Over the past few days, all eyes have been on our nation’s Capitol. Not focused on the inauguration of a new administration elected in a free and fair election, but in shock at the insurrection by a violent mob on January 6, 2021. This treasonous assault is the culmination of decades of intentional divisiveness and deliberate suppression of the people’s voice. It is a dire warning. The lies and distortions promoted during this election have led to threats, intimidation and, ultimately, to the violence we witnessed Wednesday.
You Can Vote condemns this action, and the intimidation and efforts to suppress the vote that preceded it, in the strongest possible terms. These actions must be repudiated by anyone who wishes to serve the American people. We remain resolved to not only register, educate, and encourage participation of all eligible voters, but also to ensure votes are not suppressed through false information, intimidation, threats of violence, and mob rule.
We work on the ground, engaging one-on-one with North Carolina voters. We hear voters’ anger about confusing laws and changing rules on voter ID, absentee ballots, and district maps created to preserve power through unconstitutional gerrymandering. Our volunteers and Voting Rights Ambassadors overcome misconceptions and voter apathy by respectfully educating voters about how to cast their ballots, dismantling the disinformation campaigns seeking to suppress their votes. These suppression tactics disproportionately impact voting rights and access for young people, people with disabilities, low income communities but, most especially, people of color.
During early voting this year, we witnessed groups of white supremacists working to intimidate voters at and around polling sites in black and brown communities. Our Voting Rights Ambassadors, trained to support and educate voters at 54 early voting sites, withstood a constant barrage of harassment and intimidation from extremists. One extremist group stood vigil all 17 days, waving Trump flags and shouting insults across the parking lot to our team of predominantly African American Ambassadors. Our Ambassadors were polite and offered information and assistance to everyone coming to vote. Nonetheless, the extremists’ leader insisted those Ambassadors were the “enemy” because of the color of their skin. This voter suppression was not pulled from the 1960’s; it is a true account of what voters in North Carolina faced during the 2020 General Election.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA) was passed following violence against peaceful protesters marching for equal rights crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday, March 9, 1965. Peaceful protesters, including the late Representative John Lewis, were violently attacked by police and it was caught on camera. President Johnson made an impassioned speech and called for comprehensive voting rights legislation on March 15th of that year. On August 6, 1965, the VRA was signed into law and several additional protections for voters were added over the years. However, in 2013 the U.S. Supreme Court overturned key provisions protecting voters in states like North Carolina with a long history of voter suppression.
You Can Vote pledges to remain disciplined and persistent in our work to nurture, protect, and expand our democracy. We support a shared vision of a representative democracy that reflects our diversity, includes all voices, and aims to serve all Americans.
We can honor our democracy and those who have fought and died to protect it by passing Rep. John Lewis’s For the People Act (HR1) to restore and update the full protections of Section 5 of the VRA— the most effective civil rights legislation in the nation’s history. The horror of Wednesday’s assault on democracy and those in elected office who would try to overturn the results of a free and fair election must not be forgotten. Together, we can stand against intimidation, racism, and harassment to build trust and community that ensures equal protection under the law for all.
