The Test to Democracy

MARTHA SANCHEZ

“Voting should not be a question of trust on the part of the voters, [but] whether they can trust the system,” Stacey Abrams, current Democratic nominee for Governor of Georgia, said in an interview with CNN (“Georgia,” 2018). Abrams is one of many politicians fighting for equality in voting across the United States. Voting is a constitutional right, but the trust that Abrams speaks of - the faith that citizens should have in their government - is diminishing.

Abrams claims the imposition of Voter ID laws, regulations that require documents such as photo ID to vote, have become means for discrimination and political advancement used by those in power to ensure their continued authority. In Georgia, 53,000 voter registrations were put on hold due to inconsistencies with the information stated on registrations (“Georgia,” 2018). Georgia’s government also held back registrations of citizens who didn’t vote in the last election (“107,000,” 2018). Seventy percent of these registrations were from African American citizens (“Georgia,” 2018). As little as a missed apostrophe or dash can trigger the system to place voter registrations on hold, making it easy to target common African American cultural names on registration forms (“Georgia,” 2018). Apparent biases, such as those Abrams points out, call into question the equality in voting.

Equality in voting also can be directly influenced by polling locations. In Georgia’s Randolph County, seven of the nine polling stations were recently closed (“Your right,” 2018). These closings mean that to exercise their right to vote, some citizens would need to walk over three hours to reach their nearest polling station (“Your right,” 2018). Whether or not discrimination influenced poll closings, the voting system has been effective in making voting harder for some Georgians. If new obstacles limit, for example, the African American vote in Georgia, Republican leaders would benefit, especially in a close election. Polling suggests the governor’s race in Georgia is at a near tie, indicating that the influx of 53,000 new voters could drastically change the election’s course (“Poll,” 2018). Recently, a federal judge stated that she would temporarily stop election officials from using the exact match protocol, meaning that, temporarily, Georgia can no longer put a hold on registrations of inactive voters or registrations with inconsistent name spelling (“Judge,” 2018).

The earliest concerns about voting rights erupted with the Civil Rights movement because voting had been designed to keep African Americans away from the polls. That discrimination spread to other minority groups and led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The act declared that in states with a history of voter discrimination, any proposed changes to voting laws would have to be approved by the federal government. In the early 2000s, however, that practice changed. The Supreme Court ruled that states could enact voting laws without the federal government’s permission (“Who’s,” 2018). The overturning of the Voting Right Acts intensified advocacy for equality in voting rights, leading critics to question the impartiality of restrictions such as photo ID policies and the exact match protocol.

Abrams is one of many leaders who oppose the voting restrictions. She is an attorney (“Who’s,” 2018) and was raised on the belief that it was her job to serve those less fortunate than herself (“Meet Stacey,” 2018). She founded the New Georgia Project, which worked to register 200,000 voters of color and helped improve voter equality in her state. Abrams’ work has not gone unrecognized (“Meet Stacey,” 2018). Congressman John Lewis, a supporter of Abrams, said, “Throughout her career, I have watched her work tirelessly to build coalitions to protect the poor and middle class, fight voter suppression, and register hundreds of thousands of people to vote” (“Support for Stacey,” 2018). Ilya Sheyman, executive director of MoveOn.org Political Action echoed Lewis’ thoughts in her endorsement. “The election for Georgia’s governor, and other races like it across the country in 2018, are going to be won by candidates who can motivate and inspire progressive voters,” she said. “Stacey Abrams is one of those candidates” (“Support for Stacey,” 2018). While Abrams addresses issues such as the Affordable Care Act and education, to many voters, her appeal comes from her work for voter equality.

Abrams’ believes voter registration should be made more convenient and polling places should be more equally distributed (“Voting Rights,” 2018). Additionally, she believes that because voters of color are the majority of the democratic coalition of Georgia, they should be the focus of campaigns.

Abrams has stated that once voters of color unite with white liberals, a revolution of change could take place in Georgia (“Democracy,” 2018).

Abrams’ says her ideas will spur more voter participation. A Medium article reports that the Abrams campaign is, “a coalition that reaches across backgrounds, sharing our constant belief that all of our voices matter, and when we raise them in unison we win” (“Your,” 2018). This outreach aims to bring a more diverse voter population to Georgia. By “reaching across backgrounds,” Abrams can encourage the minority vote to show up at polls. When Abrams’ New Georgia Project began, Brian Kemp, current Georgia Secretary of State and Abrams’ opposition for governor, spoke to Georgian Republicans about her work. “Democrats are working hard … registering all these minority voters that are out there and others that are sitting on the sidelines, if they can do that, they can win these elections in November,” Kemp said (“Democracy,” 2018). For years, Republican candidates have easily won elections in Georgia due to the states’ predominantly Republican voting base. With Abrams’ mission, Kemp recognizes that Republican dominance may no longer be a guarantee.

Summoning inactive voters may seem like a positive goal, but Kemp views it as dangerous. A spokesperson for the Kemp campaign justified the block of 53,000 voters. “Kemp is fighting to protect the integrity of our elections and ensure that only legal cit- izens cast a ballot,” he said (“Report,” 2018). Kemp himself has commented on election integrity as well.

“She wants the illegals to vote in Georgia, I mean, this is a shocking development in the campaign…”

(“Who’s”2018). For Republicans, Kemp’s arguments on voter ID laws are valid. He believes that with more relaxed voter ID laws, undocumented citizens would be more likely to vote, making the election just as illegitimate as Abrams claims it currently is. There is no explicit evidence of undocumented citizens voting in U.S. elections (“Do voter identification...”, 2018), but Kemp argues that the risk of further manipulation of election results is too dangerous to the election’s integrity.

