Letter: Help make voting accessible to all

Posted on by Letters
Graphic by Lori Deaton

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted what has always been true: Voting must be more accessible. With the general election looming, North Carolina lawmakers must take immediate action to make voting accessible to all North Carolina citizens.

The N.C. Board of Elections recently recommended that the state modify absentee voting policies to comply with social distancing (like requiring only one witness instead of the current requirement of two witnesses or a notary), but Republican lawmakers have dismissed them — doubling down in their insurmountable quest to suppress voting rights, especially among people of color, young people and low-income citizens. This seems to be a tried and true tactic; Trump recently made headlines for saying aloud what many others think in private: If voting were made easier for all Americans, Republicans wouldn’t win another election.

Meanwhile, the BOE teamed up with the DMV to roll out a new online voter registration tool — but since it is only for current DMV customers, citizens without a North Carolina license or DMV-issued ID card are ineligible to take advantage of online voter registration, resulting in further marginalization of our state’s most vulnerable citizens.

As an organizer with NextGen North Carolina, I am committed to ensuring all North Carolina citizens can exercise their right to vote, especially the young and marginalized folks in our communities. This new and flawed system must be amended to allow our citizens equitable access to online voter registration.

NextGen North Carolina is calling on the North Carolina legislature to adopt a universally accessible vote-by-mail policy that ensures all North Carolinians can cast their ballots this November. Join us in our efforts to make voting accessible to all by calling your state representatives and urging them to support this legislation.

— Lola Benfield
Hendersonville

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One thought on “Letter: Help make voting accessible to all”

  1. Enlightened Enigma

    We already have absentee ballot voting for special cases, so HELL NO Lola we are not having that kind of power control for voting…it will lead to massive cheating…NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.

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