You Voted; But You’re Not Done!

Why Voting isn’t Enough in the 2020 Presidential Election

By: Mildred Robertson

The final day of 2020 Presidential Election season is only days away. If you have already cast your vote, you are among 65.5 million Americans who have participated in early and mail-in voting. According to CNN, that’s almost half of all votes cast in the 2016 presidential election and more than the 58.3 million cast in pre-election voting that year.

If you lean democratic, you may be feeling pretty good right now. You’ve cast your vote, and it appears the polls are on your side. National polls as of October 27 show Vice President Joe Biden polling at 52.1 percent compared to Trump at 43 percent.  In comparison, the 2016 election showed Hillary Clinton with just a four-point lead in national polls, with neither candidate breaking the 50 percent mark. One week out Clinton was at 46 percent, while Trump polled at 42 percent. Though pundits and pollsters alike say that Biden is in a much better position than Clinton in 2016, the fact remains that she was leading…until she wasn’t.

There are numerous reasons why Clinton struggled to trounce Trump, and ultimately fell in the polls. Her precipitous fall has been rehashed more times than I care to recall. Suffice it to say, some things came up. While Biden’s campaign may not have to deal with the same challenges as Clinton’s; challenges do exist. That’s why Democrats must leave no room for error.

Among those issues facing Democrats is a concerted effort on the part of the Republican Party to suppress the vote. Tactics range from slowing down mail service, to eliminating voting locations, voter intimidation using armed vigilantes at the polls and rejecting ballots dated prior to Election Day, but not received by November 3^rd. Among the most egregious challenges Americans may face if Biden is elected, is that the sitting president has threatened to refuse the peaceful transfer of power if he fails to win the election.

These challenges and others aimed at disenfranchising voters across the nation threaten our ability to self-govern and may lead to the dismantling of our democracy as we know it. You might be asking what more you can do if you have already cast your vote. Well there is plenty.

Americans must articulate a clear choice in this election. That can only be accomplished by robust voter participation across the country, with particular emphasis on swing states. North Carolina is one of the coveted swing states that may determine who assumes the presidency. Other prized swing states include Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

For those of us living in swing states it is imperative, if we wish our political philosophy to prevail, that we don’t just vote, but also work to get out the vote. There are numerous groups and organizations participating in voter turnout (GOTV) across the country. If you are not connected with any such group, they are easily identifiable on the web, and would be happy for you to volunteer. Among the activities in which you can engage to help guarantee a free and fair election are:

·         Identifying personal volunteer opportunities

o   Poll Watcher
o   Phone Banking
o   Door Knocking
o   Distributing/Displaying Campaign Signage

·         Contacting members of your family/social network and encouraging them to vote.

·         Donating to a campaign that supports your political philosophy and beliefs

·         Working the polls

·         Posting pro-campaign messages on your social network

These are only a few examples of the steps you can take to ensure that sufficient numbers of votes are cast to leave no doubt as to the intended choice of the majority of Americans. In this year, like no other before it, it is imperative that citizens take their civic responsibility seriously.

You took the first step and voted; but this year that may not be enough. Choose your task, and take the next step to help ensure that the 2020 election results in an outcome that reflects the will of the people.

Voting is not enough. You must WORK THE VOTE!

Voting: the Most Important Thing You Will Do in 2020

By Mildred Robertson

It appears that Americans have gotten the message. The best way to change our nation’s direction is for its citizens to let their voices be heard through the ballot box. An unprecedented number of citizens have cast their ballots across America, even in the face of long wait times, fears about tampering with mail-in ballots and threats of intimidation at polling places.

North Carolinians were among the first Americans to cast a ballot during the 2020 General Election as they flocked to the polls on October15, 2020. By the end of business yesterday, Nearly 1.9 million North Carolinians had exercised their right to vote. That compares to only 657,203 votes cast during the same time period in 2016.

It is heartening to know that U.S. citizens will not be intimidated by forces that appear intent upon ending our experiment in liberty. It is clear Americans will face all obstacles placed before them to participate in the one enterprise that makes us unique among our peers; governance for the people, by the people.

Ours is a freedom not easily gained, and not effortlessly maintained. Sacrifice has been the bedrock of our nation’s journey to be the nation we profess to be in our constitution. The obstacles to maintaining our freedom in 2020 are daunting; but they are by no means the most formidable obstacles we have encountered in our relatively young republic.

As our ancestors faced down dogs, clubs, and water hoses to exercise their right to vote, so we must face our own obstacles. We cannot be intimidated or complacent.  We must embrace our legacy and challenge those who would deny us our birthright.

We must vote!

 

Your Country - Your Choice: Vote November 3rd

By Mildred Robertson

 Black Americans have a choice to make in 2020. Will we allow the sacrifices of our ancestors be for nothing, or will we make sacrifices to ensure that Black voices are raised in the 2020 presidential election?

