With Election Day less than a month away, registration deadlines are fast approaching, and many states have already begun absentee and early voting. In addition to the presidential election, there are also Senate, House, state, and local races up and down the ballot. Each could shape the direction of our country for years to come, especially in regard to the fight for racial and social justice.
The GOP is as aware of the stakes of this election, and they will continue to pull out all the stops to prevent people, especially communities of color, from having their voices heard. The history of denying Black people the right to vote is as old as the country; and, like many forms of institutional racism, voter suppression has not gone away - it’s just gotten more insidious. Today, voter disenfranchisement can take on many forms including voter ID laws, voter registration restrictions, voter purges, felony disenfranchisement, and gerrymandering.
In the last presidential election, the Trump 2016 campaign bought targeted Facebook ads to deter Black voter turnout. This year, we’re already seeing voter suppression on the national level, with Trump calling on so-called “poll watchers” to intimidate voters while spreading widespread panic about baseless threats to election integrity. On the state level, where many voting laws are decided, we’re seeing suppression efforts in Texas, where the Republican Governor has shut down ballot drop boxes, leaving only one per county. In Michigan, two Republican operatives were just charged with voter intimidation after operating a robo-call scheme to intimidate Black voters in Detroit, with voters in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Illinois receiving similar calls.
Fortunately, there is still a lot we can do between now and November 3 to make sure everyone who is eligible gets every opportunity to cast their ballot. There’s incredible energy around voter turnout right now, and as white people, we must also talk about voter suppression and disenfranchisement tactics when we talk about how important it is to vote. And, as high as the stakes of this election season are, we must also remember that voting alone will not save us. Electoral strategy as part of a larger movement for collective liberation, though, does matter.
Here are some ways to take action:
Check your voter registration and deadlines. The New York voter registration deadline is this Friday, October 9, and the absentee ballot deadline is October 27.
Become a SURJ election defender. Join the team of folks across the country who are getting organized to resist a contested election and build our movements beyond November.
Help SURJ organize white people to beat Trump in Georgia! We're calling white people every week to talk to them about voting, race, AND to organize them into our powerful work in the South. You don't have to be from Georgia to make sure that we #SwingGALeft.
As always, you can see below for more ways to plug in and show up!
In solidarity,
SURJ NYC