Kemp’s argu- ments about the legitimacy of elections raise valid questions, but his own credentials come into question in Georgia. As Georgia Secretary of State, Kemp oversees elections and voter registration (“Report,” 2018). Abrams’ team argues that with the power he has in his office, Kemp is using his position to sway the course of the election in his favor, purposefully blocking the polls to thousands of Democratic voters (“Report,” 2018). While representatives for Kemp argue that, “it has never been easier to vote in our state,” some voters don’t seem to agree.

Marsha Appling-Nunez is one of many voters whose registrations have been placed on hold. Describ- ing her reactions to her chance finding that she was unregistered, Appling-Nunez was perplexed. “I’ve always voted. I try to not miss any elections, including local ones,” she said (“Report,” 2018). Like many, Appling-Nunez hadn’t even realized that her registration had been placed on hold. Citizens can check to see if they are registered online, but receive no notification if their registration has been placed on hold (“Report,” 2018).

Kemp’s arguments focus on stopping voter fraud at all costs. Yet according to the Washington Post, in an article discussing whether or not voter ID laws discriminate, “extensive analysis reveals almost no evidence of voter fraud of the type ostensibly prevented by these [voter ID] laws” (“Do voter identification...”, 2018). This report reveals that Kemp’s worries may be more rooted in fear than facts. While he and Abrams’ share the same passion on voting, Kemp’s concerns come from fears of fraud and Abrams come from data that she believes shows discrimination.

Either argument, that voter fraud is rampant and needs to be ended or that Kemp is purposely manipulating voter registration to his advantage, has serious implications of election illegitimacy for Georgia. The purpose of voting is to let the people of the United States - all of the people - make their voice and their ideas be heard. Illegitimate election results in Georgia have implications for the entire country because one more Republican or one more Democrat can drastically sway the force of American politics to one side. If those who are using voter ID laws as a force to sway politics to one side, then American democracy itself faces great danger.

Burke, Michael. "Stacey Abrams: Voter ID law meant to ‘scare people out of voting’." The Hill, 14 Oct. 2018, thehill.com/home news/campaign/411346-stacey-abrams-voter-id-law-meant-to-scare-people-out-of-voting. Accessed 28 Oct. 2018.

Clark, Dartunorro. "Georgia sued for placing thousands of voter registrations on hold before election." NBC News, 12 Oct. 2018, www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/georgia-sued-placing-thousands-voter-registrations-hold-election-n919526. Accessed 15 Oct. 2018.

Dann, Carrie. "Poll: Abrams and Kemp virtually tied in Georgia governor's race." NBC News, 24 Oct. 2018, www.nbcnews. com/politics/first-read/poll-abrams-kemp-virtually-tied-georgia-gubernatorial-race-n924061. Accessed 28 Oct. 2018.

Goldberg, Michelle. "Democracy in Danger in Georgia." The New York Times, 12 Oct. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/10/12/ opinion/stacey-abrams-kemp-georgia-voters.html. Accessed 15 Oct. 2018.

Gstalter, Morgan. "107,000 purged from Georgia voter rolls for not voting in past elections: report." The Hill, 19 Oct. 2018, thehill.com/homenews/campaign/412195-georgia-purged-more-than-100000-people-from-voter-rolls-because-there-didnt. Accessed 28 Oct. 2018.

Hajnal, Zoltan L., et al. "Do voter identification laws suppress minority voting? Yes. We did the research." Washington Post, 15 Feb. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/02/15/do-voter-identification-laws-suppress-minorityvoting-yes-we-did-the-research/?utm_term=.f40826e2d940. Accessed 28 Oct. 2018.

Medium.medium.com/@staceyabrams/your-right-to-vote-is-sacred-and-we-are-going-to-give-you-a-reason-to-use-it-in-no vember-e36129dbdbf3. Accessed 28 Oct. 2018.

"Meet Stacey." Stacey Abrams Governor, staceyabrams.com/meet-stacey/. Accessed 28 Oct. 2018.

Nadler, Ben. "Report: Georgia's Secretary of State Is Blocking 53,000 Voter Registrations as He Runs for Governor." TIME, 10 Oct. 2018, time.com/5421332/georgia-brian-kemp-secretary-of-state-53000-voters-governor/. Accessed 28 Oct. 2018.

Tamborrino, Kelsey. "Georgia Democratic candidate: State law about scaring people out of voting." Politico, 14 Oct. 2018, www. politico.com/story/2018/10/14/georgia-governor-abrams-kemp-voting-rights-898742. Accessed 15 Oct. 2018.

Toeniskoetter, Clare, producer. "Who's Allowed to Vote in Georgia?" The Daily, 22 Oct. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/10/22/ podcasts/the-daily/georgia-voting-abrams-kemp-governor-election.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fthe-daily&action=click&contentCollection=podcasts&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection. Accessed 28 Oct. 2018.

"Voting Rights and Public Integrity." Stacey Abrams Governor, staceyabrams.com/vision/voting-rights-public-integrity/. Ac cessed 14 Oct. 2018.

Wheeler, Lydia. "Judge moves to block Georgia election officials from tossing out absentee ballots." The Hill, 24 Oct. 2018, thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/412981-judge-blocks-georgia-election-officials-from-tossing-out-absentee. Accessed 28 Oct. 2018.