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Protesters gather during a rally in front of the U.S. Supreme Court on January 10, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)
President Trump has assailed the right to vote during his entire time in the Oval Office. Trump's term was bookended with baseless claims of voter fraud, an unoriginal yet effective trope that has been used throughout our country's history to erect barriers to discriminate against Black, Hispanic, and Native American voters. Trump's goal is obvious: to intentionally weaken public trust in our elections and embolden voter suppression efforts. Manufactured claims of fraud to explain away Trump's loss of the popular vote in the 2016 election led to the creation of a sham commission that eventually disbanded after failing to provide any factual evidence to support Trump's preposterous statements that millions of people had voted illegally. And following his loss of the 2020 presidential election, Trump has led a rabid assault on American democracy, which has eroded the public's faith in the outcome of the election and catapulted efforts to subvert the will of voters by overturning the results of the election.
Undeniably, there are problems with our democracy that must be fixed. But these issues do not arise from purported voter fraud. Rather, they are the legacy problems of our republic: systematic efforts by politicians to erect voting barriers and to discriminate against voters of color to tip the balance of power. These problems are enduring, persistent, and verifiable.
It is imperative that President-elect Biden's administration take ambitious action to protect the right to vote and improve the future of American elections under our existing federal voting laws and to champion new federal protections for voting rights.In Georgia and Arizona, the 2020 presidential election demonstrated the power of voters of color to disrupt entrenched political power structures, a development that has unnerved politicians who rely on low voter turnout to maintain the status quo. Next year will also mark the first national redistricting cycle since the Supreme Court gutted Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which required state and local governments with the worst records of voting discrimination to preclear voting changes with the Justice Department to ensure the changes did not racially discriminate. For the first time since 1965, congressional, state, and local government legislative districts will be drawn without the protections of Section 5 to prevent state and local officials from diluting the rising political power of minority voters.
It is imperative that President-elect Biden's administration take ambitious action to protect the right to vote and improve the future of American elections under our existing federal voting laws and to champion new federal protections for voting rights. Here are the ACLU's key recommendations:
The year 2020 proved to be a reckoning for our democracy -- as voters turned out in record numbers to vote by mail, early, or on Election Day. The Biden administration has an opportunity to make historic gains in our country's continuing quest to finally secure the fundamental right to vote for all our citizens.
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
President Trump has assailed the right to vote during his entire time in the Oval Office. Trump's term was bookended with baseless claims of voter fraud, an unoriginal yet effective trope that has been used throughout our country's history to erect barriers to discriminate against Black, Hispanic, and Native American voters. Trump's goal is obvious: to intentionally weaken public trust in our elections and embolden voter suppression efforts. Manufactured claims of fraud to explain away Trump's loss of the popular vote in the 2016 election led to the creation of a sham commission that eventually disbanded after failing to provide any factual evidence to support Trump's preposterous statements that millions of people had voted illegally. And following his loss of the 2020 presidential election, Trump has led a rabid assault on American democracy, which has eroded the public's faith in the outcome of the election and catapulted efforts to subvert the will of voters by overturning the results of the election.
Undeniably, there are problems with our democracy that must be fixed. But these issues do not arise from purported voter fraud. Rather, they are the legacy problems of our republic: systematic efforts by politicians to erect voting barriers and to discriminate against voters of color to tip the balance of power. These problems are enduring, persistent, and verifiable.
It is imperative that President-elect Biden's administration take ambitious action to protect the right to vote and improve the future of American elections under our existing federal voting laws and to champion new federal protections for voting rights.In Georgia and Arizona, the 2020 presidential election demonstrated the power of voters of color to disrupt entrenched political power structures, a development that has unnerved politicians who rely on low voter turnout to maintain the status quo. Next year will also mark the first national redistricting cycle since the Supreme Court gutted Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which required state and local governments with the worst records of voting discrimination to preclear voting changes with the Justice Department to ensure the changes did not racially discriminate. For the first time since 1965, congressional, state, and local government legislative districts will be drawn without the protections of Section 5 to prevent state and local officials from diluting the rising political power of minority voters.
It is imperative that President-elect Biden's administration take ambitious action to protect the right to vote and improve the future of American elections under our existing federal voting laws and to champion new federal protections for voting rights. Here are the ACLU's key recommendations:
The year 2020 proved to be a reckoning for our democracy -- as voters turned out in record numbers to vote by mail, early, or on Election Day. The Biden administration has an opportunity to make historic gains in our country's continuing quest to finally secure the fundamental right to vote for all our citizens.
President Trump has assailed the right to vote during his entire time in the Oval Office. Trump's term was bookended with baseless claims of voter fraud, an unoriginal yet effective trope that has been used throughout our country's history to erect barriers to discriminate against Black, Hispanic, and Native American voters. Trump's goal is obvious: to intentionally weaken public trust in our elections and embolden voter suppression efforts. Manufactured claims of fraud to explain away Trump's loss of the popular vote in the 2016 election led to the creation of a sham commission that eventually disbanded after failing to provide any factual evidence to support Trump's preposterous statements that millions of people had voted illegally. And following his loss of the 2020 presidential election, Trump has led a rabid assault on American democracy, which has eroded the public's faith in the outcome of the election and catapulted efforts to subvert the will of voters by overturning the results of the election.
Undeniably, there are problems with our democracy that must be fixed. But these issues do not arise from purported voter fraud. Rather, they are the legacy problems of our republic: systematic efforts by politicians to erect voting barriers and to discriminate against voters of color to tip the balance of power. These problems are enduring, persistent, and verifiable.
It is imperative that President-elect Biden's administration take ambitious action to protect the right to vote and improve the future of American elections under our existing federal voting laws and to champion new federal protections for voting rights.In Georgia and Arizona, the 2020 presidential election demonstrated the power of voters of color to disrupt entrenched political power structures, a development that has unnerved politicians who rely on low voter turnout to maintain the status quo. Next year will also mark the first national redistricting cycle since the Supreme Court gutted Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, which required state and local governments with the worst records of voting discrimination to preclear voting changes with the Justice Department to ensure the changes did not racially discriminate. For the first time since 1965, congressional, state, and local government legislative districts will be drawn without the protections of Section 5 to prevent state and local officials from diluting the rising political power of minority voters.
It is imperative that President-elect Biden's administration take ambitious action to protect the right to vote and improve the future of American elections under our existing federal voting laws and to champion new federal protections for voting rights. Here are the ACLU's key recommendations:
The year 2020 proved to be a reckoning for our democracy -- as voters turned out in record numbers to vote by mail, early, or on Election Day. The Biden administration has an opportunity to make historic gains in our country's continuing quest to finally secure the fundamental right to vote for all our citizens.