The Activist

 
While we understand that electoral politics are not and should not be the final stage of political action, it is still critical to protect the right to vote without coercion, ignominious errors, and trivial impediments.  It is our hope that YDSers will involve themselves in voting rights campaigns in communities of color with the firm conviction of ensuring safe and secure voting booths during the time ballots are cast and while the votes are tallied.   
As arguably the most exciting presidential race in years draws near, and as politically active youth are clearly fomented about the possibilities afforded by the coming election, it is imperative for those on the Left to seriously consider the potential political opportunities as well as the potential ramifications of this election.  We must analyze, critique, and involve ourselves in this moment.  To any observer, it is clear that Democratic presidential nominee, Senator Barack Obama has a legitimate chance of winning the coveted office, bringing about the often cited “change” that has been the hallmark and shibboleth of his campaign.  While, as democratic socialist, we understand that change only starts from the ground-up, Obama does present a political deviation from the inimical Bush years. Obama has explicitly described himself and his existence as Black.  With rapper Tupac Shakur’s famous (or infamous) statement, “although it seems heaven sent, we ain’t ready to see a Black president” resonates in the minds of not only Blacks but also other people of color, a critical question then arises for the Left, particularly democratic socialists, about engaging in this historical period in American and international politics with integrity and seriousness: what are the possible risks and impediments of people of color voting for a candidate of color at the voting booth?  Statistics have shown that Obama has 90% of the Black support, is gradually gaining more support in the Latino, Asian, and indigenous community.

During this presidential election season, being a person of color is paradoxical.  Take, for example, the conservative and at times, liberal accusation that Blacks support Obama because he is Black.  It would be precariously misguided to believe that Blacks do not take color into consideration when voting for a candidate.  But if we are to employ this racial logic, in which we should to an extent, then it is safe, and indeed accurate, to say whites vote for candidates because they are white. The extent pigment politics affect the majority of voters’ choices is questionable.  To say that Blacks support Obama because he is Black ignores the former inquires posed by the Black community in opinion editorials titled, “Is Obama Black Enough?”  The vast majority of white people and people of color seriously consider the candidates credentials and policy decisions in order to make an informed and precise decision when voting.     

Sadly, however, the Illinois senator has run a centrist campaign possibly in order to garner more votes from Americans unfortunately concerned about his torn relationship with Rev. Jeremiah Wright as well as the disturbingly fabricated notion that Obama is a practicing Muslim.  For both to be even considered legitimate debates is not only disturbing in itself, but it also reveals the penetrating damage and fear mongering conducted not only by the Bush administration, but also Reagan and the centrist Bill Clinton.  It is more than obvious that conservatives have constructed the debate in order to make liberals look like radicals and Leftists simply irrelevant.  Incidentally, it was conservative former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay who inaccurately stated “that unless he proves me wrong, [Obama] is a Marxist.”  Such a falsehood places those on the Left in a difficult position because it attempts to deem our contribution not only to the debate but also to the election as worthless.  Therefore we must destroy the inimical environment of discourse created by conservatives and liberals alike by having our voice heard on the ground; by involving ourselves and working with, not for, people of color and poor and working class whites.  This involves a committed and undying effort to make sure that we ensure and protect the voting rights of these important and often times, marginalized and ostracized groups, especially at this pivotal moment in electoral politics.  It includes being present at voting booths, making sure people of color, poor and working class whites, and the elderly get to the voting booths.  It is also about addressing the precarious flaws at voting stations–both electronic and paper ballots–and proactively presenting a case to reform the method of voting while demanding for a more democratic process.   But prior to these actions, the impediments facing these groups must be candidly addressed:

Information from MotherJones.com September 2006)

• Florida: Voter registration forms are easily lost. In 2004, for example, headlines focused on a Republican National Committee contractor named Sproul & Associates, which subcontracted with a company called Voters Outreach of America that, in Las Vegas, was found destroying forms filled out by people trying to register as Democrats. Incidents like this would seem to justify a new Florida law that imposes fines of $250 to $500 per form on anyone who registers voters and doesn’t immediately deliver the paperwork to election officials, with no exceptions for difficult circumstances or natural disasters. But since it was already illegal in Florida to deliberately delay handing in voter registration forms, and since the new legislation does not apply to the two main political parties, its only likely effect is to intimidate independent voter-registration organizations; the largest among them, the League of Women Voters, has stopped doing voter registration in the state altogether.

