U.S : Millions of Black voters were silenced at the polls.

Democrats in the House have the power to ensure elections are carried out fairly and that every vote is counted. 

Call on House Democrats to open an investigation into widespread voter suppression !

Dear friend. 

Now that Democrats have won the majority of seats in the House, they must act to fight back against the GOP’s rampant voter suppression efforts. With the full investigative power of Congress at their disposal, they can shine a light on voter suppression across the country. The House must ensure that states are upholding their responsibility to build voting infrastructure that meets the needs of our growing, diversifying democracy and ensure that elections are carried out fairly.

Last Tuesday, we witnessed some major achievements : the enfranchisement of 1.5 million people with criminal records in Florida,¹ a record number of women of color elected to Congress,² and, the Democratic Party’s new control of the House of Representatives.³ But, before we could celebrate, we witnessed massive voter suppression and intimidation. Conditions like people waiting in long lines for up to 4 hours to vote, voting machines breaking down, and polling locations opening late are not accidents.⁴ They are the products of decades of Republican-led suppression tactics aimed at voters of color.

Black voters deserve to have their voices heard at the ballot box. Call on the new Democratic Congress to open an investigation into widespread voter suppression.

Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brian Kemp, has become notorious for his blatant efforts to kill Black voter turnout. From refusing to process 37,100 Black voter registrations,⁵ to accusing Democrats of hacking the states voter registration system -- with no evidence⁶, to canceling 1.4 million voter registrations since 2012⁷, Brian Kemp has made it his mission to ensure only white conservative Georgians will have a say at the polls.

With 77,000 absentee and provisional ballots from majority Black and Democratic leaning counties left to be counted, the Georgia governor's race is still too close to call. In an act of voter intimidation, Brian Kemp released the names, addresses, and voter registration numbers of 290,000 absentee voters in Georgia.⁸ Releasing the full names, addresses, disability status, and whether or not a person is overseas  to the public in such a reckless manner makes them prey to invasion of privacy, risk of scams and theft.

Voters in Harris County, which is Texas’ largest county and includes the city of Houston, faced polling places not opening on time, sign-in machines not working, and not enough voting machines.⁹ In North Dakota, where Democratic senator Heidi Heitkamp previously won in 2012 due to increased turnout from Native American communities, GOP lawmakers passed new voter ID requirements stating every voter must show proof of a physical address to vote. This requirement prevented thousands of Native Americans from voting this election since most of them live on reservations and have P.O. Boxes, not residential street addresses.¹⁰ This week in Missouri and Arkansas, two states with a history of hostility towards Black people, measures requiring voters to show ID at the polls became law,^11 12 despite voter fraud being practically non-existent.¹³

Judges in these cases are refusing to strike down these blatant racist laws aimed at curbing constitutional rights before Election Day, saying doing so will cause “confusion” at the ballot box.¹⁴ The only confusion occurring at the ballot box is when registered voters names aren’t on the rolls at their polling places, when people submit absentee ballots only to find no record of their completed ballot at their county board of elections. Crumbling voter infrastructure is intentionally placed in majority Black precincts as a way to keep Black people from voting and kill Black political power. It’s no different from the literacy tests, poll taxes, and intimidation Black voters faced in the Jim Crow era. We’re calling on Democrats in the House to use their new majority to launch investigations into voter suppression and subpoena Secretaries of State, campaign staffers, and poll workers to get to the bottom of this subversion of democracy.

Tell Democrats in the House: Investigate voter suppression!

Until justice is real, 

Brandi, Rashad, Arisha, Jade, Evan, Johnny, Future, Corina, Chad, Mary, Saréya, Angela, Eesha, Samantha, and the rest of the Color Of Change team

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References :

1. "Florida votes to restore ex-felon voting rights with Amendment 4", VOX, 7 November, 2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/107942?t=9&akid=21828%2E1942551%2EeQl9gr
2. "A Record Number Of Women Will Serve In Congress (With Potentially More To Come)", NPR, 7 November 2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/107943?t=11&akid=21828%2E1942551%2EeQl9gr
3. "Democrats Capture Control of House; GOP Holds Senate", The New York Times, 6 November 2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/107944?t=13&akid=21828%2E1942551%2EeQl9gr
4. "Voter suppression really may have made the difference for Republicans in Georgia", VOX, 7 November 2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/107945?t=15&akid=21828%2E1942551%2EeQl9gr
5. "Brian Kemp Is Blocking 53,000 Applicants From Registering To Vote, Most Of The Black", Talking Points Memo, 10 October 2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/98161?t=17&akid=21828%2E1942551%2EeQl9gr
6. "Brian Kemp Just Engaged in a Last-Minute Act of Banana-Republic Level Voter Manipulation in Georgia", Slate, 4 November 2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/107946?t=19&akid=21828%2E1942551%2EeQl9gr
7. "Report : Georgia's Secretary of State Is Blocking 53,000 Voter Registrations as He Runs for Governor", TIME, 10 October 2018 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/98164?t=21&akid=21828%2E1942551%2EeQl9gr
8. "Georgia's secretary of state Brian Kemp doxes thousands of absentee voters", techcrunch, 7 November 2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/107947?t=23&akid=21828%2E1942551%2EeQl9gr
9. "Judge orders Harris County to keep some polling locations open an extra hour", Texas Tribune, 6 November 2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/107948?t=25&akid=21828%2E1942551%2EeQl9gr
10. "North Dakota's Voter ID Law Will Disenfranchise Thousands of Native Americans, Imperiling Heitkamp", Slate, 10 October 2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/107949?t=27&akid=21828%2E1942551%2EeQl9gr
11. "Arkansas voter ID ballot measure approved", Arkansas Democrat Gazette, 6 November 2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/107950?t=29&akid=21828%2E1942551%2EeQl9gr
12. "Voters Approve Major Changes To Redistricting And Other Voting Laws", NPR, 7 November 2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/107951?t=31&akid=21828%2E1942551%2EeQl9gr
13. "The Myth of Voter Fraud", The Brennan Center for Justice https://act.colorofchange.org/go/108014?t=33&akid=21828%2E1942551%2EeQl9gr
14. "Federal judge won't stay North Dakota voter ID law Native Americans say hurts them", Center for Public Integrity, 3 November 2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/108015?t=35&akid=21828%2E1942551%2EeQl9gr

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Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Help keep our movement strong.