Thread by @EthnicMediaSvc

🗣️At 11am PST we're looking at the state of #democracy ahead of the upcoming #elections2022 with @SMoralesDoyle Michelle Bishop of @NDRNadvocates Kirea Romero-Craft of @latinojustice and Evan Milligan of Alabama Forward. Watch live 👇
ethnicmediaservices.org/media-briefing…

Welcome today's briefing, Threats to the U.S. Electoral Process — Who Can Vote, Whose Vote Counts?

Racially #gerrymandered maps & #votersuppression laws are just two of the many issues threatening to undermine the upcoming elections and our #democracy. Our panel of expert speakers will examine each of these as well as efforts to fight back.

Our first speaker is Evan Milligan, who is the main litigant in an upcoming SCOTUS case Oct. 4. At issue in the case if the fate of the #VotingRightsAct. "It is a very dramatic story," says Milligan.

This case stemmed from efforts that emerged out of Alabama's Black Belt, a region of rich African American history out of which came leaders like John Lewis and Coretta Scott King.

"Here we are again, a group of decedents of these same communities saying we deserve more representation at the congressional level."

26% of Alabama residents are African American. 14% of districts are drawn to allow African American representation. "It is possible to draw maps that create a new district that would allow African Americans to select a candidate of their choosing."

It is overwhelmingly likely that the plaintiffs would demonstrate a violation of section 2 of the VRA. Judges -- including 2 appointed by Trump -- ordered Alabama to draw a new map which it refused to do.

"We have amazing leaders, but if they are prevented from serving because of their skin color, why would they stay here?"

If you go to these communities, we see infrastructure issues, preventable death and misery that is unconscionable in this nation, says Milligan.

This case will have an impact on the tone of civic discourse, the way we talk about #democracy and representation, bc when we produce extreme gerrymandered districts we end up with extreme politicians.

We're calling for Americans to join us in building a pro-democracy movement. Learn more: powerontheline.org

Learn more about the upcoming VRA cases at the Supreme Court here: brennancenter.org/our-work/analy…

We do have a turnout problem, says Milligan. When we have people in a state whose needs are not met, there is little incentive to buy into the political process. So they stay home.

Alabama maintains a $7.25 minimum wage, explains Milligan. There are so many roadblocks to getting these people to the polls, he adds.

There's skepticism about the possible outcome of the #SCOTUS ruling given its conservative leaning. "My hope is not in the court, it is in the agency of my people and out allies," says Milligan.

Check out our profile of Evan Milligan ethnicmediaservices.org/redistricting/…

Our next speaker is Kira Romero-Craft of
@latinojustice. "Florida's growth in terms of communities of color has been unprecedented." Black districts were cut in half by Gov. DeSantis, says Romero.

Florida has passed laws to stop assisting voters in long lines and going after 3rd party registration orgs, which are key to registering historically disenfranchised voters.

The law forced these orgs to provide a disclaimer that potential voters' registration may not be processed in time. It has a "chilling effect" on registration efforts.

New cases in Florida, Alabama and Texas, people may think these are far removed, but what happens in the South impacts the entire country, says Craft-Romero.

Today it may be the Republicans, tomorrow it may be the Democrats. This is the infrastructure of American democracy. "When we allow the democratic system to be weaponized it impacts us all."

With Amendment 4, a historic amendment to Florida's constitution granting voting rights to convicted felons: what we're seeing now is that people who thought they were eligible to vote are not being targeted for voter fraud.

This is something people need to be aware of and understand this is a system used to disenfranchise voters -- particularly Black voters. "This is a threat to #democracy."

Q: What will gerrymandered maps mean for Black and Latino voters in Florida: Unfortunately we're stuck with the maps we have until the cases work their ways through the courts. This means "we will have to fight even harder."

"We have to find hope in the community and use these and voter education to flex our democratic muscles," says Craft-Romero.

brennancenter.org/our-work/analy…

Our next speaker is Michelle Bishop of
@NDRNadvocates. People with disabilities are 20% of the entire US population, according to census data. Other data show 1 in 4 Americans.

This is an incredibly diverse, intersectional community, says Bishop. There are about 40 mil eligible voters with disabilities in the US. That is enough to determine the outcome of any election. But turnout lags at a rate of approx 6%

When we are talking about tens of millions, 6% can mean 3 to 5 million lost votes. That is "significant."

Going back to 2016 elections we've seen increased calls for partisan poll watchers, says Bishop. This concerns us as ppl with disabilities and limited English speakers will be targeted. "We've seen this happen."

Among our major concerns going into the #elections2022 is attempts to limit assistance for voters with disabilities. The Voting Rights Act assures voters can bring people to assist them at the polls. "We just saw 2 suits challenging these laws in Wisc and Va."

We have seen since 2018 an increase in unnecessary closure of polling places claiming they are inaccesible. Taking away a polling place in no way makes voting more accessible for people with disabilities or any other voter, says Bishop.

Our final speaker is @SMoralesDoyle, Acting Director for the Democracy Program, Brennan Center Justice.

Much of what we are seeing in 2022... are not entirely new, says @SMoralesDoyle. Many of the battles we're fighting now are the same or echoes of past battles.

There are some things with the scope and scale that have changed. The 2020 election had an important impact, with many Americans believing lies about 2020 and the fraud they claim is rampant. "Those lies have had a real impact."

Over more than a decade we have seen many restrictive voting laws passed, and that entire time these laws have been driven by lies about fraud. But 2020 completely changed the scale of what we are seeing.

But this is a story about race, says Morales-Doyle. Even after controlling for party, for competitiveness, restrictive voting legislation is being passed by the whitest districts in the most diverse states.

The restrictions are aimed at the methods of voting that voters of color depend on.

The lies being told about voter fraud are also deeply racialized, targeting regions where a majority are communities of color, says Morales-Doyle.

Starting last year as a result of 2020 we have seen a new trend that we refer to as election interference legislation. They increase the risk of partisan interference and threaten the people who make elections work, explains Morales-Doyle.

This is obviously linked to the insurrection on Jan 6 and attempts to subvert the outcome of elections. "It is a new and a scary thing we are seeing."

Election Protection hotline:
866) OUR-VOTE
(888) VE-Y-VOTA (Spanish/English)
(844) YALLA-US (Arabic/English)
(888) API-VOTE (English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Urdu, Hindi and Bengali)

New resource from the @BrennanCenter on poll worker rules and constraints brennancenter.org/series/poll-wo…

Speaker hot takes:
"This new movement to criminalizing voter assistance will have a disproportionate impact on people who work in care facilities," says Bishop.

Important to lift up threats and keep in mind that the biggest threat is when people stop believing in democracy. We need to be careful not to undermine faith, says Morales-Doyle.

Thank you to all our speakers today. Visit our website for follow up reporting on today's briefing and more news. ethnicmediaservices.org

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