Let us march on ballot boxes until race-baiters disappear from the political arena. Let us march on ballot boxes until the Wallaces of our nation tremble away in silence. Let us march on ballot boxes until all over Alabama, God’s children will be able to walk the earth in decency and honor.” – Martin Luther King, Jr., 1965

We need to get back to 1958-style voting.” – Arizona State Representative John Fillmore (R), 2022

Well, there you have it: GOP state legislators are literally trying send us back to the dark ages. Nineteen-fifty-eight?! That’s seven years before the Voting Rights Act!

Alas, Fillmore is but one vocal, unabashed example of many; in 2021 alone, state legislators across the country proposed over 400 bills designed to make voting harder for certain Americans, primarily voters of color. Before we get to some of these fiendish measures, a quick reminder of why whom we elect as state legislators is so important. It’s no overstatement to say that state laws touch pretty much every aspect of our daily lives, from highway pothole repair all the way up to the biggies — Policing. Healthcare. Environmental laws. Gun safety. Access to safe and legal abortion. Redistricting, which is the redrawing of Congressional and state-legislative maps that’s going on right now across the country, and redistricting’s evil cousin, gerrymandering, which is another way the party in power ensures that not every vote counts equally.

And, of course, state laws govern election procedures. Putting aside the federal arena, which is currently *COUGH Sinema, Manchin, and all GOP senators* gridlocked, our state legislators are the ones making the laws determining whether voting in our state is easy or hard. Because the power to vote controls all our other rights, our lives literally depend on whom we elect as state legislators.

And remember, states are copycats. They keep an eye on other states’ legislation, then pilot similar policies at home. We’ve seen this positively, with, for instance, gay marriage (yay, Massachusetts!). But we’re also seeing it in terrifying ways in real time. Right now, when it comes to voting rights, states have never been more important, because at least at this particular moment, Congress is not going to save us. The Supreme Court is not going to save us. States are literally the last bastion of defense against disenfranchisement and dehumanization.

Voter Suppression 101

The putative purpose behind those 400-plus voter-suppression measures is to thwart that damned elusive Pimpernel, “Voter Fraud” — never mind that (with the exception of the previous Presidential administration) voter fraud has proven “vanishingly rare,” per the Brennan Center for Justice. In fact, these laws are the modern version of the poll-tax or the literacy test, and they exist in order to make voting more difficult, particularly for voters of color, although they end up affecting a number of other citizens as well, including poorer voters, rural voters, and voters with disabilities.

Schemes include removing polling places, cutting poll hours, making voter-list-purging easier, capping donations to counties for election administration, tightening voter ID laws, banning drive-thru voting, prohibiting drop-boxes, and restricting vote-by-mail. Under a new Texas voting law, a local election official can go to jail for sending out an unsolicited application for a mail-in ballot. “Democracy”? Hardly.

A “Culture of Fear”

Remember Georgia 2020, where cuts in polling places in primarily non-white neighborhoods resulted in some Georgians waiting in line for over 10 hours to cast their votes? A New York Times investigation of the election confirmed the larger truth: voters in poorer, less white neighborhoods across the country were much more likely to face longer lines.

With midterm elections coming up in November, these voters will face what LaTosha Brown, founder of Black Voters Matter, calls a “culture of fear” at the polls. Thanks to a new Georgia law, “any person” handing out food or drink to voters in line now faces “up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.” In Texas, new legislation allows partisan poll-watchers “free movement” around polling places. (I don’t believe general poll-watchers are allowed to be armed — yet — but, this being Texas, there’s gotta be a gun somewhere… and sure enough, the official election judge, someone who’s appointed by the Governor’s party to act as the “presiding power” at each polling place, may be armed.) Also in Texas, people who assist voters, e.g. voters with disabilities or language barriers, must now sign an oath about their relationship to the voter and about how they plan to help the voter — and face criminal penalties if they make any kind of error.

Then there’s Florida Man Gov. DeSantis, who’s seeking funding for a new “Office of Election Crimes and Security” — basically a separate police force empowered to “investigate, detect, apprehend, and arrest anyone for an alleged violation” of election laws.

