Day 21: The Countdown Begins | Reflections on Voter Access

21 Day Countdown to the 2020 Election on November 3rd

It has been stated time and time again that voting is the cornerstone of democracy. It is what makes America, America. With the 2020 elections just 21 days away, it is important that we discuss the complex topic of voting. The ability to vote is a source of pride for some- but most certainly not all- in this country. We very consciously choose the word “ability” rather than “right,” because the reality is, the right to vote is not guaranteed in an equal way for all. But what about the Voting Rights Act of 1965?

The Voting Rights Act is a reiteration, and an extension, of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” This was ratified in 1870, ninety-five years before the Voting Acts Right was enacted on a bipartisan basis. So why the need to reaffirm the principles set forth in the words written a century prior?

The Reconstruction Era (1863-1877) following the Civil War saw much positive progress made through the dedicated and unwavering efforts of so many to rectify the political, social, and economic injustices that remained pervasive and entrenched in American society. However, there were just as strong efforts made to impede this progress. Southern lawmakers worked diligently to prevent effective voting rights legislation from being passed. The start of the Reconstruction Era was also the beginning of the Disenfranchisement Era, which included Jim Crow Laws, poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses- many of which remained in effect until the Voting Rights Act in 1965, and whose legacies can still be felt today.

Although the Voting Rights Act is a crucial, significant, and essential piece of legislation, it does not, as its name implies, guarantee the absolute right to vote for all in this country. The NAACP’s words from 2017 ring truer than ever with the elections upon us; “We must not delay and allow one more American to face unnecessary, unconstitutional, and undemocratic obstacles as they try to vote.”

Injustice is pervasive in every system of our country, and in order to address injustice, we must understand its history, in its roots that run deep within the soil of America. As the Director of the grassroots, non-partisan organization, Common Cause, Sydney Tellez, said so poignantly, “Free and fair elections are the foundation of a healthy democracy, and the right to vote is the bedrock on which this foundation rests.” It is essential that we understand where the cracks in the foundation are, so that we can build a system that is structurally sound for all. Apathy runs rampant alongside the intensifying mistrust of politics in this country. It is time to turn apathy to empathy, and feel that the rights denied to some, are the rights denied to us all.

Stay tuned for Day 20!