Democracy in crisis?
The accusations of racism regarding the experiences of many Blacks and Latinos at the polls in Florida echo the historical exclusion of people of color from American political life. This is the real crisis – not the chads – and it should come as no surprise.
With tens of thousands of Florida voters disenfranchised because of “dimpled and hanging chads� and confusing “butterfly ballots,� the mainstream media wonders whether the U.S. people are losing faith in our democracy. Many of us had little reason to keep the faith in the first place.
Early testimony gathered in Florida has shown substantial evidence of electoral racism. Motor-voter registration, which typically leads to increased numbers of working-class voters and voters of color, apparently failed to complete the registration of many voters. African-Americans reported being turned away from polls after discovering that their names were not on voting lists – instead of being informed that they could sign an affidavit and vote. Others were simply told that there were no ballots left.
Immigrants who were not turned away outright faced language barriers and were given no assistance. Haitian-Americans and Latinos report that they were asked to provide two forms of picture ID while white voters were only asked for one. Police set up traffic checkpoints near polling places in many Black neighborhoods.
Many ballot boxes in Black communities went uncounted, and several polling places in these communities had been moved without notifying voters. Such tactics are all-too familiar, especially in the South.
A short history of Black disenfranchisement
Racism in our democracy is not a new thing. In the U.S. Constitution, southern plantation owners were able to increase their congressional representation and power by ensuring that three-fifths of Blacks were counted in the census. Of course, Blacks were not allowed three-fifths of a vote. Not by coincidence, the constitution also prevented women from voting and set up the Electoral College as a buffer to ensure the ruling class’ power and property rights – including human chattel.
Those whose humanity and human rights were denied by the flawed document did not sit by –they organized, agitated, and demanded equality. It was slow to come. During the Civil War, Blacks played a key role in defeating the South: they crippled its economy by deserting its plantations; they defeated its armies by joining with the Northern forces.
Throughout Reconstruction, Black men gained access to some political freedoms that white men had previously hogged. The ratification of the 15th amendment in 1870 forbid the denial of voting rights on the basis of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude.�
Southern states were quick to discover ways to exclude Blacks from political power again. Within a few short decades, legislators created grandfather clauses, required literacy tests, instituted poll taxes, and quite simply purged Blacks from voting lists. Polling stations were segregated and oftentimes quite far from the homes of Black sharecroppers. Added to all of this was the Ku Klux Klan’s (and the police’s) attempts to harass, intimidate, injure or even murder Blacks who tried to register or vote.
Like many who felt the sting of this lash, W.E.B. Du Bois knew that American democracy had been in crisis since its first days because of racist contradictions.The intellectual and political work conducted by Du Bois and other Black radicals in the era of Jim Crow set the stage for the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. Because hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in boycotts, marches, and protests, legislative equality for Black Americans was finally secured.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 prohibited discriminatory practices such as poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses. It also mandated that if a polling place was to be moved, the decision must be approved in the federal courts.
In the last few decades, the racism of American political life has been masked more and more in “tough-on-crime� code-words. We hear politicians talk about “criminals,� “gang members,� and “drug dealers.� Since convicted felons can only vote in three states, the further disenfranchisement of Black and Latino voters has occurred due to proportionally higher incarceration rates. These are among the major political battles which we face in the coming years – which is why the events in Florida are so significant.
Florida fraud
The discrepancies of the Florida election – and particularly the evidence of racism – have aroused our suspicion and anger.
We must raise serious questions about the legitimacy of the Florida outcome and demand a full investigation of violations of the Voting Rights Act and of the voting rights of those whose ballots were discarded. If Bush illegally snatches the presidency, how can we expect to win uphill battles, such as for prisoner voting rights?
The accusations of electoral racism in Florida are not unfounded. In fact, the events replicate the historical racism upon which American democracy itself was founded. Much hangs in the balance in the coming days, and George W. Bush and associates must be stopped from tipping the scales of injustice any further.
If these events pass unchallenged, the integrity of voter rights will continue to be attacked.We must organize and agitate just as the Black workers did during Reconstruction, take to the streets as the multiracial coalitions did during the civil rights movement. No matter who you voted for, now is the time for unity!
– Chas Walker is a leader in the Brown University Club of the Young Communist League, USA.
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