Now or Never

Voting is treated as an American duty and privilege, even when ballot choices feel uninspiring. Confidence in midterm outcomes depends on access to free and fair elections and the belief that people will vote for democracy. That confidence shifted after the Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais gutted the Voting Rights Act. After the ruling, states moved to remove voting power from citizens. Louisiana’s governor declared a state of emergency that halted an ongoing congressional primary after more than 45,000 ballots were cast, to redraw district maps to prevent Black candidates from being elected. Other Southern states followed by rearranging electoral maps to block Black candidates and Democrats, turning elections into a nationwide street fight.

"I was raised with the firm conviction that voting is every American's duty and privilege. No matter what, if there's an election, you vote, because every vote matters. And I still believe that wholeheartedly, even though I have lived through entirely too many elections when the choice of candidates seems to be between meh and meh-er. Even though the options on the ballot don't always excite me, I know that it's still important to exercise our right to a free and fair ballot."

"On April 29, of course, the odds of retaking the House changed dramatically, when the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Louisiana v. Callais gutted the Voting Rights Act. Since that day, one state after another has taken away the voices and votes of their citizens. Within hours of the court's decision, Louisiana's governor declared a state of emergency that stopped the state's congressional primary election— even though it was already underway, and over 45,000 ballots had already been cast— in order to redraw district maps to ensure that a Black candidate could never be elected in his state again."

"Other Southern states immediately jumped on board the gerrymander bandwagon, rearranging their electoral maps to ensure that no Black candidates and certainly no Democrats— would ever again stand a chance of being elected in their states. This is not the way elections are supposed to be. Elections have now become a country-wide street fight, with all rules thrown out the window."

Read at sfbaytimes.com