Democracy for All

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

Black males were given the right to vote in this country via a Constitutional Amendment at the close of the Civil War. For the next several years many actually did get to vote, thanks in large part to the presence of Federal troops in the South during the period of time called Reconstruction. After Reconstruction ended in 1877 and Federal troops were removed from the Old Confederacy, the White southerners quickly moved to disenfranchise the former slaves.

The most common method used was intimidation. The Ku Klux Klan and other militant organizations worked to scare Blacks from voting, and, if they still persisted in their "uppity" ways, a more permanent solution was put into place, such as lynching.

Lynchings continued in some places into the mid-twentieth century, but much of the nation began to reject overt violence by the time some Blacks were fighting for their country during the First World War. Black units were fighting in some of the worst hellholes imaginable during the Second World War, yet after serving their country fiercely and proudly, they came home to find that they were still not welcome at the polls.

When violence began to wane as an acceptable way to keep Blacks in their place, emphasis was put on using more cunning measures. One of those was the "literacy test", which had actually been around for awhile. Persons presenting at the polls to vote were given an oral exam to determine their fitness to vote. Blacks were given difficult questions and quickly culled. Whites, more often that not, were given simple questions and passed the exam regardless of their answers.

Another strategy to keep Blacks from casting votes was a "poll tax." That was a fee, or tax, assessed at the polls that persons had to pay in order to vote. It discriminated against the poor, Blacks and Whites alike, and ensured that only the elitist segment of society got to participate in elections. The US Supreme Court outlawed poll taxes more than fifty years ago, and Blacks slowly worked their way into the mechanism of our democracy.

And now a Black man is hours away from being elected President of the United States. Record numbers of people have already voted, and this election promises to bring more total voters to the polls in this country than ever before. Old voters turnouts will not only be surpassed, they will be shattered!

But, we still have a problem.

Rachel Maddow, MSNBC's rising star and host of the new Rachel Maddow Show had an on-air editorial last night where she compared the crazy long lines that have been prevalent in early voting this year with the poll tax. She said, rightly I believe, that some people cannot afford to stand in line for five or more hours in order to cast a vote. They have job or family obligations that can't be ignored. Hence, a certain segment of the population, primarily the working poor, are still being denied the vote by not having the necessary amount of time to complete the process.

We used to charge money, now we charge time. Both limit access to the polls. Both interfere with a person's constitutional right to participate in our democracy.

Voter enthusiasm and turnout have been phenomenal this election cycle. Day after day TV reporters interview people standing in line who are gushing about how excited they are to be part of history, some saying they would stand in line all day if necessary. Many are older individuals who have never voted before because they felt that they would have no impact. Also, there are multitudes of young people eager to cast their first ballot in the most exciting election in modern memory.

Up to an amazing forty-percent of the electorate may have already voted, so the lines in early voting states may be manageable tomorrow. But what about the states that don't have early voting? What will their day be like tomorrow? I have three relatives who will be voting in one of those states tomorrow - Missouri - and I am anticipating that each will have some form of horror story to share tomorrow evening.

So, as America grows, and as America becomes more invested in democracy, what can be done to ensure that everyone gets to vote in a simple and expedient manner? Early voting helps, and one can hope that more states will adopt this process. Technology may also provide an answer. Instead of worrying about butterfly ballots and hanging chads - and standing in long lines for hours at a time, maybe we can soon get to the point where we can vote electronically from home, or the local library, or the neighborhood school via the Internet.

It is not only possible, it is within reach for every American to have quick and easy access to the voting process. True universal suffrage is a goal that can be reached. Hopefully President Obama will make that a priority!