Smith: Jan. 6, MLK & the Right to Vote

It has been one year since a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol building with the intent of stopping Congress from counting the electoral votes, preventing Joe Biden from taking office despite being duly elected. The Confederate flag, a symbol of treason against our country, was carried and waved inside the Capitol building. If that is not an insurrection, then I am not quite sure what is. It remains beyond my comprehension that anyone, regardless of party, does not see that as an attack against our country and constitution.

Christine Smith

There are some who claim there was voter fraud in the 2020 election that justified the attack. However, there has been no evidence of widespread voter fraud. In fact, Republican-led audits in several states turned up nothing. There have been several lawsuits brought challenging election results; they have all been thrown out. What has come to light in the year since January 6, 2021, is evidence of an effort to overturn the will of the people and prevent the peaceful transition of power. In Wisconsin, Arizona and Michigan, state legislators submitted false and forged certificates to the National Archives declaring Donald Trump the winner of their states’ electoral votes (he was not). This is an affront to the rule of law and to democracy. Furthermore, it is ironic that those who claim that the election was stolen are the same who seek to restrict access to the ballot box and suppress the right to vote instead of ensuring that everyone has access to vote.

Free and fair elections are the foundation of our democracy. However, since the failure of the January 6 insurrection to overturn the results of the November 2020 election, a number of states have passed restrictive voting laws designed to suppress votes.

There are two bills pending before Congress, the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Amendment Act, that will ensure free and fair elections.

The Freedom to Vote Act provides for basic voting rights like ensuring that voters across the country have the same access to voting that we have enjoyed in Canton such as early voting, vote by mail, sufficient precincts for voting, and online voter registration. It provides a uniform standard for voter IDs in states that require them and bans partisan gerrymandering by either party, among other things. There is nothing controversial contained in this legislation. (You can read a full summary online at the Brennan Center for Justice at brennancenter.org or read the entire bill at congress.gov.)

The John Lewis Voting Rights Amendment Act updates and restores the 1965 Voting Rights Act by providing a new formula for determining which states need preapproval by the Department of Justice for any changes they wanted to make in their voting laws based on how many voting rights violations they have had. After 10 years without violations, they will no longer need preclearance. It also establishes some practices that must always be cleared, requires at least one polling place on tribal lands, and requires states to accept tribal or federal IDs.

There is nothing controversial in either bill. It should be something that receives bipartisan support just like the amendments to the Voting Rights Act that were passed in 1970, 1975, 1982, and 2006 all passed with some level of bipartisan support. However, there is no bipartisan support and some of the same senators who voted in support in 2006 are now refusing to vote for the current legislation.

In the wake of the holiday celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., it seems an appropriate time to reflect on his fight for voting rights. From the March in Selma to his famous “Give Us the Ballot” speech at the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. King fought for equal voting rights for all people. I find this quote from his speech particularly relevant in light of the January 6 attack at the Capitol: “Give us the ballot and we will transform the salient misdeeds of bloodthirsty mobs into the calculated good deeds of orderly citizens. Give us the ballot and we will fill our legislative halls with men of goodwill.” The January 6 insurrection and the false narrative of a stolen election are exactly why we need the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act.

There are those who may say that it is divisive to write about these topics. I say the insurrection was divisive; ignoring it is divisive. Standing up for our country and democracy, and demanding free and fair elections for everyone, regardless of party affiliation, should not be divisive. There are also those who may say that these issues are not relevant to people in Canton. To them, I answer with another quote from Dr. King: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Christine Smith is a mother of three, an attorney and longtime Canton resident.

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Posted by Christine Smith on Jan 21 2022. Filed under Featured Content, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.