The GOP Doesn’t Want You To Vote. Here’s How To Be Sure You Can

Elections are always about the character of the candidates. But this time, the character of the country is on the ballot. Americans this November are going to have to choose between division and lawlessness or unity and justice, between Donald Trump and his enablers in the Senate, House and many state governments, or Joe Biden and Democratic majorities in the Senate and House, and in statehouses across the country. Before we can have universal, affordable health care, or high performing schools, or economic opportunity, or reimagined policing, we are going to have to choose leaders who are interested in that agenda. We are going to have to vote.

Republicans don’t think they can win a fair fight.

Voting this November will not be easy — in part because of the pandemic and in part on purpose. Of the many differences between the parties, access to the vote may be the most striking. As I laid out in The Detriot Free Press the sad reality is that Trump and the current Republican party are working overtime to suppress the voting rights of Americans — especially in communities of color.

These efforts started over a decade ago. The Republican plan to limit voting was developed by a group called ALEC, the legislative arm of the Kochs. As a direct result of their success with such measures as voter identification laws, purging of registration rolls, moving or eliminating polling places, and direct attacks on the oversight authority of the Voting Rights Act, participatory democracy is harder in America today.

Then there’s old-fashioned harassment. Republicans announced they will have 50,000 “poll monitors” spread across the United States for the November election. These so-called monitors will not be on the ground to ensure a safe and fair election, but rather to harass and intimidate Black and Brown people, college students, and anyone else they deem a threat to their grip on power.

In Pennsylvania, Republican poll monitors have been known to target young and Black voters, challenging their ability to vote at polling locations that serve Black communities. The result is not only the potential disposal of a valid vote but also long delays at the polls for everyone and the risk that some voters will simply give up and leave.

Public health concerns arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and inconsistent guidance and practices in many localities compound the difficulty of voting.

Many voters will simply prefer to vote by mail. Voting by mail is a safe, convenient, secure way to participate in the November election, and will make sense for many voters. Voting by mail works around many of the GOP’s voter suppression tactics. Of course, as voting by mail has gained in popularity Trump has tried to discourage Americans from doing so. Meanwhile, he, many in his administration, and members of his own family vote by mail routinely. Once he realized such rhetoric might actually disadvantage himself in a key state, he tweeted that voting by mail was actually fine — in Florida.

Trump’s attempts to sow confusion about voting by mail and the GOP’s attempts to suppress the vote this election leads to one inescapable conclusion — Republicans don’t think they can win a fair fight.

You should decide soon … to cast your vote and prepare a plan to do it.

No matter how one decides to vote this year, everyone needs to have a plan to do so.

Making a plan to vote is easy:

Start by registering to vote. In some states, you have to mail in an application, in other states you can register online. Many states require you to register 30 days or more ahead of an election, so jump on this now. You can register to vote or download a voter registration form to mail in at the National Association of Secretaries of State’s (NASS) website Can I Vote.

Confirm you are registered. If you think you are already registered, check to confirm that you have not been purged from the voter rolls. You can check if you are currently registered to vote at NASS’s website too.

Decide on if you will vote by mail or vote in person. You can vote by mail in most states or vote in person. You should decide soon which way you want to cast your vote and prepare a plan to do it.

Vote By Mail as soon as possible. If you prefer to or need to vote by mail, you can also find on NASS’s website how you can request a mail-in or absentee ballot. Take care to return the completed ballot well ahead of the deadline — this is especially important because of delays the postal services faces from the pandemic and political interference. Get your ballot as soon as it is available and return it at least two weeks ahead of the deadline. Mail it back using any post office service that gives you a tracking number, so you can track when and where your ballot was received.

Be ready to vote at your polling location. If you intend to vote in person, know in advance what form of ID you may need to present to vote in your state. The non-profit Vote.org lists these requirements. Be sure to bring the required ID with you to the poll. Also check on where your polling location is and be prepared for last-minute location changes due to the pandemic or for other reasons. You can learn this information at Vote.org, too.

Prepare for election day delays. I encourage voters, just in case, to prepare for long lines. That may mean bringing along a folding chair, water, a good book or music. Certainly also wear a mask and keep the appropriate distance from others in the line.

This time the character of the country is on the ballot.

The corruption of the current administration and its enablers runs very deep. Their failure to meet the needs of a divided nation — for healthcare, for job security, for trade peace, for climate security, for unity itself — has been exposed by their failure effectively to respond to the pandemic.

We must do better. We need to vote, safely and securely, either in person or by mail. This time the character of the country is on the ballot. And every American citizen has a stake in that.