Citizens Lose Rights as Nonhumans Win Rights

We’ve been talking a lot about big rich corporations and interests groups commandeering this democracy. We’ve launched Amend 2012, a nationwide campaign to overturn Citizens United and the many other attacks on the integrity of our elections.

But even worse than corporations winning the rights of citizens, citizens are losing the rights of citizens. Voting is the bedrock of this government arrangement we’ve got going here. Without the participation of all eligible Americans, public policy will only benefit the people and now corporations who are participating. The rest get left behind.

There are all kinds of reasons people don’t vote. Some feel like it doesn’t matter (I’m sure the suffragettes and the civil rights activists throughout history would disagree). Some don’t vote, because they don’t want to serve jury duty (just sad). But there is a wide swath of the eligible voting population out there who don’t vote, because lawmakers and elections officials have made it more difficult for them than other people.

State Representative Libby Szabo and State Representative Ken Summers here in Colorado are making another effort to pile on the weights for people just trying to cast their ballot.

Under the guise of voter fraud (something the Colorado County Clerks have testified does not exist), they are potentially disenfranchising 18% of people over the age of 65, one in five young voters, 25% of African Americans, 15% of low-income voters, and countless disabled Coloradans.

Voting is the ground we citizens stand on. Systematically constructing barriers to voting for minority groups of people is is contrary to an inclusive public space. It’s time to stop letting ourselves be muscled out of our own public square.

If you want to learn more, check out the fact sheet we’ve been giving to Colorado lawmakers.