Voter suppression rampant
Sue Lani Madsen is right: there is no voter suppression in Washington. In Spokane, County Auditor Vicki Dalton is a fair and competent overseer of our elections.
Other states are not so lucky; voter suppression is rampant. I would advise Sue Lani and anybody skeptical of that statement to watch the documentary “Suppressed: The Fight to Vote” or “Rigged-The Voter Suppression Playbook.” Both show the tragic loss of people’s right to vote.
“Suppressed” follows Georgia’s 2018 gubernatorial election between Black state representative Stacey Abrams, and Brian Kemp, the Secretary of State who was responsible for elections. 53,260 voter registration applications were put on hold until after the election, 80% from people of color. Since 2013 Kemp purged 890,000 eligible voters from the rolls, many unlawfully. Democratic counties were purged at the rate of 4 times more than Republican. 200 polling places were closed, mainly in Black areas. Those that were open had long lines, people waiting 4 hours or longer to vote, while there was no wait for people in other areas. Since 2012 Georgia has closed polling places affecting over a million voters, 75% in majority African American counties.
If that isn’t enough to convince you, The Carter Center is becoming involved in the U.S. elections this year for the first time. Usually ensuring fair elections in other, less advanced countries, the center felt the need to help here since they noted that in the last decade, they would describe the country’s democracy as “backsliding”. Voter suppression is real.
Linda Greene
Spokane