ACRB Content Writers Club
Lauren McCall
This year of 2020 has been one of many challenges. We are currently dealing with a pandemic, long standing issues of racial injustice that has marked and marred our country, and we have many important elections taking place. The presidential election, and congressional elections will take place on November 3, 2020. Primaries earlier this year have clearly shown issues of voter suppression that we are still dealing with in our country. Here in Georgia, voters especially in black and brown communities dealt with voters having to stand in lines for hours during a pandemic in order to vote.
During this year it is so important, while it is still early for people to take the necessary steps to make sure their vote is part of these upcoming elections. If you need an absentee ballot, go ahead and send in an application for one, make sure to check and see what id or paperwork you may need in order to vote, and check to see if there is a particular voter registration deadline. This is also a time where if you are able-bodied, you are needed to help man the polls. With the coronavirus being so detrimental to particular age groups, many retired poll workers can’t work during this year, and people who are healthy and available are needed at this time to make sure we have smooth elections. Find ways that you can volunteer, whether through working at the polls or helping to register people to vote. Some organizations around the Atlanta area that take volunteers and donations include Fair Fight which was founded by Staci Abrams, the New Georgia Project, and Spread the Vote.
During this pivotal year, a major leader in the civil rights movement, John Lewis, passed. He was one of many who fought in order for people of color to have the right to vote. A right other Americans already had. To continue his legacy and his hard work, look for opportunities to volunteer, go out and vote, make sure that others in your community know their rights too, and get in good trouble.
In addition to knowing the importance of your vote and helping others to vote, remember that our vote has power, not just in the major elections but also in the local elections. Many find that the future of police reform will be determined by local elections. It will be the unglamorous elections on the local level that will make changes to police reform. Support politicians who promise to rip up police union contracts that don’t have “substantial independent oversight and quantifiable measure to hold police accountable” ( Business Insider https://www.businessinsider.com/you-want-radical-police-reform-vote-in-local-elections-2020-6)
An article in Business Inquirer mentions that incumbents are the ones who negotiate and sign-off on police contracts so if an incumbent doesn’t “pledge to reform policing vote them out”. Politicians should never get comfortable in their seats, make sure they are representing the people. Here is a link to a video on YouTube that helps to emphasize the importance of local voting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMALeR1i-FM
Lauren M. is a music professional in the Atlanta area.