Voter Suppression Disproportionately Affects Women
Voting matters. There are high stakes in economics, public health, and social equity. American citizens have a right and a responsibility to vote. Many states across the US, however, have passed measures making it harder to cast a ballot. Unfortunately, the goal of these measures is to manipulate political outcomes. These tactics range from Voter ID laws, cuts to early voting, mass purges of voter rolls and systemic disenfranchisement. Even worse, legislators can and do redraw district lines that determine the weight of votes. Certain communities are particularly susceptible to suppression and some cases, outright targeted. Those targeted include people of color, students, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
According to Salon.com, an on-line magazine on news, politics, business, technology and culture, women face more obstacles to voting than men do.
Ways Women’s Votes are Suppressed
- Women comprise 69 percent of unpaid caregivers to older adults. If they’re caring for someone unpaid, they may not have the means to buy documents needed to obtain an ID. They may not have money for a car or taxi to get to a polling place. Furthermore, there may not be an alternative caregiver while they step away from their person in need.
- More women live in poverty than men. If a woman works an hourly job, she doesn’t have the luxury of getting paid if she misses work.
- Abused women may not have access to their own money or transportation. Her partner may be against her right to vote. He may want to control her vote.
- Voter ID laws alone account for an estimated 34 percent of women who could be turned away from the polls for not having the right documents, according to National Organization for Women (National Organization for Women).
- Students move frequently. Their addresses or IDs don’t necessarily match up.
- Women frequently change their name upon marriage. So, they often have different names on their identification documents. [1]
More Women Candidates
The good news is that women are breaking records for the November general election according to the National Organization for Women (NOW). 297 women have won U.S. House nominations. 19 women have won major-party nominations. 248 women of color are running for U.S. House in 2020, thereby setting a new record. 18 women of color are running for U.S. Senate, beating previous records since 2004.[2]
Get Ready to Vote
Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Utah mails a ballot to every active registered voter starting October 13th. The last day to request one is October 23rd. The ballot needs to be postmarked on or before November 2nd to be counted. Beginning October 20th, Utah all voters have the option of early or absentee in-person voting. Keep an eye on the mailbox and be sure to mail it back or drop it in a drop-box before Election Day.
[1] https://www.cnn.com/election/2020/voter-guide/utah?elections-mail-in-map-referral