OPINION: Voters must advocate on behalf of the suppressed

Whether they are an ideological minority in their state or they feel insignificant in a country of millions, many students believe their votes are close to worthless in a time when voting is more valuable than ever.

Allegations of voter suppression in the states of Georgia and North Dakota amid the 2018 midterm election season prove that the right to vote is, unfortunately, a privilege that some are granted and others are barred from. Those who have access to this privilege must take advantage of it for their own sakes and also on behalf of disenfranchised citizens.

A 2017 Georgia state law allowed Gov. Brian Kemp to invoke the exact match law while running for re-election against Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams — who would be the first black female governor ever elected in U.S. history. The law requires a voter registration application to be left pending, or even suspended, if information on the form does not exactly match records kept by Georgia’s Department of Driver Services or the Social Security Administration.

While the piece of legislation may seem fair to those who suspect voter fraud in the country, its’ fine print points to some inaccuracies — and suspicions of targeting minorities. The law led to 53,000 suspended voter registration applications, some even rejected for minor infractions such as a missing hyphen from a surname. And while African Americans comprise 32 percent of Georgia’s population, they represent about 70 percent of suspended applications, according to The New Yorker.

Georgia is not the only state with suspicious activity occurring during midterm elections. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to overturn a voter ID law in North Dakota requiring residents to show identification with a current street address. Some accuse the law of targeting Native Americans, who do not have physical addresses on reservations and are overrepresented in the homeless population, according to the Urban Institute. Polling stations accepted Native American IDs for the primary, but are now declaring their identification invalid less than a month before Election Day.

These laws may seem innocent on the surface, but they are slippery slopes, with flaws hidden in the blind spot of every turn. Verification services can be vulnerable to biases, or potentially reject applications for minute errors.

These services unfairly disenfranchise historically marginalized populations, and perpetuate the systemic oppression which has and continues to silence those not granted the privilege to use their political voice. Essentially, the laws intended to exclude those deemed undeserving of a voice in our political system may actually be turning against us by disenfranchising those who eligible to participate in our democracy.

Thirteen states continue this trend of disenfranchisement by either considering a felon’s potential right to vote in relation to their convicted crime, or by requiring a governor pardon to restore voting rights. These laws unfairly target marginalized populations, who are convicted of crimes at disproportionate rates compared to their privileged counterparts.  

Florida, a state with particularly tough criminal laws, only allows those convicted with felonies to receive restored voting rights by a governor pardon. In five years, Florida Gov. Rick Scott restored voting rights to less than 2,000 Floridians statewide — and 20,000 applications remain pending. The disenfranchised population in Florida has grown from 150,000 to about 1,686,000 in a matter of just six years.

This legislation, which can easily be argued as targeting marginalized demographics in our country, is emblematic of the fact that a simple check in a box is unfortunately and unfairly exacted as a privilege. It is a privilege to have a voice in a system that can either allow further oppression to continue or end it through a change of leadership.

As instances of injustice pop up in headlines daily, there is yet another reason to proclaim that, yes, all votes matter. They matter because, in a chorus of assent and dissent, each voice is necessary to the melody of democracy. They matter because each vote counts for the individual and countless others. They matter because a vote is only worthless when thrown away.

If USC students are among the privileged who are not targeted by voter suppression laws, then they must see their vote as an opportunity to advocate for the disenfranchised, and show up to vote — if not for themselves, then for the thousands who cannot.