Without a doubt, these measures will foster an atmosphere of state-sanctioned intimidation at the polls. As intended.

Administrative Shenanigans

According to constitutional lawyer Lawrence Lessig, “Whatever else is clear about the framers’ Constitution, it is completely clear that they didn’t mean to give the legislatures any direct power to pick the president. They considered that. They rejected it.” Blabbity blah blah… increasingly, GOP state legislators just don’t care, which is odd for a party that calls itself “conservative.” Aforementioned Arizona State Rep. Fillmore recently sponsored HB2596, which in addition to tightening all kinds of laws around voting, would require the state legislature to hold a special post-election session to “accept or reject” election results.

Across the country, state legislators are taking similar if less blatantly dastardly measures to weaponize the administrative process behind vote-counting and certification, in an effort to subvert election results after the fact.

There are the “recounts,” as with the Cyber Ninjas in Arizona (sadly for late-night comedy, the Ninjas are no more; the company has shut down, although it’s keeping the legal system busy as the former CEO fights a court order to release company records). Some states are passing laws transferring more power to Republican-controlled election boards, or to legislators themselves. In Georgia, the Secretary of State, an elected official, has always chaired the state Elections Board. No longer; Georgia state legislators now control the process more directly, having recently granted themselves the power to select the Chair of the Elections Board. Arizona legislators have passed a law transferring vote-counting enforcement from the Democratic Secretary of State to the Republican Attorney General. Across the country, longtime Democratic county election officials are being pushed out, and there’s pressure on everyone from the Governor all the way down to county-level officials to NOT certify election results.

What to Do, What to Do?

Now that you’re curled up in the fetal position, rocking gently — take heart! We have a real opportunity this November 2022, when 88 state legislative chambers in 46 states will be holding midterm elections. Thirty-six states will be holding elections for between two and five top-level statewide offices (U.S. Senator, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and Secretary of State). Those of us lucky enough to vote without too many hurdles have a responsibility to get to our polling places and vote all the way down the ballot, from Governor and Secretary of State, to state Senators and Representatives, down to county officials. Every office matters.

And there’s good news for those of us who’d like to support candidates before election day: we regular people, with our small dollars, can have a BIG impact at the state level. Congressional races are big and sexy and cost gazillions of dollars. State campaigns, which often run on a shoestring, may consist of nothing more than an intern and a computer. Take Georgia, where State Representatives make just under $18,000/year. Every dollar you give, every phone-call you make, and every postcard you write, has a HUGE impact at this level.

If you’re overwhelmed at the prospect of figuring out which candidates and races to support in which states, fear not — lots of great groups out there, e.g. Sister District Project et al., are doing the research, vetting the candidates, and selecting specific, targeted races to support.

WWSD (What Would Stacey Do)?

It took Stacey Abrams 10 years of organizing before Georgians reaped the fruit in 2020. If there’s anything we’ve learned from her, it’s the critical importance of grassroots voter-empowerment organizations. Support them! These groups don’t just show up on election day — they’re there on the ground, day in and day out, 365 days a year, figuring out ways to reach under-served populations and get people registered and involved in their state’s civic process. Last year, our team supported the New Virginia Majority, the New Georgia Project Action Fund, and Pennsylvania Stands Up, and we heard directly from their leaders about the incredible work their volunteers are doing knocking on doors and registering new voters. There are lots of great partner-groups out there that you can join, and effective groups on the ground you can support directly.

Bay State for the Win! (Almost!)

Last October, the MA State Senate approved the VOTES Act (S459), and four days ago, the MA House approved its version (H805). Both would make pandemic-era emergency reforms permanent, including vote-by-mail for all future elections, an expanded window for early in-person voting, and jail-based voting reforms. Woo hoo! BUT, unlike the Senate bill, the House version does not allow same-day voter registration. Instead, it authorizes a study of the money and labor same-day registration would entail. The House and Senate are set to begin final negotiations; if you feel strongly about enshrining same-day voter registration in state law, call your State Representative and let him/her/them know!

Then, let us march on ballot boxes until all over the country, all of us — children of whatever God we worship — walk the earth in decency and honor. See you at the polls.

Originally published on Sister District MA-RI’s blog on January 31, 2022.