 All kinds of obstacles have been erected in 2020 to discourage Blacks and other minorities from participating in the November 3rd election. Our young people are being bombarded with disinformation about the records of Democratic nominees. Republican legislators and Secretaries of State are instituting rules and regulations that will limit access to the ballot box. The Post Master General has actively worked to slow mail services in order to negatively impact vote-in mailing. 

While some of these tactics are new, this push to deny minorities access to the ballot box is an age-old battle between racist conservatives and Black people seeking the promise of America.  Black people were ushered into that promise when granted the right to citizenship in 1868. But having the right to vote did not translate into the ability to exercise it.

A systematic effort to turn Blacks and minorities away from polling places has prevailed from 1877 until the present, resulting in the exclusion and suppression of communities of color in the political power structure. Southern and conservative legislators across the country have doubled their efforts to block minorities from the ballot box since the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act In 2013. Many jurisdictions currently labor to institute draconian rules and regulations meant to make it difficult for minorities and Progressives to access the ballot box. Those seeking to depress minority voting hope to negatively impact turnout this year by providing fewer polling places, limiting hours and making mail-in voting unreliable. Further, armed militia have been encouraged to poll watch to intimidate minority voters.

None of these tactics are new. Civil Rights activist down through the years have fought valiantly to overcome these and sometimes more violent obstacles. Throughout the years, we have gained some ground and then lost some as we struggle to reach victory.  But the struggle must go on.

If you cannot stand in line for an indeterminate amount of time to cast your vote; then request a mail-in ballot. If you are not sure your mail-in ballot has time to reach the Board of Elections by or before November 3rd, early vote.  If you cannot get to an early vote location, then be prepared to stand in line on November 3^rd for however long it takes. But whatever method you choose…Vote.

No matter how difficult it is to cast your vote, you must make it a priority in 2020. It is you who will decide the kind of country in which we live. Whether you vote or stay home, you are making a choice. Choose to be part of the solution. Vote in the 2020 Election. 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Lioness of Equality

 By Mildred Robertson

Today we mourn the loss of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who succumbed to a long battle with cancer. Ginsburg was only the second woman to sit on the highest court in the land.

 

Both a champion for justice and progress, Ginsburg led the fight for equality under the law. Her tireless advocacy, unending service, and trailblazing spirit opened the door for women and girls across the country to aspire to, and achieve seats of power in government and business. Her efforts, however, were not confined to seeking justice for women. She was equally committed to securing justice for all.

 

Nominated by Bill Clinton in June 1993, Ginsburg was confirmed in August. Her appointment to the Court followed a legal career as an advocate for the advancement of gender equality and women’s rights. Before taking the bench, Ginsburg had already won multiple cases argued before the Supreme Court.  

 

Her passing comes at a pivotal time in our nation’s history. If the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris ticket is successful, it will be the first time that a woman, no less a Black woman, is a heartbeat away from the levers of power in the United States. It remains to be seen whether America is ready to make that leap. While Kamala is neither the first female candidate to vie for either president or vice president of the United States, a successful Biden/Harris ticket would nonetheless be a huge departure from political norms in the U.S. The success of such a ticket is made possible, in part, by the work of Justice Ginsburg and others like her.

 

Justice Ginsburg’s passing also adds to an already fracas 2020 Presidential campaign. The airwaves have been awash in advertisements attempting to establish uncertainty about the efficacy of our political system. Both political parties are embroiled in a flurry of activity to determine how to maintain the power to fill the vacant seat, while doing as little damage to candidates caught up in tight races across the country.  Voters are carefully watching, and many are mobilizing to respond to how the White House and the Senate handle this vacancy with less than two months until the national election. The question is, will our Congress respond in a way that honors her memory and her body of work, or will her passing be the catalyst for a major challenge to our democracy.

 

As the nation pauses to honor Ginsburg, a folk hero sometimes referred to as “the Notorious RBG,” the words spoken in a 2018 documentary about her life powerfully exemplify her passion for justice. Ginsburg paraphrased the 19^th Century abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sarah Grimke, stating, “I ask no favor for my sex; all I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.”

 

Those words…that legacy resonate as women still struggle to meet their potential in a world that maintains a double standard, and black people struggle just to live. The question is, will America live up to Ginsburg's call for justice and allow women and minorities to stand in liberty, or must we fight to remove the weight of oppression to gain justice and equality.

 

She will be missed—but will not be forgotten. May the "Lioness of Equality" rest in Glory and may her work stand through the winds of change.

