opinion
republicans Attacking right to Vote
by Lee a. Saunders
aFScme Secretary-
treasurer
There is no right more precious
in our nation than the right of citi-
zens to cast a ballot on Election
Day. That is why generations of
Americans have sacrificed and
even died in efforts to expand the
right to vote. Yet across the coun-
try, powerful corporate interests
and the right-wing politicians who
do their bidding are working hard
to make it more difficult for citi-
zens to vote. In more than two
dozen states this year, bills have
been introduced to restrict the
right to vote; and in several states
where
Wall
Street-backed
Republicans control both houses
of the legislature, governors have
signed these fundamentally mis-
guided measures into law.
As a result of these cynical
attempts to turn back from the
progress America has made in
expanding voting rights, millions
of voters are in for a surprise when
they go to the polls. They will
find new requirements that have
never before existed, requirements
that have been put in place to keep
particular voters – students,
minorities and senior citizens –
from having their voices heard in
our democracy.
In Ohio, for example, Gov. John
Kasich and the Republican-con-
e mPLoyeeS F ederation
Lee Saunders
trolled Legi sla ture pushed through
a measure that limits early voting
and places new burdensome
requirements on absentee ballots.
“I think it is very calculated,” said
State Sen. Nina Turner of
Cleveland. The corporate-backed
restrictions on voting are designed
to reduce the ability of low-
income and minority voters to cast
a ballot, particularly by forcing
boards of elections to close their
voter suppression laws.
In
Florida, Gov. Rick Scott pushed
through a vast set of new and bur-
densome regulations that are
designed to restrict the ability of
working middle-class voters to
cast a ballot. The period for early
voting shrinks dramatically, and
voters who have moved to a new
county or have married and
changed their names in the months
prior to an election will not have
their ballots counted on Election
Day. Since the 1960s, Florida vot-
ers have been able to change their
address or name at their precinct
during early voting or on Election
‘There has never been in my lifetime –
since we got rid of the poll tax and all
the Jim Crow burdens on voting – the
determined effort to limit the franchise
that we see today’
— Former President Bill Clinton
doors on the weekend before
Election Day. Voters whose jobs,
family responsibilities or disabili-
ties make it difficult for them to
stand in long lines, often for many
hours, will now find it harder to
exercise their fundamental right to
vote.
Ohio is not alone in enacting
Day. But now they will only be
given provisional ballots which
may or may not be counted.
In Wisconsin this May, Gov.
Scott Walker and his corporate-
backed cronies in Madison enact-
ed a law that will require every
voter to show a government-
issued identification card before
they are able to cast a vote.
Hundreds of thousands of Badger
State voters will be denied their
right to vote. A study conducted
by the University of Wisconsin in
Milwaukee determined that this
change in Wisconsin’s law will
have a serious impact, particularly
on students and minorities. More
than 50 percent of the African-
American men and 49 percent of
African-American women in the
state do not have a driver’s license
or passport. More than three out
of every four young African-
American males in the state lack
such state-issued identification.
That shouldn’t surprise us.
While most adult Americans have
a driver’s license, it is not neces-
sarily true for large groups of
Americans. Students, other young
people and the working poor liv-
ing in metropolitan areas often
rely on mass transit, rather than
own a car. Senior citizens living
in nursing homes or with their
families often give up driving.
The blind and others with physical
disabilities don’t drive. All of
them will be affected by these new
restrictions.
Proponents claim that these
changes are necessary to protect
against voter fraud, but as a
detailed study published by the
Brennan Center for Justice notes:
“By any measure, voter fraud is
extraordinarily rare.” Former Pres.
Bill Clinton got to the heart of the
matter in early July when he
summed up the efforts made to
restrict the right to vote: “There
has never been in my lifetime –
since we got rid of the poll tax and
all the Jim Crow burdens on vot-
ing – the determined effort to limit
the franchise that we see today.”
That is why they are attacking
the right of seniors, minorities and
workers to cast an unfettered
vote. Voters have every right to be
angry about these cynical efforts.
We need to hold accountable the
politicians who took these radical
steps the next time we vote, before
they eliminate our voice at the bal-
lot box completely.
America’s racial wealth gap
grows to the largest on record
by charlene crowell
nnPa columnist
I
n the 25 years since the federal govern-
ment began publishing demographic
data on wealth, the worst disparities
emerged for 2009. A newly-released analy-
sis by the Pew Research Center found that
the median wealth of white households is 20
times that of Blacks, and 18 times that of
Latinos – a gap that nearly doubled in size
for these same three racial groups more than
20 years ago.
Further, when Pew compared wealth gaps
for 2005 to those of 2009, the clear conclu-
sion was that the combination of the hous-
ing market bubble and the subsequent reces-
sion were the underlying causes for these
record disparities.
By 2009, all three groups
lost wealth; but Black medi-
an net worth was less than
half of that recorded for
2005: $5,677; Latinos fami-
lies were only slightly better
at $6,325. Yet for white
households, the median net
worth
decreased
to
$113,149.
According to Pew, household wealth is
determined by subtracting all debts owed
from the accumulated sum of all assets,
including real estate, cars, savings and
checking accounts, retirement accounts,
stocks, etc.
Since the report was released, much of the
extensive news coverage has omitted a key
finding. From 2005 to 2009 the number of
families with either zero or negative worth
grew dramatically as well. For Black fami-
lies, the percentage grew from 29 percent to
35 percent; for Latino families, the negative
wealth grew from 23 percent to 31 per-
cent. Yet for white families, negative
wealth went from 11 percent to15 percent.
More plainly stated, African-Americans
are becoming poorer at a faster rate than any
other race or ethnic group in the coun-
try. Our forefathers may have worn the
shackles of slavery. But this generation is
wearing shackles of a different kind: pover-
ty and debt.
According to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS), America’s Black unem-
ployment level is double that of white
America. After comparing unemployment
data to that of Core Logic, a private
research firm, among the nation’s top states
for underwater mortgages – states with
homeowners owing more than their house is
now worth – the top five of those states also
have the nation’s highest unemployment.
If these trends are allowed to continue,
America’s ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ will
35 percent of Black Americans
have zero or negative wealth --
-- White American wealth 20
times that of Blacks
Page 6 The Seattle Skanner august 3, 2011
move even further towards the two separate
Americas first warned by the Kerner
Commission Report in the 1960s. Named
for then-Illinois’ Governor Otto Kerner, the
report told a tale of two Americas were
emerging– one Black and the other
white. In 2011, the divide is not just about
race but wealth as well.
All of America should feel uncomfortable
about the growing concentration of poverty
in Black and brown communities, who
together represent 28 percent of the nation’s
population.
It is time for leaders – public and private
– to stand up and insist that our nation cre-
ate new and sustainable jobs with incomes
that lift this country’s poor into self-suffi-
ciency.