The United States prides itself on being one of, if not the most democratic nation in the world. So much so that they parade around the world "spreading" democracy to other countries. The COVID-19 pandemic has turned nearly everything upside down, including modern-day American democracy.
The discussion of voting has recently become a point of controversy. In early August, President Trump tweeted, "GET RID OF BALLOT HARVESTING; IT IS RAMPANT WITH FRAUD." Many critics were quick to point out the president's hypocrisy as he has used the absentee voting system in at least three elections, including the 2017 New York's mayoral, New York's 2018 midterm, and Florida's 2020 primary election. With many states considering the voting by mail system, politicians will have to answer the question of voter suppression.
Voter suppression in the US has primarily affected BIPOC, women, students, elderly, disabled, and low-income/homeless voters. The definition of a democratic state is a form of government in which the people have the authority to choose their governing legislation. Voter suppression is a direct attack on democracy but continues to thrive in the US. It is a tactic that manipulates election results by those who gain the most from it (usually republican lawmakers and politicians.) In 2018 70% of the purged voters in Georgia were Black, and 1 in 13 Black Americans can't vote because of criminal disenfranchisement.
The different ways that the system oppresses minority voters were intentionally created to keep the power in the hands of a few. Those structures, both legal and illegal, are still in place today. Until those in power make sustainable changes in the system, the US will forever remain an unjust democracy.
Written by Casey Bakarani
Artwork by Zara Masood
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