Political Violence and Voter Suppression Threaten 2018 Midterm Elections

Less than two weeks until the midterm elections, the nation’s bitter political divisions were exposed as suspicious packages were sent to former President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and the cable news network CNN. Authorities in New York City described the device at CNN as “live.” Pipe bombs were sent to former Attorney General Eric Holder, California Congresswoman Maxine Waters, and ex-CIA Director John Brennan.

As news of the packages spread, President Donald Trump said, “Political violence has no place in the U.S.,” and he called for unity.

The tension surrounding the upcoming elections is reaching a crescendo with the start of early voting.

“I’m a staunch Democrat…I’m sorry, and I would encourage everyone to vote Democratic,” said Helen Emerson on her way from her polling place.

Wearing a shirt that called to mind the green jacket First Lady Melania Trump famously wore to visit immigrant children housed in a detention center last summer, Emerson’s read: “We care, we vote. Do U?”

During this election cycle, there have been numerous reports of efforts to suppress the votes of African Americans.

“I haven’t seen this much racism, in terms of elections, and voter suppression, just outright voter intimidation since the 1960s,” said Dr. Ray Winbush, Director of the Institute of Urban Studies at Morgan State.

In Georgia where Democrat Stacey Abrams, an African American, and Republican Brian Kemp are locked in a fierce gubernatorial race, the headlines recently have been dedicated to reports of voter suppression. Kemp, the Secretary of State in Georgia, is accused of an attempt to suppress the vote by placing a hold on more than 50-thousand voters, the majority of whom were African American .

A busload of elder African American voters in rural Georgia was stopped as they headed to the polls on the first day of early voting. The seniors were picked up from a county-run senior center, and county officials said the trip was “political” and violated guidelines for county-run events. The trip was organized by Black Votes Matter which is touring the South to encourage voting, and county officials said they were “uncomfortable”

with an event involving a third-party

Winbush says, “They’re making excuses for each one of these incidents. The bottom line to all of this is they [Republicans] are losing control of the ballot box.”

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Students at Prairie View A&M University filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Waller County, Texas which is home to the historically black university. The students accused the county of not providing an early voting location on campus or in the city of Prairie View during the first week of early voting, an alleged violation of the federal Voting Rights Act and the U.S. Constitution.

Emerson said, “I think it’s terrible…that they pull out all stops to keep people from voting like making you have voter identification. I think it’s an aim to halt the black vote. Like I said in church Sunday, I encouraged people to vote. I didn’t say how to vote…vote your conscience because a lot of people died so we would have the privilege to vote as people of color.”

Winbush added, “The demographic of voters Republicans appeal to is very small, and the only way to win is to cheat.”

According to the New York Times, millions of Americans have already participated in early voting. Political pundits and polls predicated a blue wave poised to sweep the country, but in the days following the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court confirmation process, Republicans rallied. As for which party will emerge the victor on November 6th, polls indicate the races are often too close to call.