Voter suppression is real and designed to benefit the GOP at the expense of the Democratic Party and minority voting communities. Voter suppression laws have the potential to permanently tip the scales in favor of conservatives. Given this country's long, oppressive history of discriminatory voting laws and intimidation tactics directed toward every non-white male community, we should all be paying attention to President Trump's most recent attempt at legalizing voter suppression.

Under the guise of voter fraud prevention, the President has assembled The Presidential Commission on Election Integrity. This, despite very little evidence of fraud.

The commission issued a letter demanding that all 50 states turn over their voting rolls to the federal government, including highly sensitive information about voters' political affiliation, Social Security numbers, criminal history and military status. Voting rights groups are rightfully pressuring elected officials to reject the request.

In addition to these grass-roots efforts, several members of Congress have introduced legislation to repeal President Trump’s Executive Order, while also establishing an “election integrity” commission to examine alleged voter fraud. The bill prevents the use of federal dollars to support the commission, which the American people know is nothing more than a clear attempt by President Trump aimed at voter suppression.

In a press release sent to Blavity, (PA-02) Congressman Dwight Evans stated, “The federal government should not be in the business of dealing with the personal information of voters nationwide. Philadelphians, Pennsylvanians, and Americans across our nation have a right to privacy and I intend to do all I can to ensure their privacy is guaranteed and protected."

Evans is one of more than more than 90 members of Congress, including every Democratic Senator of color, to support the bicameral Anti-Voter Suppression Act. "The Trump Administration has yet to instill confidence and garner respect from the American people. Voting is a fundamental right of all Americans, and as elected officials, it is our job to ensure this core American value and guiding principle is not tampered with in any way,” said Evans.

If you support these efforts, contact your state governor and ask them to reject Trump’s Executive Order as it would release a mass of classified information into the hands of an administration who can't be trusted with it.

race and politicsVoter Supression