Ryan: Hello and welcome to the podcast, Yo, is this..Systemic Injustice? My name is Ryan Hooper, and I’m here with my co-host, Sophie Laferriere. Today we are here to talk about the most recent presidential election.
Sophie: Hey everyone!
Ryan: With the Presidential Election taking place as we speak, one topic that is of great significance to all of us is voting opportunity in America. Today we will be interviewing Katlynn Fuller regarding her thoughts on disproportionate voting turnout across different demographics in the United States.
Sophie: So, Katlynn, to get started, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself and what concerns you are coming to us with today?
Katlynn: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk with you guys today! My name is Katlynn Fuller and I am 22 years old. I have been born and raised in Ohio. I am a senior at The Ohio State University. This is my second time getting the wonderful opportunity to vote in a presidential election. Since voting in the last election, I have gained a lot more knowledge about what all goes into voting. I understand that it is very important to know and confirm the identity of a voter. However, it has been brought to my attention that the ways in which we demand citizens to prove their identity are in fact hindering people from being able to vote.
Ryan: Having the opportunity to vote can certainly be exciting in and of itself. What you bring up is very interesting. Could you elaborate on the specific factors that are hindering people from being able to vote?
Katlynn: Sure, for example when a person goes to vote in the general election – whether that be in person or on a requested absentee ballot – one of the required I.D. confirmation options in many states is a driver’s license or state ID number. So, if a person does not have a car or license to drive to the polls on election day they may request an absentee ballot. They would still be unable to vote if they did not have any sort of state ID to confirm their identity.
Sophie: That does seem like it could impede people’s ability to vote, especially those in low income communities.
Ryan: Indeed. Many people support strict ID voting laws, however, arguing that they are necessary to help avoid voter fraud. What would you say to someone who might suggest that it’s easy for anyone to go to your local DMV and get a state ID, even if you can’t get a driver’s license?
Katlynn: Well, it’s important that we don’t create one single “story” in our minds for what each person’s experience may be. There are a lot of factors to consider that can provide barriers to people’s ability to vote. First off, the reality is that many more Americans than people realize do not have photo IDs. Of voting-age Americans, it’s actually 18% of people over 65, 16% of Latino voters, 15% of those who earn incomes less than $35,000, and 25% of African Americans.
Sophie: Wow, that’s incredible. That has to be millions and millions of Americans.
Katlynn: Right, this is a huge portion of the country that is affected by strict ID laws.
Ryan: So what barriers are keeping these people from obtaining state or government-issued IDs?
Katlynn: There are a couple different barriers at play. In many areas of the country, especially rural areas, sometimes the local DMV can be tens to hundreds of miles away from where you live. Public transportation is often expensive, and many of these people work jobs where they simply can’t afford to take off and spend hours at the DMV. IDs are often not free and can be pretty expensive themselves.
Ryan: Those are huge points to consider. So, it may be easy for someone in a place of financial privilege to say that people can sort of just ante up and find out a way to get an ID, but there are certainly, at the very least, substantial disincentives in place.
Katlynn: Exactly.
Sophie: Requiring a government ID definitely seems like a barrier that divides people’s ability to vote based on income. So, how do we go about identifying people to legitimize their ballots otherwise?
Katlynn: So yes, most people would agree there has to be some sort of identification measure in place. The thing is, there are many other forms people can provide to confirm their identities so that everyone is given a fair chance to vote. We can have people provide the last four digits of their social security, bank statements, current utility bills, paychecks, W-2 forms, or other government documents. It’s also important to note that voter fraud is not as prevalent as many people think. In a 2014 study, just 31 cases were found out of more than a billion ballots cast between 2000 and 2014.
Ryan: These seem like reasonable alternatives that should be in place in every state. Are there any barriers to voting other than requiring IDs?
Katlynn: There may be multiple others, but one other thing that comes to mind is long lines at voting sites. An MIT survey during the 2016 election actually found that black voters waited 16 minutes in line on average, while white voters waited 10 minutes. Multiple studies actually backed this up. So we also have to make sure we are providing sufficient resources to voting locations across the country. Long lines can disincentivize voters who can’t take time off work, as we talked about.
Sophie: So, Katlynn, are these voting barriers examples of systemic injustice?
Katlynn: I think they would be very good examples of systemic injustice. An important distinction for what makes something a systemic injustice is outcomes. It isn’t always a case of an intentional act to oppress certain people groups. Whether or not the barriers we discussed were intentionally put in place to suppress the votes of minorities and low income Americans, the reality is that they do. Black, Asian, and Latino voter turnouts have all been significantly lower in almost all elections since 1988. And when measuring voter turnout based on income, there is a clear correlation between those two variables.
Ryan: Voting looked very differently many years ago. In your opinion, Katlynn, how might our country today be different if the power to vote was still limited to those who had it at the time of the writing of the constitution?
Katlynn: That’s a great question and puts a different spin on things! According to the Washington State of secretary website, only white men, 21 years or older who were landowners could vote. First of all the limited number of people that would be eligible to vote would make the voting process much quicker and maybe less intense. Less people would be interested in my opinion because they did not have any ability to sway the outcome of a voting election. I know that if I was not able to vote in the election I may have more bitter feelings or care less about the outcome of voting knowing that there was nothing that I could do to change the results. Also, the demand for owning a piece of land would be much higher. Fewer people own as much land today, which is different than at the time of the writing of the constitution. Many other things would most likely be different with the structure of our government as well, thank you for the question!
When thinking about my experience voting this year, I did not once feel as if it was a hassle or that I may not have the income or means to do so. It was as simple as requesting a ballot to my home address and turning it into my polling location. This may be difficult for a voting citizen who does not have a car to drive to the polls or a home address to receive a mail in ballot at.
Sophie: All in all, what does voting mean to you?
Katlynn: For me, voting is an opportunity to have my voice heard. We have the privilege as the people to decide what we want in our government. My vote will decide how my country will be run, what type of government it will have, and who will be in control. Everyone who votes in some way changes history and I think that is awesome. I have always heard my family and other people close to me talk about how important their vote has been to them, and after my first time voting I can understand why they have always felt that way.
Sophie: I completely agree voting is very important. You have made some very good points and I really like how dedicated you are to doing whatever you can to make a change in our country.
Ryan: Katlynn, thank you so much for making time to come and talk on our podcast. It was so nice having you on here to share your experiences!
Katlynn: Thank you again Ryan and Sophie for having me as a quest on your show!
Sophie: Again this is the Yo, is this..Systemic Injustice? podcast. Thank you for coming and we will be back next week for more!
References:
https://indivisible.org/resource/voter-id-101-right-vote-shouldnt-come-barriers
https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54240651