The State of America: Change Has to Come

By Guest Blogger, Mary Ratliff, President NAACP Columbia, Missouri Chapter

We are experiencing a very tragic and difficult time in our Country. I listened to the President's speech during the Republican Convention that compelled me to put pen to paper to respond to what seems to be a distorted or omitted fact in Donald Trump's speech. While delivering his speech He posed this question, while directing their attention toward the White House: "What is the name of this House, which is of course the White House. He then said, "We are here they are not."

Many have criticized those remarks but no one has addressed the meaning of his remarks, meaning this House is named for those who should occupy it, and is called the White for that purpose. I believe this was not a dog whistle but a bullhorn announcement to those who believe the presidency should be reserved for white males only.  

Change has to come, we need to recognize this is not a movement but a revolution. In a movement requests are made; in a revolution demands are made with expected outcomes.  We are calling upon like minded citizens, as was the case in the 50's, 60's and 70's, to join with us to march, demonstrate and strategize to bring about the changes necessary to bring peace to this troubled country.

We need all hands on deck to turn out the vote this November 3, 2020. Make no mistake, this administration has caused damage that will take strong leadership to repair. Unfortunately there are those who want to take us back to the 'good old days'  when Black Americans were viewed as less than human; only capable of jobs that required physical strength. This was not to be the only plight of the Black Race, because we had strength most of the time with little or no formal education. Black mothers and fathers taught us there is nothing more important than freedom and education; so we fought, bled and died for the right to have our little boys and girls enjoy the freedom that is due them.

I am appealing to our white friends, recognizing they can never walk a mile in our shoes,  to have a conscious that will direct them to no longer sit by and allow the senseless killing of Black men by police for no reason but for the color of their skin. 

Let us make it plain, there are those who say if no change is made in administration, we will be set back as a people, I say to you, that's a dice that shouldn't be rolled. Slavery did not stop John Brown, Harriett Tubman, Medgar Evers or Dr. Martin Luther Jr., and it wont stop us. It seems so strange to have to say in 2020, "we will be free." Unfortunately, that is not the case for Mike Brown, Travon Martin, George Floyd, Blake Taylor and so many others. 

We like Dr. King believe in a nonviolent revolution and refuse to allow our message to be lost in senseless violence. So we commend our young people for accepting the torch passed on to them as we continue to be the shoulder for them to stand on until we all are free indeed.

Respectfully Submitted By Mary A. Ratliff. President Columbia NAACP

Ratliff has spent over 60 years in the civil rights struggle, beginning in the 1960s when she helped organize a group called Concerned Citizen United. She later became president of the Columbia Chapter of the NAACP where she continues to serve today. Ratliff also served several terms on the National Board of the NAACP.

Where’s My Mail?

Americans React to Chaotic Leadership

By:  Mildred Robertson 

                                                                                                    

Many Americans will turn to the U.S. Postal Service this fall to cast their vote during the most dangerous pandemics the world has ever known. The Coronavirus Pandemic has sickened 5.6 million U.S. citizens and 174,293 have lost their lives as of August 18, 2020. Times such as these have historically caused Americans to come together to fight a common enemy, putting aside partisanship, and in some instances even prejudices and racism. Americans leaders have commonly stepped forward to summon our better angels as we work for the collective good of the country.

 Not so, however, in 2020. Our current administration has instead worked to divide us even further, casting around to find a villain besides himself upon whom to lay blame for the unchecked spread of Covid-19 within our borders. America is experiencing the collapse of our social and financial foundations, the demise of our school system, the overburdening of our health-care system and the total lack of vision regarding how to emerge from the horror that is the untethered pandemic sweeping our nation. Not only is there a lack of leadership in addressing these pressing national concerns, but an attack on the nation’s infrastructure that could help mitigate some of the issues we face.  

 From the lack of an organized effort to obtain the personal protective equipment (PPE) needed by the health care industry to safely treat infected patients to the hobbling of the U.S. Post Office in order to discourage absentee voting during a pandemic requiring physical distancing, this administration has acted as an adversary to rather than a proponent for America’s survival and recovery from this pandemic. 

 As legislators grapple with a gridlocked congress, the House continues to attempt to hammer out a compromise to provide a much needed stimulus check to Americans struggling during this pandemic.  A key component of their negotiations is an attempt to provide $25 billion in emergency funding to the U.S. Postal Service so that it can meet its traditional obligations and another $3.6 billion for state and local election officials struggling to staff polling places and process mail ballots which are expected to increase due to the pandemic.

The administration is at odds with the House as it struggles to provide relief to Americans suffering from furloughs, job loss, sickness and death. The administration has instituted draconian measures to slow down the mail, ripping mail sorters from mail rooms across America, and spiriting away mail boxes in minority communities, in hopes, it is believed, to discourage these individuals from voting by mail. These voter suppression tactics, if successful, would result in long lines and would possibly decrease the number of individuals voting due to fear of exposure to Covid-19.

