A welcome repeal

The other night I received an email that made me whoop for joy, and that is why this #thankyouthursday, I am grateful for a welcome repeal.

Specifically, to quote the email I received from Spread the Vote:

VIRGINIA REPEALED THEIR VOTER ID LAW!!!!!

As you may already know, voting rights are a passion of mine. There is so very much wrong with the justice system in the United States, and a lot of that is tied to racial injustice and inequity. When I think about all that needs to change, it gets overwhelming, fast.

I cannot fix everything. But I can direct my focus toward one thing at a time, and that does help.

Voting rights are what I choose to focus on because ostensibly this country is a representative democracy, and if every citizen actually voted, I believe we really could have a functional government that fairly represented our population.

(In addition to supporting Spread the Vote, I also appreciate the work of When We All Vote, since it operates from a similar premise: “When we all vote, we can change the world.”)

And while I am grateful for any progress that is made when it comes to restoring voter rights or increasing access to the polls, I am especially grateful that my now-home state of Virginia has elected to repeal its law that required voters to have a photo ID.

Before the Supreme Court ruled in 2013 to weaken the protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Virginia would have had to get federal approval to enact a voting law as restrictive as the one that’s been in place for the last 5 years.

Without that oversight, in 2014 a Republican-controlled state legislature made it so that unless you have a current photo ID, you’re out of luck.

However, many citizens don't have current government photo IDs, largely because they don’t have drivers licenses—and most of those citizens tend to be poor and/or nonwhite.

The result, of course, is that fewer poor and nonwhite people make it to the polls.

But then! After midterm elections in 2019, the Virginia state legislature became Democratic-led for the first time in decades, and they got right to work. And a few days ago, the photo ID requirement was officially removed.

Now, while photo IDs are still permitted, other forms of ID—like utility bills, bank statements, and paychecks—will also be allowed.

So this #thankyouthursday, I am grateful for a welcome repeal, and for reassuring proof that even in times of uncertainty, there is good news to be found.

Love > fear,
Christina

p.s. If you’re like me, the social distancing sitch may be starting to feel routine.* But please don’t get complacent—keep washing your hands, wearing masks in public, and keeping your fingers away from your face!

p.p.s. * To be clear, “routine” is not the same as “normal” or “comfortable,” and that’s okay. For now, we just need to get through today.