A Voting “Off” Year? Not So Much.
By Erin Geiger Smith
The 2020 election was, to put it mildly, one for the history books. But with it, its months-long controversies, and a harrowing January attack on the U.S. Capitol behind us, we can take a nice, long break from thinking about voting, right?
I regret to inform you that is not the case. The laws that lead to voter suppression, or, in the best case, smoother elections and improved access to the polls, are passed between elections. For new voting laws, 2021 has also turned out to be one for the history books. As of March 24, 2021, “legislators have introduced 361 bills with restrictive provisions in 47 states,” a Brennan Center for Justice report said.
In Nevada, Democratic lawmakers want to make universal mail-in balloting permanent, while Republican lawmakers proposed to “tighten voter ID requirements and create new voter roll maintenance policies,” the Associated Press reported on April 1, 2021.
When I wrote my book, Thank You for Voting, my goal was to provide information in a non-partisan way, but with a focus on a democratic (small d!) goal:increase voter turnout by encouraging as many eligible Americans to vote as possible. As we move through this year and into the next election cycle, below are five simple things we call can do to further that goal.
Don’t think of access to the polls as a partisan issue. Too often voting law battles are framed as Republican vs. Democrat, when the best questions to ask are: Would this help more people to vote by making voting more convenient and accessible? How will it affect groups that are often under-represented at the polls?
Keep up with what’s going on with voting laws in Nevada, and contact your lawmakers to express your support or disagreement.
Keep up with what’s going on with voting laws in other states and Congress as well, and make sure you’re U.S. Representatives and Senators know where you stand on voting rights. Voting laws in other states affect Nevadans, as they directly impact the make-up of Congress.
Learn where your employer – large or small – stands on promoting voting. Companies should do their part to support laws that allow greater access to the polls, but also do things as simple as encourage all employees to confirm their voter registration and provide them information about elections.
Make sure the young people in your life vote. Nevada’s automatic registration law hopefully means young people won’t have to worry as much about registering, but being registered and voting are two different things. Eighteen to 29-year-olds regularly have the lowest turnout of any age group; reminding them to research candidates and texting them on election days can really make a difference.
Voting should be a lifelong habit for all of us. Protecting all Americans’ access to voting deserves equal focus.
Double Down Blogger image credit/Erin Geiger Smith.
Erin Geiger Smith is a reporter and the author of Thank You for Voting and the Thank You for Voting Young Readers' Edition. She has written for publications including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, among other top outlets, and she was previously a legal reporter at Reuters. She lives in New York City.
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