated) voting suppression debacle. Voting, our democratic American culture tells us, is our due right as citizens; in fact, no other civic responsibility is stressed as having greater purpose or more enormous implications than the power of casting one’s vote. In a struggle to increase voter turnout, the public voice chants that every vote represents a voice, every vote expresses a choice, every vote makes a difference. During election time, the country all too hopefully—and thus only idealistically—calls for every single American to head to the polls to cast their ballot in order to demonstrate our collective, national power as a fully participatory and expressive democracy; in practice, however, too large a number of people are excluded from this right. America’s struggle with poor voter turnout cannot be boiled down to widespread indifference (although admittedly, there is a handful of Americans who can vote, but chose not to for a number of reasons). We have a real problem with the vote, nearly 150 years after the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment (prohibiting government from denying the vote based on race), almost 100 years after the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment  (prohibiting the government from denying the vote based on sex), and almost 50 years after the passage of the VRA. In 2013, voting should be our easiest, most convenient civic responsibility; it is, afterall, a constitutionally protected right. Unfortunately, there are some who negatively perceive voting as a handicap, interference, or even a threat to their political belief systems. And so, using misguided patriotic rhetoric and flimsy excuses, a handful of lawmakers continue to try their hardest to legally minimize access to voting for those groups with a disproportional amount of power, including minorities, women, youth, and the poor.

In North Carolina, the recently passed Voter ID law carries severe restrictions on how and when state residents can vote. The new law 1) requires voters to show a government-issued photo ID at the polls, 2) shortens early voting by a week, 3) ends same-day registration, 4) eliminates a high school program registering students ahead of their 18th birthday, 4) authorizes partisan poll watchers to challenge voters, and 5) discards out-of-precinct voting. If voter fraud is pointed to be the legitimate motive for the audacious law that makes a show of cutting at the problem at every plausible angle, then the numbers and statistics need to support rather than disprove the validity of the problem; indeed, even if voter fraud was as pervasive as these “solutions” make it seem, a campaign as aggressive as this law is would still be over the top for its voting restrictions. The number of specifications laid out in this North Carolina law simply does not add up to its intended preventative purpose; instead, they spell out s-u-p-p-r-e-s-s-i-o-n  and only serve to interfere with the authenticity of our American democracy.

In 2013, our national conversation should not be centered around voting restrictions and disenfranchisement (a word one hoped might be archaic by now, but unfortunately is still in use). Instead, we need to be talking about how to open up the voting process to make it easier for all citizens to participate in elections. States need to consider extending early voting, making sure to include more weekend and evening hours; expanding online registration and voting efforts; and implementing programs to register youth and members of minority groups. If discrimination in voting allowances is a wrong that has already been righted almost 50 years ago this week, then this is a conversation that should be off the table and sealed away, not open for negotiation or revision.

Thankfully, Illinois is sending a ray of light through the voting gloom hanging over the country. At the same time that North Carolina made headlines and became the subject of protests for passing its Voter ID laws, Illinois celebrated in becoming the 18th state to allow voters to register online.

There’s still hope.


Katie James
IPCE Staff


 

"We the people of the United States" are Celebrating Constitution Day
Posted by Katie James on September 13, 2012 at 03:38 PM CDT

We are all familiar with the first line of the Preamble to the United States’ Constitution: “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union…” And stop. Here our memory fails us, because civics class in elementary school happened just too long ago, and the Constitution isn’t short and rhythmic like the Pledge of Allegiance or the Star Spangled Banner to make for easy memorization. Of course we are all aware of the relevance and constant referencing in public life to the Constitution and its Amendments. We see it when people practice their right to free speech in protests and when people gather in their houses of worship to practice their religion without persecution. We see it in the structure of the United States government, in the power invested in the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, and in the checks and balances that occur in all three branches. And we see it, perhaps most significantly, when ALL citizens—no matter race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, political preference—gather on Election Day in November to exercise their civic duty and cast their vote in local, state, and national elections. We don’t need to have the Constitution memorized to know that its impact on our daily lives is substantial and influential.  

However, I do think it’s worth noting that it’s not insignificant that Americans are able to recite the first line of the Constitution, particularly the first three words. “We the people.” We, signifying the all-inclusive. We the people, signifying a commonality—a nationality—that connects our personhoods to one another and to a larger good. “We the people of the United States,” from past, present, and future, understand and accept the organization of government laid out for us by our founding fathers and commit to participating in our right to civic life to the fullest degree. We see ourselves in terms of communities, as citizens of a nation, and in order to make our communities and our nation function as we see best, we—the all-inclusive we—need to take part in the simplest and yet most instrumental aspect of civic life: voting. The United States is not an “I” country; the head of state does not hold all the power. We as voters hold the power and the choices that keep our country working and moving forward.


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Today, September 17, 2012, is Constitution Day. On this day we as a nation celebrate the creation and signing of the U.S. Constitution by the 39 delegates and commemorate all those who have become citizens (whether by birth in the United States or by naturalization).

Today the University of Illinois at Chicago is leading Constitution Day events, much like communities throughout the country, and I encourage you to participate. Throughout the morning the campus community will have the opportunity to register to vote as well as sign up for internships and volunteer work. At noon, the public is invited to attend a guest lecture on “The First Amendment and the U.S. Supreme Court” by Professor George Anastaplo from Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

Whether you choose to participate in Constitution Day events or not, I urge you to consider your role within that “we” come November when it’s time to cast our ballots and elect the president of the United States. Our government provides us the opportunity to vote for our elected officials, and that’s not something to be ignored or taken for granted.


Katie James
IPCE Staff Member 

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