Select an issue concerning voting rights or practices and briefly tell us your thoughts about it.
Voting is an essential part of a well-functioning democratic society. Every US citizen has the right to vote and should be able to exercise that right without hindrance. Unfortunately, in America today, people still struggle to cast their ballots because of unlawful and political interference. Voting is a constitutional right, and to restrict it is to go against the very foundation of this country.
After the 2020 presidential election saw a rise in mail-in voting because of the pandemic, many lawmakers introduced bills targeting mail-in ballots. These politicians say that mail-in ballots are more likely to be “fraudulent” despite being proven to be safe and secure. Limiting access to mail-in voting makes casting a ballot harder for millions of Americans, especially young people who live outside of their districts for school and American citizens living abroad. Limiting mail-in voting also impacts elderly people who still wish to vote but may struggle to get to a voting booth because of an inability to drive or mobility issues.
Many states are also imposing stricter voter ID policies. This legislation is supposedly created to stop widespread voter fraud, an issue that largely doesn’t exist. Historically, stricter ID policies have disproportionately affected POC voters, voters with disabilities, and low-income voters. Many people face systemic obstacles in getting photo identification, which should not limit their right to vote.
Many bills have also been introduced with the purpose of requiring votes to be completely hand counted instead of counted with machines. Not only is this process incredibly slow, it is also quite odd how the reasoning behind wanting handouts is to prevent corruption through machines. These machines are proven to be secure, and it is absurd that anybody would consider counting by hand to be safer, when it is easily the most error-prone method.
Recently, many politicians have proposed removing voting stations from college campuses solely because college students tend to lean more strongly toward opposing parties, or values. It’s intriguing how many of these legislators turn directly to limiting voting opportunities to continue to stay in power. Instead, they could change their policies to support what the people want or allow a new candidate to take their place.
It is hypocritical for lawmakers to impose discriminatory laws and legislation citing the need for it being what’s stated in the Constitution, while continuously undermining and disrespecting it when it does not benefit them. If politicians are so terrified of their constituent’s voices, they need to take a step back and recognize that they represent the people who vote for them, and should represent them accordingly, instead of running solely for their own power.
Every US citizen deserves to be heard, and able to vote to keep this democracy alive and well. Throughout history, the people who impose restrictions on voting are proven to be ignorant and wrong. Legislators aiming to continue this restriction must, for the country’s sake, remember this, or else the very foundation of our society is in jeopardy.