Why don’t we vote? Let’s talk about it
After the Civil War and the passage of the 13th Amendment, the formerly enslaved people wanted mainly two things: land, and access to the ballot.
Having land and property was obvious, but the idea that they wanted access to the polls, the right to vote, should not surprise us.
What these formerly enslaved people understood was that their rights to own land and property, to be protected on that property, to live as a full citizen and to be part of a democratic system, depending on their ability to participate in the electoral process on all levels.
They understood that elected officials could help facilitate the transition into freedom.
Today, however, and especially in Tennessee, many of us do not see the importance of voting. Nationwide, in 2014, Tennessee ranked 50th in voter participation. In 2016, we did a little better, moving from 50th to 49th.
Our turnout in the last presidential election in the state of Tennessee was 54 percent. It is no better in Shelby County. While 85 percent of eligible voters are registered in Shelby County, only 51 percent cast a ballot in the 2016 general election. In other words, nearly half who were registered did not vote.
Part of our problem is that in Tennessee, our elected officials and even our local election commissions have engaged in voter suppression tactics.
The U.S. Government and Accountability Office reported in 2014 that Tennessee’s Voter ID law that passed in 2011 was instrumental in lowering turnout. We also have archaic laws when it comes to felony disenfranchisement.
According to the ACLU, our disenfranchisement laws are the most “complicated and onerous in the country.” We not only prevent convicted felons from voting, but also those who are “incarcerated, on parole, on probation, or not up to date on child support payments or court-ordered restitution and court costs.”
Add to this the frustration of other suppression tactics such as moving or closing voting locations, limiting voter machine access in certain polling locations that produce longer lines, unofficial poll watchers attempting to question you, “misunderstandings” about when the polling place opens, purging voting rolls, and the like, attempting to vote can be frustrating.
Here in Shelby County, the NAACP and the Shelby County Democratic Party had to file a lawsuit to get our election commission to open more early voting sites. And our election commission’s job is to promote voter participation.
Our overall poor voter participation is why I joined #UptheVote901 and the Democracy & the Informed Citizen project sponsored by the Mellon Foundation.
Partnering with organizations across Tennessee, including Humanities Tennessee and ThinkTennessee, we aim to engage citizens in a conversation about their news sources and how they affect voter participation.
Attendees will take part in a discussion based on short readings of texts that focus on the First Amendment and the responsibilities of citizens. I am honored to serve as facilitator.
Please join us in this important Community Conversation at 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 13, at Memphis Urban League, 413 Cleveland.
Dr. Andre Johnson is assistant professor of communication at the University of Memphis and pastor of Gifts of Life Ministries in Memphis.