Sign up to get updates from us
In a country that has recently seen a lot of political conflicts, many people wrongly believe their right to vote doesn’t matter. While political frustration is understandable, the reality is that no change could ever happen without voters. In today’s episode, host Michael Desrosiers and guest Sam Jean discuss the history of voting and why we need to protect voting rights for all Americans.
Even though the right to vote is protected under the 15th amendment of the constitution, there have been many cases throughout history where political parties have aimed to suppress marginalized groups from voting. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law with the intention to overcome legal barriers that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote. While this piece of legislation was a notable achievement for civil rights, the current Republican Party has been working to dismantle it under the false pretense of voter fraud. In reality, the only reason to support voter suppression is to limit the majority of voters who were implementing positive change so it is important now more than ever that we continue to exercise our right to vote.
Tune into this week’s episode of Cuckoo 4 Politics to learn more about the history of voting in America, current threats to voting rights, and the importance of preserving The Voting Rights Act of 1965 to empower all people and protect the democracy of our country.
Quotes
• “Today's political Republican Party that helped draft the Voting Rights bill are surprisingly executing a game plan to curb voter participation.” (03:45-03:54 | Michael)
• “There was a time in America, not too long ago, where everyone technically had the right to vote, but there were states where Black people could not vote.” (07:17-07:32 | Sam Jean)
• “The Voting Rights Act was one of the crowning achievements of civil rights legislation. Its purpose was to ensure that there was no discrimination against people coming to vote.” (09:30-09:42 | Sam Jean)
• “It should be easier for a voter to vote.” (19:03-19:06 | Michael)
• “The way most Republicans view elections today is if they lose, they lost because something fishy happened. They didn't lose because people somehow really disagree with their position. And if you do disagree with their position, you don't have the right to be in power.” (21:09-21:26 | Sam Jean)
• “The only reason to suppress voter participation is to limit the majority of voters to affect change.” (37:08-37:15 | Michael)
• “If we, as a people, allow politicians to pass voter suppression laws that only allow certain people to vote, then we, as a nation, will have lost all credibility to be the shining city on a hill and a symbol of democracy.” (42:29-42:54 | Michael)
Links
https://www.instagram.com/cuckoo_4_politics/
https://www.facebook.com/Cuckoo-4-Politics-104093938102793
Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm
--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