Citizens across the nation have already experienced slow mail service as the USPS officials eliminate overtime in the midst of a worker shortage due to the pandemic. As quarantined Americans increasingly depend upon the USPS for everything from medicine to toilet paper, the post office is experiencing staff shortages due to the virus. Postal workers complain that mail is left sitting on the docks, and postal customers tell stories of late delivery of medication, and small business shipments and correspondence arriving 3 weeks after postmark. The strategy behind these tactics is to discourage mail-in voting. It is the president’s position that mail-in ballots will result in voter fraud, though there is no data to support that claim.

 Many battleground states, including Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin currently require that mail ballots be received by Election Day in order to be counted, regardless of when they were mailed. By slowing the mail many voters who mailed their ballots in a timely manner might be disenfranchised. Even if the states decide to accept ballots postmarked by November 3, it is possible that uncertainty about the election outcome could be established. By slowing delivery of mail-in ballots it is more likely that a clear winner could not be announced election night. In other words, a candidate who was in the lead based upon Election Day in-person votes could challenge the legitimacy of mail ballots, even though a majority of people chose to use that method due to the pandemic. This claim could be made even if their ballots were mailed timely. Trump has already indicated that he will challenge the legitimacy of mail-in ballots despite the pandemic.

Trump’s attack on USPS is his second attempt to strengthen his political position with the approaching election. He first floated the idea of postponing the election due to Covid-19 before finally suggesting that only votes that are tallied on Election Day be counted.  His suggestion was met with immediate push back from Americans from both sides of the aisle.  The attack on USPS has fared no better. In new developments, under extreme pressure from citizen protesters and the legislature, the Trump appointed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy announced today that changes to USPS processes and procedures will be halted until after the November election.

It is clear that when citizens collectively raise their voices, government responds. November 3^rd we have the option to loudly declare our desire for leadership that responds to the needs of every American citizen. We can demand an end to chaos by voting for stable leadership that comprehends democratic governance and understands that America is a nation ruled by the people.

It’s About the Census, Stupid

By Mildred Robertson

As Americans struggle with the Covid-19 outbreak, attacks on our democracy by a sitting president, racial unrest, the militarization of our police force, and a gridlocked legislature, many do not have time to think about how the next 10 years will play out in American democracy. But we must. You see in 2020 America must collect data to determine how it will divide its limited resources for the next 10 years.

Little is being said about the 2020 census as the nation’s airwaves are dominated by the president’s mindless press conferences, a deadlocked congress that cannot implement any useful legislation, and police militarization against peaceful protesters. Granted, these are all topics that need and deserve the public’s attention. However, the 2020 census is as important as, if not more important than any of these challenges. In fact, the successful implementation of the census will have an impact upon all these issues.

Many minorities are wary of the census, fearing that “Big Brother” is trying to keep tabs on them. It is an understandable fear, but one that is being used to suppress much needed minority participation in the process. You see, the census helps determine how federal dollars will be used in local communities. That means that an under count in your community may mean that vital community services won’t get the dollars they need to support improvement in city services. It may mean that you don’t get a city council person to represent your area. It may mean that potholes in your community don’t get fixed. You might be denied a congressional representative. There might not be a public school or hospital built in your community. Maybe you will end up with fewer fire stations than you need. You might not have a public works department that can adequately maintain your streets, or pick up your trash. The census affects things like youth programs, senior meals, healthcare and housing assistance.

So if you care about the conditions you live in…if you care about your community…then you care about the census. You see, in 2010, the last time a census was taken conservatives were the majority in most statehouses around the country. The data collected in the census is used to determine how many national and state legislators will be apportioned to your community. Because the legislature, both locally and nationally, can draw congressional lines, they were able to use the data from 2010 to draw voting districts that placed all the power in their hands across much of the country. It is called gerrymandering. These gerrymandered districts resulted in political districts drawn in such a way that only one party benefited. By drawing lines with conservative voters in the majority, they were able to sweep statehouses across the country and to win majorities in the United States Congress and statehouses nationwide.

If you want to have an impact on how your community is governed, you need to fill out the census. Donald Trump will not be sending his goons to your door. The census will not trigger a follow-up on a delinquent ticket or warrant. It is not a way to determine whether illegals are in your home. You do not have to talk to the census taker who knocks on your door. You can fill out the census form on the internet. It only takes a few minutes. The questions are not overly invasive.

A depressed census is the number one voter suppression technique. Don’t let your love of privacy or fear of an over-reaching government keep you from participating in this vital activity. Just like voting, participating in the census is the duty of every American and it is the privilege of every resident. Make sure your community is rightfully reflected in the 2020 Census so that the distribution of resources over the next 10 years will meet your community’s needs. Visit my2020census.gov to fill out your census questionnaire. Please, do it today.