Here are the numbers...

“If the purges [of potential voters], challenges and ballot rejections were random, it wouldn’t matter. It’s anything but random. For example, an audit by the State of Washington found that a Black voter was 400% more likely than a white voter to have their mail-in ballot rejected. Rejection of Black in-person votes, according to a US Civil Rights Commission study in Florida, ran 14.3% or one in seven ballots cast.”

"[…] Democracy can win* despite the 2.3% suppression headwind.

And that’s our job as Americans: to end the purges, the vigilante challenges, the ballot rejections and the attitude that this is all somehow OK."

  • @[email protected]
    84•4 days ago

    FTA:

    The crucial statistic is that not everyone’s ballot gets disqualified. One study done for the United States Civil Rights Commission found that a Black person, such as Maj. Turner, will be 900% more likely to have their mail-in or in-person ballot disqualified than a white voter.

    Okay, I went into this expecting cope, and it’s an actually good article, worth a read or at least a skim. So, let’s do something about it.

    • @800XL
      2•3 days ago

      Ok, what do you suggest?

      • @[email protected]
        20•3 days ago

        That we all stop moping about November and start networking with people on the ground. I’m not looking to the DNC for solutions, they’ve already got top level staff talking about working with Trump however they can. The best place to start doing that, imo, is to start showing up to governing body meetings- city councils, county government, whatever you can do, and start meeting other local activists. A lot of times, you’ll find some that are already part of larger, national networks for action, or they’ll be part of local mutual aid groups, which means that you’re talking with an entry point to a pretty big group. Share your concerns about election suppression and share this article with the people that you meet, talk about what you can do locally together to make a difference (remember, a lot of these are state laws and decisions).

        This is 100% actionable, I’m going to a community activism meeting later this month and I plan on sharing this information, though I’m not in one of the affected states. I met this group by going to city council meetings and making public comments about the need to improve our housing stock.

        • @800XL
          2•2 days ago

          Thank you, this is great information. I agree local politics is the best place to start.

    • Flying Squid
      -7•3 days ago

      The time to have done something about it was in November. But feel free to try.

      • @[email protected]
        12•3 days ago

        I really don’t see another choice. I don’t blame you for leaving, we thought about it too, but it’s not realistic for some of us.

        • Flying Squid
          3•3 days ago

          I realize that, and I’m sorry. Like I said, feel free to try. I just don’t hold out hope for success any time soon.