Stop the Voter Suppression!
I have ran for numerous offices both public and union and I’ve won some and lost some. I considered every election to be a job interview of sorts. When I ran for school board I met with parents of students and heard their issues, thoughts, and ideas about the school district and how it could be better. When I ran for Crawford County Clerk I met with hundreds of voters and listened to their concerns about the job I was “applying” for and discussed my ideas for the job. Running for office in the union was no different. I met with members and discussed their concerns and my ideas on how to make things better for our members. In every election there were some spirited conversations with potential voters. That’s how job interviews go!
I wonder how many elections I could have won if I rigged the system so the only people that could vote were supporters of mine? Even though I would be elected to represent every member or citizen of my district or county. Or if I made it so that voters that were not likely to support me, had to wait for hours in lines regardless of the weather? As a white voter in rural Missouri, it has never taken me more than twenty minutes to vote. Over the last few decades polling places in poorer neighborhoods have been cut back or eliminated creating longer lines and making it harder for poorer people to vote. Some voters must choose between being late for or missing work just to exercise their constitutionally protected right to vote.
On February 26th, 1869 the United States Congress passed the 15th Amendment which under Section 1 clearly states “The right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged b the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.”
It should never take anyone any longer to vote than anyone else. Regardless of race, color or previous condition of servitude…this my friends is “VOTER SUPPRESSION” AND is an abridgement of the Constitution.
Section 2 states “The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.” The U.S. Constitution clearly grants the Congress the authority to enforce Section 1 by “appropriate legislation”.
The right to vote is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and any suppression for legal voters should never be allowed. Congress needs to step up and stop the games being played by the states passing legislation to suppress the vote.
If that’s the only way they can win? They shouldn’t be running. Period!
