Remembering the unfinished work of voting rights on this MLK Jr. Day
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a commemoration of an extraordinary person, who educated and inspired millions. The words and actions of Dr. King raised awareness about injustice, oppression, war, and poverty. His words and actions offered hope and comfort through times of despair. His words and actions mobilized people to become active in the civil rights movement, which achieved victories with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
This year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day comes in the wake of a string of restrictive voting measures in 19 states and the likely demise of the Freedom to Vote Act intended to protect voting rights at the federal level.
Restrictive voting measures, such as harsher identification laws and last-minute changes to voting rules, make it harder for people to vote. This includes LGBTQ+ people, whose identification documents may not match their identity. The Human Rights Campaign notes:
A 2019 HRC Foundation survey found that fear of or experiencing discrimination led 22% of LGBTQ+ adults, 35% of LGBTQ+ adults of color, 49% of transgender adults, and 55% of transgender adults of color to avoid voting in at least one election in their lives. It also found that an issue with meeting voter identification requirements prevented 24% of LGBTQ+ adults, 35% of LGBTQ+ people of color, 42% of transgender people from voting in at least one election in their lives. Furthermore, 46% of transgender people of color said they did not vote in one or more elections in their lives specifically because their ID had an incorrect gender marker, name, or photo.
These laws will make it harder to receive and return mail-in ballots, or to stay registered. The Brennan Center observed that in some states these restrictive measures even threaten election officials and others with criminal penalties for doing things like handing out water, encouraging voters to request a main-in ballot, or providing translation assistance. No one wants voter fraud, but in the absence of any data demonstrating voter fraud, these measures are intimidating and will decrease the number of ballots cast.
We have come far but not far enough. The civil rights movement is not over.
Like Dr. King, each of us has the power of words and actions. Dr. King didn’t start the civil rights movement, but he made an impact. So can we.
If you are interested in supporting voting rights:
- Learn more. The Carnegie Corporation of New York provides a short history of voting rights in this country. It’s a good starting point but doesn’t cover those who can’t vote, which differs by state. They include, for example, an estimated 5.17 million people, who are disenfranchised because of a felony conviction. “One in 16 African Americans of voting age is disenfranchised, a rate 3.7 times greater than that of non-African Americans. Over 6.2 percent of the adult African American population is disenfranchised compared to 1.7 percent of the non-African American population.” They also include the 3.5 million people from territories under U.S. sovereignty — Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands — who are U.S. citizens and nationals, but have no federal voting rights. “More than 98 percent of these territorial residents are racial or ethnic minorities like me [Representative Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands]— a fact that cannot be a mere coincidence as our continuing disenfranchisement extends well past the century mark.”
- Get active. Find a mission you believe in. Then march, write, share, and give time or money to support organizations dedicated to equitable voting rights. Also, be sure to vote.
