As citizens in Washington — and throughout the United States — turn in ballots today, we are reminded of generations of Americans who were not afforded this basic right.
Election Day is today. In Washington, which has universal vote-by-mail, that means ballots must be dropped off in an official collection box by 8 p.m. If a ballot is being returned by mail, it must be postmarked by today; no postage is necessary.
Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey estimates that voter turnout will be about 70 percent — roughly the same as the previous midterm election in 2018. As of last week, Clark County had approximately 326,000 eligible voters; in-person registration is allowed at the county elections office, 1408 Franklin St. in Vancouver, up to 8 tonight (ID is required). That means more than 225,000 ballots are likely to be cast in the county.
While we applaud those who engage in the election process, we also remember those who have battled to deliver suffrage for all eligible American citizens. Despite the high-minded ideal that “all men are created equal,” the United States did not live up to that creed. For decades, “all men” meant land-owning white males.
The Fifteenth Amendment, ratified in 1870 in the wake of the Civil War, extended voting rights to males of all races. “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude,” the amendment reads, in part.
Despite that amendment, states throughout the South enacted literacy tests and poll taxes to prevent Blacks from voting. White voters were typically exempted from these restrictions through “grandfather” clauses. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 banned literacy tests as a requirement for voting, and a 1966 Supreme Court ruling in Harper v. Virginia deemed poll taxes unconstitutional.
The Voting Rights Act also established federal oversight of elections in some jurisdictions. In 2013, the Supreme Court overturned a portion of that oversight. That has opened the door to limitations on the number of polling places in predominantly Black neighborhoods.
While the Fifteenth Amendment allowed all males to vote, the fight for women’s suffrage was ongoing. The Territory of Washington allowed women to vote beginning in 1883, six years before statehood; the state then granted the vote to women in 1910. In 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified, establishing women’s suffrage across the country.
Most of this history is known by Americans who paid attention in civics classes. But with each election, it is essential that we reflect upon the political fights that were required to provide a basic right to all citizens — and upon the threats to those rights.
Several states have reduced or restricted the use of absentee (mail-in) ballots while simultaneously reducing the number of polling places. Studies have shown that these reductions tend to occur in heavily minority areas, requiring hours in line before voting.
Washington, meanwhile, has worked to make voting more accessible and more secure. Vote-by-mail has been statewide since 2011, and confirmed cases of voter fraud have been minimal.
Fabricated claims of fraud pose a threat by undermining faith in our elections, yet the larger threat is apathy. As Franklin D. Roosevelt said: “Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves, and the only way they could do this is by not voting.”
As we ponder that wisdom, we are reminded of those who fought to secure that right for all citizens.
