My 'Bama Says: we can't predict the future, but we can shape it

DianeA,

If you'd have told me 40 years ago that in the year 2018 I'd have to make a pitch to protect voting rights — our fundamental right to cast a ballot — I'd have said, "No way. Not possible. Not in America."

But that's exactly what's happening today. This month, in the latest threat to our right to vote, the Supreme Court gave the state of Ohio permission to kick thousands of voters off their rolls this fall based on how frequently they'd voted in the past. And now, you better believe that other states around the country are going to be emboldened to try the same thing.

DianeA, if there's anything we've learned this past year, it's that we can't always predict the future — but we can shape it.

And right now one of the very best ways we can help save voting rights in the United States is by electing strong Secretaries of State, the folks responsible for overseeing elections, all across the country.

So today, I'm endorsing four of these folks — each of them someone who understands that democracy is about making it easier, not harder, for every single one of us to have our say. Meet them, then donate to American Possibilities to help support them.

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Kathleen Clyde, Secretary of State Candidate in Ohio

Growing up in the working-class town of Garrettsville, Ohio, Kathleen learned how special it is to grow up in a country where everyone has the right and opportunity to make their voice heard. As a State Representative in Ohio's 75th district, Kathleen fought to restore the busiest days of early voting and extend early voting days and hours. She introduced legislation for automatic voting registration that will ensure Ohioans are added to the rolls when they do everyday things like get a driver's license, seek disability services, or simply turn eighteen. Now, she wants to take her life's work to the Ohio Secretary of State's Office to secure and modernize Ohio elections so every Ohioan's vote counts. If elected, Kathleen will have a seat on the redistricting board, and will be able to ensure that Ohioans have fair districts moving forward.

Nelson Araujo, Secretary of State Candidate in Nevada

Nelson is a proud Nevada native, born in Las Vegas to parents who fled the civil war in El Salvador in the 1980s for a better life in the United States. His mother, who raised Nelson's family in a single-parent household, worked long shifts as a hotel housekeeper, and is a proud Culinary Workers Union Local 226 member to this day. Nelson is the first in his immediate family to graduate high school and college. As Assemblyman, Nelson Araujo has always stood up for everyday Nevadans. He protected small businesses from unnecessary tax increases, aided first responders suffering health issues, and protected foster care children. As Secretary of State, he will defend the fundamental right to free, fair, and secure elections.

Jena Griswold, Secretary of State Candidate in Colorado

Jena Griswold is a lawyer and small business owner who has spent her career fighting for justice and fairness. Growing up working-class, Jena realized that she wanted to help even the playing field for Coloradans. That's why, after law school, Jena left her law firm to work to protect Coloradans' voting rights as part of President Barack Obama's 2012 campaign. During that election, she saw firsthand how the Secretary of State's policies affect the right to vote. Jena is running for Secretary of State to ensure that every Coloradan can exercise his or her constitutional right to vote, to increase campaign finance transparency, and to make government easier for Coloradans. Jena has the knowledge, experience, and backbone Coloradans need in this important office.

Jocelyn Benson, Secretary of State Candidate in Michigan

Jocelyn Benson wrote the book on Secretaries of State — literally. She is the author of Secretaries of State: Guardians of the Democratic Process — the first major book on the role of the Secretary of State in enforcing election and campaign finance laws — and has more than a decade of experience as a national leader in election law and administration. As the former dean of Wayne State University Law School, she froze tuition, expanded access to scholarship funds for all students, and bolstered the school's reputation and bar passage rates. She also established programs to promote government oversight, provide free legal services for veterans, and help aspiring entrepreneurs participate in the economic revival of Detroit. As Michigan's next Secretary of State, she'll put her wealth of experience toward promoting fair, accessible, and secure elections.

Let America Vote

Led by Jason Kander, the first millennial in the country to be elected to statewide office, Let America Vote launched in February 2017 to help fight back against proposals across the country that make it harder for eligible voters to cast a ballot. Today, through online and grassroots organizing, an aggressive earned media strategy, and advertising, they're playing a key role in the network of organizations fighting for voting rights.

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As a young senator in 1975, one of my first and most important votes was to reauthorize the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — that foundational law which aimed to overcome the very kind of prohibitive state barriers that are, today, once again being put into place to make voting more difficult.

When the VRA came up for reauthorization again about 10 years later, even Strom Thurmond voted for it. That same year, President Reagan called voting rights "the crown jewel of American liberties."

"No barrier," he said, "will come between our citizens and the voting booth."

But in 2013, the Supreme Court cut the heart out of the Voting Rights Act, and that decision in turn opened up the floodgates for voter suppression. States could once again act unilaterally to implement their own sinister barriers to the voting booth.

Senselessly making photo ID requirements more restrictive. Shortening early voting periods. Eliminating same-day voter registration for early voting. Eliminating weekend early voting.

That means folks can no longer vote after church on Sundays. It means that, in many cases, they have to take time off of work simply to exercise their constitutional rights.

This isn't about fraud. This isn't about saving money. This is about making it harder for you to vote.

It's flat-out wrong. But we've got to do more than talk about it if we want to fix it. We've got to vote to save the vote. And that means supporting strong Secretaries of State everywhere we can.

Join me in supporting a group of candidates who will do the right thing on voting rights. Click here to learn more about these folks — including how to support them directly.

DianeA, I can't believe that this is a fight we have to take on again. But I believe to my very core that it's a fight we can win again.

I'm proud to be in it with you.

Let's get out there and fix this country.

--Joe

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