"This Is Personal: GOP Voter Suppression Stopped My Vote from Being Heard, But We Can Fight Back"

[appalachiablue]

- Daily Kos, Aug. 12, 2022. - Ed.

Like millions of Americans, I live in a voter suppression state. Tennessee Republicans have erected one barrier after another to prevent frontline, progressive, & Democratic communities from voting. And this month, I became one of the people they silenced. Tennessee has specific & narrow laws around voter identification. Normally, I use my passport to vote. Currently, my passport was being renewed, so I set out to figure out what other types of ID would work for our Aug. 4 primary.

I have a LOT of ID'S- a valid out of state drivers license with my Tenn. address on it, a valid carry permit (no picture), utility bills with my local address listed, my birth certificate, the card from the county elections office saying I'm registered to vote & more. Yet not one of them, individually or combined met my state's threshold for voting - & in the end, I didn't have enough time to get ID that did. I cast a provisional ballot. I also took my case to the county's election office, where, a very nice person regretfully informed me, despite my best efforts, my vote was unlikely to count in this election.

From volunteer to campaign manager to poll worker, I've held a number of electoral roles.. If my vote can be suppressed, then anyone's vote can be suppressed..

Elections in battleground states will come down razor-thin margins. Every single vote makes a difference, every single vote is critical. As elections loom, most voters are not thinking about whether they have the correct ID, if their polling location has changed, or how they will make time to vote. That's where civic engagement organizations can make a huge difference. This is one of the many reasons Daily Kos built our GOTV slate fundraising program.

While my home state is deeply red, plenty of states are not. We’re partnering with nearly 70 progressive organizations in 8 such battleground states: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Texas. They’re doing the often invisible work of ensuring other voters don't experience what I experienced, by helping to reduce barriers & cancel out Republicans’ voter suppression... More + Comments,
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/8/12/2116110/-This-is-personal-GOP-voter-suppression-stopped-my-voice-from-being-heard-but-we-can-fight-back

[FBaggins]

1. Hard to call that "suppression"

I don't see why a democrat would be any more likely to run into that situation than a republican.

But it isn't as though the election date was moved or that she didn't have enough time to get a usable ID.

TN law requires residents (which she must be in order to vote there) to have an in-state driver's license within 30 days and surrender their out-of-state DL. It isn't someone else's fault that she didn't do that. And if you "normally use your passport to vote" and it's expiring... that too is on you.

[unweird]

2. Anything done that erects or elevates barriers to voting is suppression

And most of these bullshit Voter ID laws are just that, hurdles to freely voting. And they are suppression whether it affects one individual anecdotally or not.

[FBaggins]

3. That would be a tough sell

The overwhelming majority supports voter ID laws (including a significant majority of Democrats). They may "elevate barriers," but the story fails at persuasion. Most concerns about voter ID barriers revolve around those for whom obtaining an ID is difficult (homeless, elderly,etc.). Not those like the author, who clearly didn't prioritize voting until the morning of. She wasn't "silenced" by republicans... she was silenced by her own failures.

And that wasn't just because she didn't think of it until election day. She could have cast her provisional ballot and then gone out and acquired a TN license. She had two days after the election to "cure" the problem. The only thing I see preventing her from doing so is her desire to write this editorial.

[unweird]

5. Call me the minority then because I see it as suppression

There is no legitimate purpose served by these Voter ID laws except to reduce participation.

[appalachiablue]

6. The maze of requirements & newer changes are intentionally designed

to confuse voters and obstruct casting a ballot. Anti democratic measures which don't exist in other states, as noted in the comments. It is what it is - planned barriers to voting, esp. for democratic communities.

[happy feet]

8. Agree!

End of discussion.

I'm allowed to vote without showing id, simply give my name and address and they check mark that I've voted.

[appalachiablue]

4. Question to the author & reply addressing similar issues. More in comments:

Comment: Here's a new voting task for you…become an expert on the registration and voting regulations in your state and county, especially the I.D. Requirements. Join in efforts to educate and assist everyone who needs the help, even those who need it but don’t know that they do. > You have a drivers license from one state using an address from another? Is that valid or legal? For many of us a Real I.D. compliant enhanced drivers license or state enhanced I.D. Card is worth the added cost and bother. This is proof of U.S. citizenship as well as the DL or ID. And, next May Real ID compliant ID will be needed to fly.

AUTHOR: You shouldn’t have to be an expert in laws and regulations to cast your ballot, especially when you have as much documentation as I do. And also, this is why civic engagement orgs are important. Most candidates don’t do nearly enough to educate voters on the process, and in TN, well, my party provides information as they can (my most generous take). States that support voting, like Oregon, are much better about communication. I’m privileged to speak English as a first language, be comfortable with computers, and have time, energy, and reliable transportation. Still, unnecessary voter ID laws passed by people who protect predators disenfranchised me.
> As my post states, my DL is valid. And it’s common for folks with AZ licenses to have out of state addresses. Other states allow this as well. I am not the problem here. Republican voter suppression is. My file folder of IDs would’ve be enough to get a new TN ID, had I had time. So it’s ridiculous that they weren’t enough to vote. I have a passport and a valid DL. I don’t need REAL ID to fly (and plan to continue fighting its implementation), a TN DL to drive, or anymore IDs. I need fewer barriers to casting a ballot

[FBaggins]

7. I can only agree with one part of that

You shouldn't have to be an "expert in laws and regulations" - But this hardly requires any expertise.

I have a passport and a valid DL

No... you don't. If your passport is expired you don't "have a passport" and your DL is not valid (either for driving in TN or voting there). It may be valid in AZ, but not in TN.

New residents or those returning to Tennessee and holding a driver license from another state must obtain a Tennessee driver license no later than thirty (30) days after establishing residency.

https://www.tn.gov/safety/driver-services/classd/dlnew.html

This isn't a TN thing... pretty much every state has the same requirements. What is more... she almost certainly knows it. "Normally, I use my passport to vote." ??? Who in the world has all these multiple forms of ID and decides to dig out her passport instead unless she knows that it's the only thing she has that will work?

It's possible to live in one state and have a valid DL from another state. Military families do it all the time (maintaining a FL address because there is no state income tax)... but those people vote absentee in FL.


had I had time

And that says it all. Voting was too low a priority for her. I would feel bad for her if she showed up at the airport for her vacation flight to Aruba and was turned away because her passport was expired. But I wouldn't blame TSA or homeland security or the Biden administration. I would blame her.