• Waller County, Texas: Prairie View A&M is a black school in the heart of east Texas, where the local leadership has, over many decades, worked to deny the students’ claims to being full-time county residents and thus eligible to vote. In 2003, Waller County district attorney Oliver Kitzman wrote a letter to the elections administrator and the local newspaper warning that any students who tried to vote could face 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The NAACP filed suit, noting that as far back as 1979 the U.S. Supreme Court, ruling on a lawsuit brought by Prairie View students, held that students could register to vote in the communities in which they attended college. Students in Arkansas, Florida, Maine, New Hampshire, and Virginia have also been prevented or discouraged from registering; in Williamsburg, Virginia, William and Mary students were denied permission to register merely for acknowledging that they were going home on vacation.

• Atlanta, Georgia: In 2005, Georgia state legislators passed a bill requiring voters to present either a driver’s license or a state-issued photo ID that costs between $20 and $35 and is available only from Department of Motor Vehicles offices. Supporters claimed this was necessary to keep people from casting votes in someone else’s name, even though Georgia secretary of state Cathy Cox noted that her office had no evidence of this happening. Either way, the measure is likely to have a dramatic effect on who can vote. Two-thirds of the state’s counties don’t even have a DMV office; Atlanta, the state’s largest city, has just one, where waits at the ID counters often run to several hours. In late June, the secretary of state issued a report finding that more than half a million active-status, registered voters in Georgia don’t have valid photo IDs. Fully 17.3 percent of African American voters, and one-third of black voters over age 65, wouldn’t be able to cast a ballot under the law.

• Franklin County, Ohio: Like many states, Ohio theoretically requires equal treatment of voters in all parts of the state; in practice, it frequently ignores its own requirements, especially in urban, predominantly Democratic, neighborhoods. In Franklin County, for example, more than 2,500 voters in the city of Columbus found themselves crammed into a single precinct in 2004, even though the state’s guidelines call for no more than 1,400 — apparently because officials assumed that in a poor neighborhood, turnout would be low. The state only partially reimburses counties for buying electronic voting machines, so Franklin, like many poor counties, didn’t have enough machines on hand to start with. When record numbers of voters showed up, massive lines snaked toward the handful of machines. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law has sued Ohio; among the complainants was an elderly woman with arthritis who had to leave because no one could find a place for her to sit.

These examples simply touch the surface of what people of color see as politically insidious.  While the examples may seem like a far cry from literacy tests and grandfather clauses, what it represents is the incessant diminution of the political viability and involvement of people of color.  It is has been articulated by both Democrats and Republicans that the Black and Latino vote is extremely important.  What is crippling, however, is the unwillingness of politicians on both sides of the aisle to address the problems at voting booths or to take proactive measures of prevention concerning these discrepancies at the voting booth.  That is why it is up to us, as the Young Democratic Socialists and members of the Left, to not only address these issues, but immediately eliminate the causal root of these problems by working with people of color to find pragmatic and viable solutions. 

We should seek out and/or coordinate local campaigns that are primarily focused on protecting the rights of voters inside and outside of the voting booth.  Furthermore, YDSers should provide transportation in communities of color, particularly urban and rural areas where transportation is outrageously priced or lacking.  Lastly, we should be present during the tallying of the ballots to make sure that voting discrepancies and mishaps have not taken place. The future of a truly democratic and just society hangs in the balance.