This was written by Maggie, one of our summer interns. The opinions expressed herein do not reflect those of Civitas other than respect for the value of open dialogue.
Kirkwood Public Library held a showing of Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook in partnership with the League of Women Voters.
The event page on the solutions platform Magnify.
This documentary was released in 2018 to outline specific examples of voter suppression in Missouri, Texas, and North Carolina. The “playbook” includes ten steps that many conservatives took to combat what they thought was threatening, the increase of voting rights and the election of Barack Obama as United States president. #1. Project red map. This plan was for certain groups to invest large amounts of money in local and state elections, involving strategic locations, and push for Republication domination in these state legislatures, which they succeeded in. The elections of Republican politicians increased after these efforts. #2. Gerrymandering. This act of partisan redistricting was used heavily to pack or crack government districts, the purpose to make groups of voters ineffective. The motive of this lies in the quote, “the party in power remains in power.” #3. Voter restriction. Many political groups, policies, and polls restricted voters from registering and voting, such as strict voter ID laws, which impacted Missouri severely. #4. Gutting the Voting Rights Act. Conservatives found problems with this legislation and attempted to roll back the rights of voters instead of fixing the problems voters face. #5. Voter fraud claims. Many lawmakers became concerned about voter fraud, which rarely impacts these local and state elections, and tried to pass bills and use law enforcement to prevent voter fraud and prosecute suspects of it, which led to innocent people being punished. #6. Voter roll purges. Also, many politicians, including Donald Trump, were afraid too many names cluttered voter registration lists because people had changed their names or died, so an extreme measure of striking off many valid names took place, leaving individuals at the polls with no account of their names. #7. Voter intimidation. Scare tactics are used all too often, so these groups figured voters could be discouraged to vote through intimidating them. #8. Voter photo ID. New limiting laws took effect, requiring many voters to have specific IDs to vote, which led to more problems and less people voting. #9. Voter “integrity” commission. Basically, these “integrity” groups continued to suppress voters, stacking federal courts with racist conservatives. #10. Change the courts. In addition to legislative action, these voter suppressing groups also took to the judicial side of government to continue their raid on this civil right.
The film explores the voter suppression in Missouri, most specifically the extreme limitations for those without proper identification; and many lawmakers progressing legislation to fight voter fraud,which there has only been one case of with an older relative wanting to vote for a younger family member who was not home.
Representative Justin Alferman proposes a bill to stop voter fraud, which is practically nonexistent in Missouri.
At the League of Women Voters event, this organization provided much information to understand the political nature of voter suppression and how to help prevent it. The league is a very action-driven, forward-focused organization, wanting to give resources and tools to members and community members. One of their main messages is to protect everyone’s civil rights, so they have been vocal about the suppressing of minorities’ and young people’s right to vote. The league is even involved in lawsuits, partnering with the NAACP to prevent strict and limiting voter ID laws. They outwardly supported 2018’s Amendment 1, also known as Clean Missouri, to reform the state legislature by fairly redistricting after the 2020 census through eliminating racial and political gerrymandering and by placing restrictions on specific campaign contributions, lobbying, and sunshine laws. Even though Republicans wanted to roll back this amendment which passed with a 60% approval in January of 2019, they were not successful, and Clean Missouri will be instrumental in making government more just and democratic. Additionally, the League applauded city Representative Peter Merideth for his bill to reform voting to be more fair and inclusive of all citizens, which unfortunately did not pass.
Representative Peter Merideth’s bill heard but not passed in January of 2019.
For National Voter Registration Day in September, the league will sponsor several voter registration drives at public libraries on the Saturday after the holiday, making it more accessible for citizens. From dark money in politics to old voting machines, voting and election reform is needed, and the league is working to advocate for it through education and empowerment. To close on the words of Elijah Cummings, the U.S. Representative for Maryland’s 7th congressional district, he proclaimed, “voting is the fiber of the quilt of democracy.”
Helpful websites for references and resources:
- https://www.riggedthefilm.com/take-action
- https://www.voteriders.org/
- https://www.aclu.org/issues/voting-rights
- https://www.vote411.org/home
- https://www.lwv.org/
- https://votermentorproject.org/
- https://www.vote.org/
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