Photograph by Erin Scott / Reuters
Joe Biden is running against Donald Trump and, more importantly, he is running against Trump's vision of a white supremacist U.S. Biden is leading in the polls. However, Democrats still agonize about the prospect of either a Trump resurgence or Republican corruption of elections. Trump had a revival in the 2016 election, spurred by Russian interference, and he won. Also, Trump has announced his willingness to cheat. Many experts who have studied the state-wide election systems have found them to be seriously corrupted.
White supremacists accept cheating and justify it under the guise of protecting democracy. White supremacy holds that black and brown people are inferior to whites and thus should not be allowed all the privileges and respect that whites routinely have. They claim that the need to protect American democracy from the inferiority of nonwhite voters justifies voter suppression. widespread corruption.
From the beginning of this country, white supremacists debased black people through slavery, segregation, and denial of voting rights. Supremacists pretend their actions will not affect whites because whites are not the target. But white supremacy limits the choice of everyone because it inevitably leads to authoritarianism. Authoritarianism is a form of government whose essential characteristic is centralized power. Authoritarians exercise their power to control the rest of society, including whites. Whites and blacks who are not in power, paradoxically, are equally controlled by those who are.
White supremacists accept cheating and justify it under the guise of protecting democracy. White supremacy holds that black and brown people are inferior to whites and thus should not be allowed all the privileges and respect that whites routinely have. They claim that the need to protect American democracy from the inferiority of nonwhite voters justifies voter suppression. widespread corruption.
From the beginning of this country, white supremacists debased black people through slavery, segregation, and denial of voting rights. Supremacists pretend their actions will not affect whites because whites are not the target. But white supremacy limits the choice of everyone because it inevitably leads to authoritarianism. Authoritarianism is a form of government whose essential characteristic is centralized power. Authoritarians exercise their power to control the rest of society, including whites. Whites and blacks who are not in power, paradoxically, are equally controlled by those who are.
Confederate flag at polling place - WRAL
More recently, since the Supreme Court repealed the voting rights act in 2013, white supremacists have increased their attacks on free and fair voting. The nature of these attacks has moved from requiring stringent voter identification, purging voter rolls, and now crippling U.S. mail delivery.
Election officials require registered voters to go through various polls to show that they are legally permitted to vote. While these steps vary by state, it is reasonable that election officials take steps to ensure that only those who are legally entitled vote. Registered voters in California must show identification—a driver's license, utility bill, or any document from a government agency—the first time they vote. Generally, California voters are not required to show identification at the polls. Registered voters in Wisconsin must present a form of photo identification when voting (e.g., driver's license, military identification, and U.S. passport). Voters can obtain a free Wisconsin State identification card at a Division of Motor Vehicles Office. Although most states requiring specific photo identification types offer a free state identification card, obtaining such a card can be difficult because of the offices' locations or hours providing them. Wisconsin is an example of a state that has introduced such stringent voter requirements. As a result, voters have been wrongfully denied the right to vote.
To ensure that registered voters' databases do not contain the names of people who have died, become imprisoned, are mentally incompetent, or have moved from the state, many voters are systematically removed. A state suppresses voting when it uses flimsy evidence to purge people from their databases. Specifically, voters who have not voted in several elections nor returned a postcard to election officials may be purged. A state that encouraged voting would welcome back those who have not voted in recent cycles.
The Trump Administration's sabotage of the United States Postal Service (USPS) is the latest method to suppress the vote. Trump and his appointees to the USPS Board of Governors changed operations and removed equipment to disrupt mail delivery. This disruption was calculated to delay mail-in ballots so that they would not be counted past the due date. . Since more Democrats than Republicans were expected to vote-by-mail during this pandemic, Trump believed that the votes of Democrats would be suppressed.
When the votes of blacks are suppressed to advance white supremacy, white voters also suffer. All the various schemes white supremacists use to reduce the number of black voters yield collateral damage. Some white voters, like black voters, will lack the right kind of identification and be denied the right to vote. Some white voters, like black voters, will be purged from the voting rolls for flimsy reasons. And disrupting postal deliveries threatens to deny both whites and blacks the right to vote and to receive vital mail deliveries, such as medicine and Social Security checks. Suppressing the black vote denies whites the ability to have their votes combine with those black voters to obtain the representation and services that they want.
