My Vote, My Voice. What say you, Mitch?

Kit O’Connor, Frankfort, KY

06/22/2020

Who’s heard this? Your vote is your voice. From voter registration drives to high school classrooms, Americans are urged to use their voice at the polls.

If my vote is my voice, does this mean that Mitch doesn’t want to hear my voice? What about the voices in the Black and Brown communities or the elders among us? And if we are ever to realize that government “of, by and for the people,” shouldn’t we hear “The People’s” voices? I posit that Mitch would say no..

We’re talking about Mitch McConnell, so of course, there is never a drought of info available on any such issue. In this case, we’re talking about two related issues: The first being the ability or ease for people to actually vote and the second being the integrity of elections themselves.

One would think that in a representative democracy, leaders would be excited to get constituents to the polls and use their voices. It helps inform them in order to best represent them in Washington. It stands to reason that political leaders would want to ensure a healthy democracy and to do that, among other things, you need voters to vote.

Some leaders do. The first piece of legislation in 2019 by the new Democratic led House of Representatives was an attempt at bringing forward changes to national elections. The For the People Act of 2019, H.R. 1, would, among other things, end partisan redistricting, create automatic voter registration, prohibit voter roll purging and would recruit additional poll workers to help ease the experience of voting.

This legislation proposes making Election Day, which always falls on the first Tuesday in November, a public holiday like Independence Day or President’s Day. It only seems fitting. It is our opportunity at representation, something the founders fought for in 1776, and which we’ve expanded to actually include citizens other than landed white men.

What say you, Mitch?

My senior senator’s response?

“Just what America needs: another paid holiday,” He also said “This is the Democrat plan to restore democracy? A power grab that’s smelling more and more like exactly what it is.” (New York Times)

In the words of Kentuckian Matt Jones, “Mitch please.”

While I want to chuckle at the carmudgeonhood of the man Jamal Smith describes in Rolling Stone magazine as testudinate (of, like or or relating to a tortoise) it’s truly troubling. It’s not just being a curmudgeon, it appears to be a calculated attempt to keep in place barriers to voting. At best, it’s a lack of interest in getting people to the polls- a horror for a representative democracy.

It’s very interesting to contemplate his thinking that more voting means more power for the Democrats. Is he admitting that an Election Day holiday would hurt Republicans, since their fortunes improve when fewer people vote? (Rolling Stone)

As President Obama said, ``We are the only advanced democracy that makes it deliberately difficult for people to vote.” (Business Insider)

I guess it’s not surprising that President Obama’s self proclaimed obstructor, Mitch McConnell, is one of those who is making it deliberately difficult for people to vote.

And while it’s difficult for many to get out to vote, what about the actual integrity of our elections?

Mitch McConnell seems to be a lot more concerned about preventing me from exercising my right to vote than he is about the threat of foreign interference in our elections. Though the then director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats, had issued a warning that “Russia, China, and Iran” could be looking to advance their interests in the 2020 elections, and would attempt to weaken democratic institutions, undermine alliances and more, last fall, Mitch McConnell and his GOP colleagues blocked 250 million dollars meant to shore up election security. While he later reversed this and endorsed allocating money to state and local election officials, he continues to resist election security mandates that cybersecurity experts say are crucial to protecting our elections like paper ballots.

Mitch Mcconnell, my senior senator, never lets us down in letting us down. In this case, he’s willing to make it hard for me to vote and easier for outside forces to destroy that vote.

In spite of his best efforts, I promise you this. Come hell or high water, I will vote in November and I will vote to Ditch Mitch. I urge you to join me.

Kit O’Connor is a founding member of the MMRC. They live in Frankfort, KY with their spouse, Nate Orshan. Kit is a lifelong activist, advocate and educator with a focus on human rights, particularly refugee and migrant rights and LGBTQ+ rights. Besides teaching high school, they enjoy public speaking and providing workshops about a range of issues from citizen lobbying to human rights messaging. You can Follow Kit on Twitter @ KitUnbridled