IDENTIFYING YOURSELF

This is a slight departure from my regular topics, although this topic is tangentially related. I want to talk about spending money on something important, namely pulling your own state issued identification paperwork (birth certificate, state ID, passport, etc.). However, I will be discussing this in the context of the recent changes in the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

RECENT CHANGES IN THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT
On June 25th, 2013, the Supreme Court changed the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In the case, Shelby County (Alabama) v. Holder 570 U.S. ___ (2013),the Supreme Court decided that
"Nearly 50 years later, things have changed dramatically. Largely because of the Voting Rights Act, “[v]oter turnout and registration rates” in covered jurisdictions “now approach parity. Blatantly discriminatory evasions of federal decrees are rare. And minority candidates hold office at unprecedented levels.”...The tests and devices that blocked ballot access have been forbidden nationwide for over 40 years. Yet the Act has not eased [Section] 5’s restrictions or narrowed the scope of [Section] 4’s coverage formula along the way. Instead those extraordinary and unprecedented features have been reauthorized as if nothing has changed, and they have grown even stronger. Because [Section] 5 applies only to those jurisdictions singled out by [Section] 4, the Court turns to consider that provision... Section 4’s formula is unconstitutional in light of current conditions..."

PLAIN LANGUAGE
The Voting Rights Act was put into place in 1965 to protect Voters Rights in nine southern states where people were being prevented from voting based on their race. These nine states were required, under the Voting Rights Act, to submit their voting processes to a preclearance review by the federal government to ensure that there were no discriminatory hindrance to voting. Shelby County, Alabama sued to have these preclearance restrictions removed. A Supreme Court majority voted to remove them.

In the decision on June 25th 2013, the Supreme Court decided that the Voting Rights Act, is too restrictive (unconstitutional), outdated, and worked so well that voter registration and voter turnout "now approach parity." However, the only reason why it worked so well, is BECAUSE it was kept in place for forty - eight years. Left to their own devices, certain states (ie Texas) would have continued the poll taxes, grandfathering, pre-vote testing and voter harassment right up until the last election cycle. As Justice Ruth Bader-Ginsberg wrote in her dissent (opinion of a Justice who disagrees with the majority decision), "Throwing out preclearance when it has worked, and is continuing to work to stop discriminatory changes, is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet."

WHERE IS YOUR ID?
On the flip side, there are STILL many people of color and poor people who are not registered to vote, don't have a state ID, drivers license or even a certified copy of their own birth certificate. If the pre-1965 gatekeeper restrictions to voting resurface, guess what they will ask to see as proof of citizenship and/or proof of residency? Your people may have been in the US since the 1700s due to slavery, but in this post 9/11, anti-immigrant climate, we all need to be prepared so we can participate in this essential American function: The Vote.

We can/ should lobby to put the protections back in place. Those of us who know, know that we still need them. There are new barriers to voting that were not even considered by the drafters of the Voting Rights Act back in the 1960s, such as:
relocating long - standing polling places weeks before the elections,
placing broken and/or ancient polling machines in polls in people of color neighborhoods,
creating new and odd shaped voting districts that dilute the Black vote,
purging voter rolls using arbitrary criteria,
repeating, cancelling or delaying elections,
implementing voting barriers based on language and mobility.
And some of the old barriers are making a resurgence.

HELP YOURSELF TO HELP YOURSELF
In the meantime, we need to be working on a massive, multi-platform, public education campaign. We need to help people understand that there IS no "under the radar" anymore. Not since Google came out. That the cost of obtaining your state issued ID, a certified copy of your birth certificate and/or naturalization papers is well worth it. But if cost is a real barrier, then we need to fundraise or donate the funds to help everyone be able to identify themselves.

Pay off those old tickets and reinstate your drivers license. Contact the Department of Health or Department of Vital Records in the town where you were born, and buy a certified copy of your birth certificate. Consider contacting your closest Department of State office and apply for your US Passport. You may not be travelling anywhere soon. But a Passport is the ultimate proof of citizenship. We also need to work to support the various re-enfranchisement campaigns that help inmates and former inmates to reinstate their voting privileges. Since a disproportionate number of people of color and poor people are/were inmates, this is a population that needs special attention concerning their voting rights. People who cannot vote, need to be working on their favorite candidate's campaign.

Many state governments such as those in Alabama, Texas and Florida work hard to make it difficult for poor people and people of color to vote. Don't make it easy for you to be stripped of your right to vote in your home state. Get your own paperwork in order. A slight majority (5-4) of the Supreme Court basically decided that the Voting Rights Act worked so well, we don't need it anymore. Lets prove them right!

And Let's Be Careful Out There.