Special to the Times
In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a landmark piece of legislation that tore down barriers at the state and local level preventing African-Americans from exercising their right to vote. No matter what you looked like, no matter where you lived, no matter your literacy skills, the Voting Rights Act made it so you could not be denied your vote.
And for more than 50 years, the law worked as intended. African-American voter turnout drastically rose across the South, where the most egregious offenses took place. And federal oversight prevented discriminatory laws passed by state legislatures from taking effect.
But in delivering the Supreme Court's opinion in Shelby v. Holder, Chief Justice John Roberts argued in 2013 that "our country has changed" and that the extraordinary measures to prevent race discrimination through the Voting Rights Act no longer applied. The evidence presented was that while towns and states like Selma, Ala., and Philadelphia, Miss., where Bloody Sunday and the Freedom Summer showcased violence and death in the struggle for African-American enfranchisement, today they "are governed by African-American mayors." As a former African-American mayor elected in the deep South, I can confidently say that racial discrimination is still alive and well in this country.
We need to ensure that every voice is heard, every vote is counted and every vote is protected. The U.S. House recently passed a sweeping new democracy reform bill called the For The People Act, which removes barriers to the ballot box, ends the dominance of big money in politics and ends the culture of corruption in Washington. It was the first bill introduced in the 116th Congress, and I am proud that every Democratic representative in Florida voted to ensure its passage. These reforms are a necessary first step in making progress on the very real problems Floridians face. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is standing in the way. Our very own senators, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, should support the Senate companion bill — and call on McConnell to hold a vote.
The Supreme Court's decision removed the formula to determine which states and counties had a history of racial discrimination in voting and needed the government's approval before changing voting laws. That formula covered many counties in Florida, including Collier, Hardee, Hendry, Hillsborough and Monroe counties.
In the absence of federal protections, states have enacted harmful new forms of voter suppression, like mismatch signature laws, voter purges and strict identification requirements. States like Georgia, Alabama, and Kansas have removed polling places and driver's license offices in majority-minority communities. And, despite Florida voters overwhelmingly approving Amendment 4 that restored the vote to men and women with past felony convictions, our own Legislature and governor are attempting to deny enfranchisement to these returning citizens, who are disproportionately black and brown.
We have seen some states take initiative and implement more inclusive measures such as automatic voter registration and early voting. But this will never be enough. We need comprehensive federal solutions.
Fixing our broken political system is not a partisan issue. Americans across the country, Republicans and Democrats, have said in poll after poll that the government and our electoral system needs extensive reform. Americans of all political stripes know that democracy is at its best when everyone is given a chance to fully participate, no matter where they live or what they look like.
Too much is at stake for our democracy not to deliver on the reforms in the For the People Act. The legislation would not only fight against targeted voter suppression. It would also address partisan gerrymandering, dark money influence, campaign finance reform and ethics abuses by elected officials.
It is past time that we implement the will of the people and make the For The People Act the law of the land. It may be the only way to restore free and fair elections in states like ours, which have begun to crumble under the weight of bad political actors. This bill is a once-in-a-generation proposal, and it is on us to make sure we hand down a democratic process that our children and grandchildren can prosper under.
Andrew Gillum is a former Mayor of Tallahassee and Gubernatorial Nominee currently leading Forward Florida to register and re-engage one million voters in 2020.