In the last few decades, voter suppression has evolved from not only about purging names from a voter roll or imposing other hindrances to voting. Voter suppression in the U.S. has always been about who is entitled to this country's rights and privileges. When the law is used to still some people's voices, those people lose their full citizenship. A state in which citizenship is privileged is not a democracy; it is an authoritarian dictatorship. When white supremacists held the reins of power in the South, they governed everyone as authoritarians. The political power of both working-class whites and blacks was limited. As a result, both white and black economic and educational opportunities were limited, and access to affordable health care was restricted.
Now Trump has put white supremacy on the ballot. But the country may end up choosing authoritarian rule with those ballots. Democracy is really at stake. Trump hopes the promise of white supremacy will hide its inevitable authoritarian consequence. Besides determining who will be the next President, this election will also determine how many voters are so enamored by white supremacy they will accept authoritarianism. White supremacy costs everyone their freedom except those in the authoritarian ruling circle.
Election officials require registered voters to go through various polls to show that they are legally permitted to vote. While these steps vary by state, it is reasonable that election officials take steps to ensure that only those who are legally entitled vote. Registered voters in California must show identification—a driver's license, utility bill, or any document from a government agency—the first time they vote. Generally, California voters are not required to show identification at the polls. Registered voters in Wisconsin must present a form of photo identification when voting (e.g., driver's license, military identification, and U.S. passport). Voters can obtain a free Wisconsin State identification card at a Division of Motor Vehicles Office. Although most states requiring specific photo identification types offer a free state identification card, obtaining such a card can be difficult because of the offices' locations or hours providing them. Wisconsin is an example of a state that has introduced such stringent voter requirements. As a result, voters have been wrongfully denied the right to vote.
To ensure that registered voters' databases do not contain the names of people who have died, become imprisoned, are mentally incompetent, or have moved from the state, many voters are systematically removed. A state suppresses voting when it uses flimsy evidence to purge people from their databases. Specifically, voters who have not voted in several elections nor returned a postcard to election officials may be purged. A state that encouraged voting would welcome back those who have not voted in recent cycles.
The Trump Administration's sabotage of the United States Postal Service (USPS) is the latest method to suppress the vote. Trump and his appointees to the USPS Board of Governors changed operations and removed equipment to disrupt mail delivery. This disruption was calculated to delay mail-in ballots so that they would not be counted past the due date. . Since more Democrats than Republicans were expected to vote-by-mail during this pandemic, Trump believed that the votes of Democrats would be suppressed.
When the votes of blacks are suppressed to advance white supremacy, white voters also suffer. All the various schemes white supremacists use to reduce the number of black voters yield collateral damage. Some white voters, like black voters, will lack the right kind of identification and be denied the right to vote. Some white voters, like black voters, will be purged from the voting rolls for flimsy reasons. And disrupting postal deliveries threatens to deny both whites and blacks the right to vote and to receive vital mail deliveries, such as medicine and Social Security checks. Suppressing the black vote denies whites the ability to have their votes combine with those black voters to obtain the representation and services that they want.
In the last few decades, voter suppression has evolved from not only about purging names from a voter roll or imposing other hindrances to voting. Voter suppression in the U.S. has always been about who is entitled to this country's rights and privileges. When the law is used to still some people's voices, those people lose their full citizenship. A state in which citizenship is privileged is not a democracy; it is an authoritarian dictatorship. When white supremacists held the reins of power in the South, they governed everyone as authoritarians. The political power of both working-class whites and blacks was limited. As a result, both white and black economic and educational opportunities were limited, and access to affordable health care was restricted.
Now Trump has put white supremacy on the ballot. But the country may end up choosing authoritarian rule with those ballots. Democracy is really at stake. Trump hopes the promise of white supremacy will hide its inevitable authoritarian consequence. Besides determining who will be the next President, this election will also determine how many voters are so enamored by white supremacy they will accept authoritarianism. White supremacy costs everyone their freedom except those in the authoritarian ruling circle.