Turns Outs Voting Matters

By Buffy Wicks

National Voter Registration Day gives us an opportunity to reflect on the importance of protecting and promoting voting rights. This conversation couldn’t be more timely. As someone who has spent my entire career devoted to mobilizing voters and citizens to take action, I know how voting rights restrictions endanger the health of our elections. But I also saw how we can fight back against those limitations to ensure equal voting access for all.

For the past five years, voting rights have been under attack with states making serious strides limiting access to the ballot box. I’ve seen first-hand voting restrictions in action, and how they prevent Americans from simply seeking to exercise their civic duty. Voting restrictions disproportionately impact many communities including low-income, racial and ethnic minorities, the elderly and young people, and people with disabilities. Make no mistake about it, these laws are put in place by Republicans to keep voting a privilege for a select few.

In states across the country, election officials are closing down early polling locations in the dense urban areas, leaving voters with long work days unfairly limited hours to cast a ballot. Voter ID laws may sound simple on paper, but the costs associated with obtaining the underlying documents are required before obtaining government-issued photo ID card, amounting to new taxes on voter registration. These extra steps and extra costs make voting prohibitive for tens of thousands of American citizens.

In 2013, the United States Supreme Court dealt a disastrous blow to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, rolling back voter protections and limiting the federal government’s ability to fight restrictions intentionally targeting communities of color. Congress is not addressing this issue and the current Department of Justice clearly lacks the desire to fight new restrictive laws, instead focusing its efforts on imaginary voter fraud. In the face of these challenges it is clear the only way we can combat this growing problem is at the state level.

In California, we are making great strides in the fight for equitable access to our electoral process. Secretary of State Alex Padilla is a key advocate, pushing for pre-registration of 16- and 17-year-olds to engage youth voters, joining nation-wide efforts to fight voter roll purges, and pushing for modern election systems increasing the speed and ease of voting. He is a national leader on this work. But we shouldn’t stop here.

One common sense idea is to offer free postage for all vote-by-mail ballots, removing a limited but significant hindrance to California voters. By pushing for this effort statewide, California can work toward becoming the being the easiest state to vote in and serve as a leader for states to follow. Encouraging all people to take part in our electoral process is fundamental to our shared values and reflects California’s diversity and sense of community.

Ensuring access to the ballot is one half of the solution. There is another critical piece, and I say this as someone who is now running for office. We, candidates, have to give voters something to believe in. Something that is honest, genuine, forthright and that expresses our shared values towards a greater good of progressive governance. I distinctly remember the first time I voted for former President Obama. I knew that beyond all of the time and effort I put into the campaign, when I voted in the California democratic primary in February 2008 I was making a choice for an America filled with hope, opportunity, and a future for my family. I knew that he was a candidate that had earned my trust and would go to Washington representing all people, not just the people who shared his background.

In the era of Donald Trump, it is easy to see why voters might be fed up with our electoral process. Now we have a leader who makes it clear he only wants to represent a small segment of his voters, turning his back on any principles and ignoring the needs of millions of Americans. But instead of turning our backs on our democracy, we are in the throes of a heightened level of civic engagement in this new resistance movement, with protests nearly weekly. It is mission critical that this energy be funneled into municipal, state and federal elections in 2018 and beyond. It is also up to us now as candidates to join these efforts, and be the kind of representatives voters deserve and can believe in.

By making voting easier and by giving voters principled and dedicated candidates to choose from, we can truly honor the spirit of National Voter Registration Day. Voting matters, elections matter. We must do everything in our power to ensure full access to the ballot, in as many ways possible — health of our democracy depends on it.