Tag: voting

The Polls are Rigged. No, Really. 

stayhappy123Leave a comment

“Donald Trump will never really get elected.” 

Looking around, I admit, it’s hard to imagine.

“77% of americans are women, are people of color, are gay, or are other minorities. He can’t win. He won’t.”(Read more here.)

And he wouldn’t, if they were all voting. But in communities of poverty, in communities where transportation is hard to obtain, in communities where lines are longer, in communities where instructions don’t make sense, voting is literally harder, and it’s not a coincidence.

Things like the new Photo ID requirements favor those who are wealthy- with passports and drivers licenses, and the money and time to find the proper paperwork, and the money for fees to get an ID. Although the requirement that citizens have a government issued idea isn’t new, the sudden backing of it is. Why limit how many eligible americans are able to participate in the elections? Because when 11% of the population does not have access to an ID, the overall voter turnout suffers.

Another example of the efforts to create an election where minorities voices are not behaved is the push to shut down early morning Sunday voting in some states where there is a prominent Black community, effectively targeting their religion and how they vote. (read more here)

Or, now that early voting has become popular in low-income and Black communities, it has become a target. Opportunities to register for early voting in communities of poverty are dwindling, at the push of scared politicians.
Maybe you’ve heard, in Texas, concealed carry permits are accepted, but state-issued student ID’s are not.

How about Voter Registration Laws, which both restrict and actively make registering to vote more difficult? 1 in 4 eligible americans are not registered to vote, and laws that make it hard not only to register but to stay registered are not helping.

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Photo Credit: i.huffpost.com

Americans, as a whole, have constructed a false sense of security for themselves, reassured by the idea of just how many people are against the election of Donald Trump, choosing to ignore the ways voting is becoming increasingly biased towards a certain “type” of voter. Do you know who voting is not difficult for? White people. Rich people. Republican people. In fact, voting is designed for the Trump supporters. For dedicated, passionate, privileged people.

It is not designed for Black people, or Hispanic people, or poor people. It is not designed for Hillary supporters.

The reality of President Trump has begun to sound far more possible.  

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Photo Credit: c0.nrostatic.com

Get Out and Vote

therightliberalLeave a comment

This will be the first year that I can vote, and I am very excited for it.

Most of my friends don’t understand why I would be excited and why I care so much, which usually ends with me calling them ignorant.

To set the scene, I have gone over the ballots with my parents for as long as I can remember. They were not trying to brainwash me; they always asked me what I though of a proposition or a candidate before they spoke their mind.

I learned to read the laws and understand them in a greater sense. It was always something I enjoyed and became excited about. I was much more likely to be conversing with my teachers about politics than my peers.

And now I am able to actually vote. It feels like a freedom to me, something that is meant to be cherished. As much as my friends may go on about it not mattering if one person votes, it does. Especially in the primaries, one vote does matter.

I feel that if more children were exposed to politics and encouraged to be informed even though they could not vote, we would have much higher turn outs.

After all, a democracy does not work without voter participation. If we want to keep the freedoms that we hold dear, we must have a voice as a people. That starts, and ends, with have a politically educated youth system.