Georgia’s Election Chaos Is A Wake-Up Call To Florida

Robert Crohan/Staff Writer

At a time when America is waking up to the harsh realities of racism, a chaotic election in the state just one border north of us has generated fears of what could come in November.

On June 9, Georgia voters set off to cast their ballots in the state’s senate primary. Georgia is holding two senate elections this year.

However, not even a public health crisis or a time of deep divide could lead the state to do the extra work to bring mercy to voters: lines were long, and some waited for hours. Machines struggled to work. Paper ballots were lacking. Voting precincts were closed or opened late. It took too long to count the ballots and many voters never even received theirs by mail. Put simply, it was a disaster.

The alarm bells have been ringing for years now, as the inadequate management of polling sites and ballots has dampened Americans’ confidence in voting properly—black Americans especially.

This is becoming the norm: similar issues occurred in the Rust Belt, and the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial election was suspected of being ridden with suppression in the form of voter roll purge, although this was never proven. All this sparks concern that Florida, Texas, Arizona, North Carolina and other liberalizing states in the south will be infected with the plague of voter suppression come November.

Florida, being minority-heavy, is extremely vulnerable to large-scale troubles in November. The state is run by Republicans who have seen their margin of victory decline in recent elections, and have watched Florida still be considered a swing state after seven presidential cycles. 

Parts of the state with low voter turnout and young liberal populations, such as Miami and Broward, have struggled to make their voice heard. Florida, until recently, was one of several states that placed a lifelong ban on ex-felon voting rights. Florida voters said no to that, but the state’s Repulican leadership refused to accept it.

We as college students should be concerned by the willingness of those in power to silence our voices in favor of managing the status quo. If it is difficult to vote, many may end up not voting at all. And many of these suppression tactics—like Florida’s attempt to bypass Amendment 4—can be likened to poll taxes. 

This comes as the pandemic has grown the demand for vote by mail across the nation, something that we are not used to and is therefore vulnerable to hijacking.

Stacey Abrams, the Democratic nominee for Georgia governor in 2018, has accused Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffsensperger of seeking to suppress voter turnout, as state leadership had the opportunity to attempt to fix this but failed to do so. In February, I was lucky enough to meet Abrams in-person, to engage in a roundtable discussion on voting alongside other Florida Democrats. She pressed that we need to educate, engage and energize people to vote: inform them of why voting is so important in getting their voice heard. I am encouraged to see this in action by activist groups.

Unfortunately, similar issues in Florida almost feel inevitable. 2018 produced enough issues with the Amendment 4 fight, and Donald Trump considering Florida to be his most important state to win may motivate Republicans to stop voters in their tracks.

This is absolutely inexcusable in 2020. Our ancestors fought for and earned the right to vote and to see public officials, though mostly Republicans, work to suppress it really undermines their boasting of fighting for freedom against leftist tyranny. If we are to truly be the beacon of freedom and opportunity for all and not some, all Americans can agree that cheating to save face is a slap in the face to the people.

To combat this, we must raise awareness and get to work. Abrams founded Fair Fight, which aims to combat voter suppression in all forms and is growing in prominence. In the same way, Floridians must urge our elected officials, local and statewide, to prioritize fair elections and make clear that nothing short of that will be tolerated. Legal action has been pursued in the past and can be an effective way to pressure wrongdoers in elections.

And it is not just blatant suppression we must target: unreasonable voter ID laws and subtle practices like gerrymandering have kept the voices of the majority silent.

Indeed, if every registered voter went to the polls, Republican Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina would be solidly Democratic. The fact that Democratic turnout spiked this year is a promising sign that voters are standing up and saying no, which should frighten voter suppressors. 

I see hope in the growing relevance of politics as I strongly believe that it dictates many important things in our lives. But the work cannot stop with suppression in battlegrounds: many states with heavy black populations, like Louisiana and Mississippi, have very low voter turnout and are much more Republican-leaning than they should be. The same is true for Miami.

The time is long past due for reform and making that fair fight. If the chaos in Georgia is not a wake-up call, nothing will be.

Featured image by KOMUnews on Flickr.

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