Speakers<\/b><\/b><\/h3>\n
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- \n
- Celina Stewart<\/b>, CEO, League of Women Voters of the United States (LWV)<\/li>\n
- Andrew Garber<\/b>, counsel, Voting Rights and Elections Program, Brennan Center for Justice<\/li>\n
- Robert A. Pape<\/b>, Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago<\/li>\n
- May Tiwamangkala<\/b>, Democracy Defender Director at Arizona Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander for Equity (AZ AANHPI)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\nPolitical Violence<\/b><\/b><\/h3>\n
Dr. Robert Pape highlighted the intensity of today\u2019s political violence, saying, \u201cYou\u2019d have to go back to the 1960s and \u201870s to see anything like the hotbed of political violence we\u2019re in now\u201d His research shows that since 2001, Department of Justice-prosecuted threats have surged fivefold, reaching 19.5 under President Trump and rising to 21.6 under President Biden.<\/p>\n
According to Pape, most of this violence is driven by polarized opinions about Donald Trump and amplified by public discourse. He noted that some of it is fueled by the \u201cGreat Replacement\u201d theory \u2014 the belief that the country\u2019s white population is being replaced by other ethnic groups.<\/p>\n
Recent incidents include assassination attempts against high-profile leaders such as Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2022, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, President Joe Biden, and former presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Additionally, politically motivated mass shootings, like those at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018, an El Paso Walmart in 2019, and a Buffalo supermarket in 2022, further underscore this threat.<\/p>\n
A CPOST survey in September 2024, sampling over 2,200 Americans, found that 5.8% supported using political violence to restore Trump to the presidency, while 8% approved of violence to prevent him from becoming president \u2014 equating to 15 million and 21 million Americans, respectively.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Trump loses, the violence could actually get worse,\u201d Pape warned. \u201cA third of respondents already own guns \u2026 While Election Day itself is a danger point, it may get worse afterward because of state vote counting and certification schedules, especially in swing states where losing even 3% of ballots could throw the outcome into chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite these concerns, the survey also revealed strong bipartisan support for countering political violence, with 84% of Democrats and 76% of Republicans \u2014 roughly 200 million Americans \u2014 backing a Congressional coalition against such threats. The best policy \u201cis not to have our political leadership become therapists getting people to talk out their anger, but helping people redirect their anger away from violence and toward voting,\u201d<\/p>\n
Voter Suppression<\/b><\/b><\/h3>\n
\u201cVoter suppression doesn\u2019t involve states putting up giant signs that say you can\u2019t vote. It involves less overt ways to make it just a little too hard for some people to get to the ballot box, like a death by 1,000 cuts,\u201d Suppressive tactics include shortened deadlines for voter registration, restrictions on mail ballot requests, closing polling stations, and limiting the support election officials can provide to voters.<\/p>\n
Between 2020 and 2024, 78 restrictive voting laws were enacted across 30 states, nearly doubling the number passed in the previous eight years. These restrictions particularly impact mail voting, a method that saw a major increase during the pandemic, especially among communities of color.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Georgia, for instance, previously, primarily white voters voted by mail. In 2020, that flipped toward voters of color \u2026 In January 2021, the Georgia legislature reconvened and, as one of its top priorities, passed a law that made it harder to vote by mail.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pointed out that the justification for these restrictions \u2014 claims of widespread voter fraud \u2014 are unsupported by evidence. A 2016 Brennan Center survey found only 30 cases of suspected noncitizen voting out of 23.5 million votes cast, representing just 0.0001% of ballots.<\/p>\n
According to Celina Stewart, \u201cThe U.S. has some of the most secure elections in the world. It\u2019s not the actual infrastructure apparatus. It\u2019s more about people\u2019s ability to access it,\u201d<\/p>\n
Voting Access<\/b><\/b><\/h3>\n
Stewart emphasized that we can protect our voting rights by first ensuring they are registered. \u201cWith voter roll purges, it\u2019s important to update and check your registration, especially if you move or change your name\u201d she said. Voters can also use LWV\u2019s VOTE411 hub for resources like local polling locations, mail-in and early voting information, and guides on candidates and campaign finance.<\/p>\n
Stewart encouraged us to attend candidate forums: \u201cNothing is better than being able to hear directly from a candidate answering your questions about the issues you care about. When we vote for our leaders, we\u2019re choosing the people who will make decisions that impact how we engage in the world day-to-day, whether that\u2019s health care, jobs or climate change \u2014 like the impact of the recent hurricane in the South.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arizona Voting Restrictions<\/b><\/b><\/h3>\n
Arizona, where laws impose some of the country\u2019s strictest proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration, faces additional challenges. May Tiwamangkala noted that Arizona recently purged 98,000 voters due to this requirement, though only one individual was found to be a non-citizen \u2014 and that person had never voted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe \u2018non-citizens voting\u2019 rhetoric is a scare tactic that certain elected officials and media outlets use to divide our state \u2026 and this election year, the rampant anti-immigrant narrative is making it easier for lawmakers to pass laws that target immigrant communities,\u201d Tiwamangkala said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
AZ AANHPI is part of a lawsuit against the state over two 2022 laws, HB 2492 and HB 2242, which add more hurdles for proving citizenship and allow voter roll purges without adequate evidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re an extremely polarized culture, especially since we\u2019re a border state, and people are hesitant to get political because they don\u2019t want to break personal relationships. Voter apathy is growing here because people are struggling with inflating living costs, and they feel that the government isn\u2019t helping,\u201d Tiwamangkala said.<\/p>\n
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Images provided by Ethnic Media Services.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
With just a few hours until the presidential election, voters and officials across the country are confronting unprecedented threats to voting access. These include restrictive new voting laws, misinformation, voter roll purges, and even political violence. In a media briefing on October 18, hosted by Ethnic Media Services, a panel of experts discussed the threats…<\/p>\n
- Andrew Garber<\/b>, counsel, Voting Rights and Elections Program, Brennan Center for Justice<\/li>\n