Whose Vote Counts?
Last June I wrote about a friend who was suddenly denied the right to vote because of a long-ago felony conviction for which he’d already paid his debt. He’d been voting for years, post-conviction, when our newly elected governor suddenly took his vote away.
After months of legwork (and struggles to keep from giving up), my friend got his voting rights back.Despite setback after setback—additional requirements apparently imposed by the county clerk—he finally got his voter registration card in the mail. And on the first day of early voting, he went to cast his ballot.
His name was not on the roll.
Poll workers called the county clerk while my friend waited. Nobody could explain the discrepancy. In the end, he was allowed to cast a provisional ballot—which might or might not ultimately count.
My friend was not happy.
Last week I heard a report on NPR about a serviceman who is, likewise, not happy. It seems the Republican National Committee has challenged overseas ballots. Their lawsuits, in several states, created roadblocks for military men and women who live out of the country.
According to FVAP.gov (Federal Voting Assistance Program), “The right to vote in U.S. federal elections is determined by citizenship, not residence.” That’s the law. So American citizens living overseas, whether or not they are active in the military, retain their right to vote—even if they currently have no home in the United States.
Imagine a career military man—with an American spouse—who, in serving our nation, moved his family to places around the world. His kids grew up in foreign lands, but they remain American citizens. Yet current Republican lawsuits are making it more difficult for this family to vote.
My civilian daughter lives in Australia, is married to an Australian, but remains an American citizen. She keeps up with American politics, comes back to the USA with some regularity, and votes in America’s elections. According to FVAP.gov, she is one of 103,385 Americans of voting age living down under.
When my daughter had difficulty getting her online ballot, I ran interference for her—since it’s easier for me to talk to the county clerk during office hours. My experience was similar to that of my felonious friend. I encountered rounds of doublespeak in the clerk’s office. (Until I mentioned a casual conversation I’d had with my attorney. Then my Aussie daughter got her ballot, pronto.)
Overseas military families, civilian Americans abroad, and even felons (including a former president) are all part of the fabric of our democracy. Yet these groups’ voting rights (among others) are being challenged by Republicans under the guise of halting voter fraud.
Without sufficient evidence.
According to Alice Clapman, senior counsel for voting rights at the Brennan Center for Justice, “Research has been consistent over time that voter fraud is infinitesimally rare and almost never occurs on a scale that would affect an election outcome.”
There exists an organization called Campaign Legal Center. It’s a non-partisan organization that works to guarantee every American’s right “to participate in and affect the democratic process.” Regarding the overseas voting debacle, Danielle Lang, the senior director of the CLC’s voting rights program, said, “I can promise you that military and overseas voters reading these newspaper articles are very anxious about their vote… They may feel confused. They may feel like their vote isn’t going to count. And so what’s the point? And I certainly hope that’s not the case, but I fear that it may be.”
That’s a fear all American patriots should have.