Why We Must Increase Voter Registrations To Ensure A Fair Election in 2020

People often ask why certain members of the GOP continually win despite the fact that their constituents never see any improvement in their daily lives. In many areas, the simple answer is gerrymandering of voting districts. Other negative actions that disenfranchise voters include purging voter rolls and closing voting booths in minority areas to make it more difficult for these people to cast their vote. 

In recent days voter registrations in Wisconsin and Georgia were purged due to the registrants not replying to mailings to confirm their address. This directly impacts minority and low-income voters the most because they tend to move more frequently due to economic issues. Facts stated from a recent MotherJones.com article confirm this:

“These purges appear to disproportionately affect Democratic-leaning constituencies, including voters of color, students, and low-income people who tend to move more often. In Wisconsin, 55 percent of those on the purge list come from municipalities where Hillary Clinton defeated Trump in 2016. Nine of the 10 areas with the highest concentration of voters slated to be purged voted for Clinton. Milwaukee and Madison, the state’s two most Democratic areas, account for 14 percent of the state’s registered voters but 23 percent of those on the purge list, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.”

Voters are also being purged for not voting in past elections. This is another reason why it is crucial that we push to get as many people as possible registered to vote in the upcoming 2020 election, possibly the most important in our lifetimes.

Rational people state that if a party believes strongly that their policies are best and will be well received that the people should be able to see that and make an intelligent decision. Unfortunately, this is not the case in the current political climate of the United States and we are not only seeing unscrupulous tactics such as purging of voter rolls, redistricting, and closing of poll locations, but also collaboration with foreign governments as well. In the face of this “win at all costs” mentality, our best defense is to push strongly to register and re-register as many people as possible before primaries begin.