The community is invited to a remote workshop on “The Fight for Free and Fair Elections,” sponsored by the Edmonds Neighborhood Action Coalition from 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 20.
The speaker is Dr. April Ruth Hoffman, a professor of social justice and community organizing at Prescott College. Attendees will learn about the history of voting suppression, the 2020 election, myths about voter fraud, and what you can do to make a difference.
Registration is required; all are welcome. Register here.
What voter suppression? MEN article today featured people lined up in rain to vote.
Article clearly states “learn about the history of voting suppression”
Don your point is great. Historically we have not done the best job to have all folks vote. By looking at this issue we may will begin to discover other things we may have done that is fundamentally unfair but our American Standards. Learning about voting issues may will help us discover and understand other inequality issues.
Like what inequity? This doesnt sound like a history class.
Yes I agree Darrol, my concern is that in some areas it’s getting harder to vote. Turn on the internet or the news and there’s plenty of pictures and videos of people standing in lines for hours to do the same thing I did in less than 30 minutes. If I lived & voted in another state, and was faced with going to work so I could feed my family, or standing in line all day and missing work, that would be a very tough position to be in.
Who exactly is suppressing the vote?
I hear media talk every 2-4 years of voter suppression, and of course its almost always in a red state, like what happened in Georgia in their governors race. But then when I look into the details is seems its almost always cases found in locations that are run by democrats and money was made available but not spent in the months running up to the election.
This time around with the huge push to impose new mail in balloting systems around the county more than 20 million people have already voted and more than 500,000 ballots have already been rejected. Washington State has been doing mail in for years, we are considered to be a success story, but we still reject tens of thousands of ballots each cycle along with simply not counting many military absentee ballots.
Anthony, the absolutely racist notion that POC cant find the polling stations or are not able to get state issued ID is often parroted by people claiming voter suppression. I’m trying to bait people into bring up those old, tired claims, which really infantilize monorities.
In the case of mass mail in voting, where ballots are sent to everyone even if they never asked for one, is voter dilution (which is as bad as voter suppression).
Darrol and Don, I wish you two would wake up and come to the “party” (Republican of Course). You know all our problems in the area of voting rights and possible suppression come from the “Democrat” party. Some people just never learn. I’m going to grab my sawed off 12 GA. now and go guard the ballot drop off box, at the Library, from “those” people who keep hanging out in our town. Never know when they will try to slip in 20 dead people ballots for Biden and Inslee.
Clinton, Republicans gave black people and women the right to vote.
“Gave” isn’t quite the way I’d describe that.
The goal of elections is to win. I know if I were running a campaign for Edmonds to require under penalty of a $1000 fine to have all people wear masks when out in public spaces I would certainly try to “suppress” some folks who I now would be opposed to such a law. On the other side of that I would want to “get out the vote” but only target that message to those who I strongly believe (with some supporting evidence) would vote yes on the law.
If the goal is to have as many citizens as possible vote both ideas above are “suppressing” the vote. If the goal is to win, they both are acceptable methods.
Honest discussion would point out that we do both and will continue to do both so long as we can get away with it.
If anyone is interested in learning about voter suppression, I suggest Greg Palast, https://www.gregpalast.com/
With the ACLU he sued the State of Georgia, and won – to allow citizens to be able to vote – and it looks like now he’s having difficulties in getting the law suit enforced…
For anyone interested in developing a “real” democracy, I suggest https://www.fixdemocracyfirst.org/
I can only speak for myself but it is truly disappointing that in trying to understand a group of Edmonds citizens, Edmonds Neighborhood Action Coalition, and some of their ideas about voting, some on this thread have chosen to make this so political again. Name calling and put others down is not in keeping with the new signs around town: “We Choose Kindness” Baiting people or suggesting carrying guns around town is not kind at all.
I know if I said things like I see my mom would have suggested washing my mouth out with soap. Since we are all just doing to “talking” with a keyboard, I hope you did what I do before typing, “wash my hands”
Why must our conversations often spiral downward? Let’s think of ways to learn from others?
Thanks for that, Darrol. Kindness would be a very nice mission indeed. Until then, this comment thread is closed.