1867. When I heard Melody McCurtis say that, the drama in Wisconsin came into sharp focus. Look who got rejected. The right to vote is at the foundation of America's democracy. In our months of reporting, elections officials told us they were underfunded and overworked and increasingly fearful of what would happen in November. They have to sign, date it. According to "Whose Vote Counts, Explained," 18 of the 25 countries with the highest turnout rates hold elections on weekends, unlike the U.S. Belgium, Australia, Mexico and Greece consider voting to be a duty similar to jury duty. By choosing I Accept, you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. We are actively, physically and digitally a part of this global movement. Due to past gerrymandering, some states decided to use independent commissions to redraw lines, rather than the legislature. Its been an especially common practice for me ever since the pandemic started, with my custom list of shows and films to watch growing larger the more time I spend inside. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 2022 Hollywood Insider Corp. All rights reserved. And we're seeing those things collide. Videos Whose Vote Counts, Explained Trailer: Whose Vote Counts, Explained Episodes Whose Vote Counts, Explained Limited Series Release year: 2020 The right to vote is at the foundation of America's democracy. This makes it easier for younger people to register since they can easily do so when taking their road test at the DMV. In a two-part documentary, FRONTLINE and Forbidden Films explore how the powerful spyware Pegasus, sold to governments around the world by the Israeli company NSO Group, was used on journalists, activists, the wife and fiance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and others. The series is narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, Selena Gomez, and John Legend. . By 1968, 385 Black people had been elected to office across the South. We're with Metcalfe Park Community Bridges. Although voter suppression is partially responsible for low turnout rates, the way America conducts elections is also partly to blame. As we traveled the state, we met other local officials who had similar concerns about going through with voting. With Columbia Journalism Investigations and reporters from the USA TODAY NETWORK, New Yorkerwriter Jelani Cobb reports on allegations of voter disenfranchisement,how unfounded claims of extensive voter fraud entered the political mainstream,rhetoric and realities around mail-in ballots,and how the pandemic could impact turnout. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. Democrats tend to live in urban areas whereas Republicans live in suburban areas. I've[laughs] I think that's not a fair statement. The Electoral College. Both of us was indicted, myself and my wife, and another friend, Spencer Hogue, were indicted on 29 counts of what is called vote fraud. And so when people say "the north side," that's really code for "Black folks." Why are there so many inconsistencies with voting per state? They said it best in the episode: if your vote didnt matter, they wouldnt be trying to keep you from voting. The Florida law against ex-cons voting as well as Trumps inaccurate statement about voter fraud are two different ways of suppressing votes. If you look at the polling, they agree with other Americans that voter ID is a common sense reform. This is Bloody Sunday. It all leads to the ultimate point: why does voter suppression exist in the first place? Against this backdrop, Republicans, led by President Trump, have been relentlessly attacking absentee ballots. Sometimes people send us court judgments, convictions and other information like that. He has no idea what he's talking about. The state of ex-felons voting rights, explained, Watch: The man who rigged Americas election maps, A Biden presidency: The Democratic nominees policy vision, explained, Yes, Russia is interfering in the 2020 election. But here's the problem: When you try to fundamentally alter a system by which people vote right before an election like Gov. Cities are underrepresented and suburban and rural communities are overrepresented even though they are not a significant portion of the population. I'm not going to feed into what they want us to do, which is not vote. Thats about 44 million ballots not 80 million and they will be going to Republicans as well as Democrats and independents. ", Sanders' clients were voting rights activistsAlbert Turner, who had marched with John Lewis in Selma. Whose Vote Counts, Explained (Limited Series) | Official Trailer | Netflix Netflix 25.6M subscribers Subscribe 1.2K Share 66K views 2 years ago The right to vote is at the foundation of. And when people in the Bush administration got in there, very ideological, very right-wing people, they began to change the mandate of the Department of Justice from instead of protecting voters who were facing disenfranchisement, they started talking about voter fraud. Whose Vote Counts, Explained S01 E01. Voting is mandatory and those who do not may be fined or have to go to court. In fact, I thought it was completely fair to not have to risk getting COVID-19 by going to vote in person. Americans vote at much lower rates than most other developed countries, and one of the most common reasons given is that people dont think their vote matters. None of these things will be improved by staying home and watching the world burn. That decision to me felt like voter suppression. Now Wisconsin Voters Are Trying to Make Sure Their Ballots Count, Students Registered. The violence was combined with other thingspoll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clausesto prevent Black people from voting in the Jim Crow South. ANGELA LANG, Exec. I will not let you down. [Lesson by Christina Greer, directed by Mark Phillips, narrated by Christina Greer]. It came to a head right where it startedin Alabama, where commissioners in Shelby County had sued the Justice Department, saying that discrimination was no longer the problem it had been in the 1960s and the law had outlived its purpose. Kansas voters sided with abortion rights in August. newsletter. It's considered one of the most important pieces of Civil Rights legislation ever passed, but by 5 to 4, the U.S. Supreme Court today took the teeth out of a law enacted nearly 50 years ago. There has been some that said, "Well, why did you wait until the last minute?" In the April primary, these Wisconsin voters faced barriers to casting their ballots. The ballots must be postmarked by Election Day, otherwise somebody could cast their ballot on the day after the election.". If youre not aware of which one is which between Trump and Joe Biden, then youve got some work to do. It diminishes the electoral voice that one person, one vote for those who live in the cities, said Carol Anderson, author of the book One Person, No Vote.. Voting for candidates that are closest aligned to your ideals is the way to use your power as a citizen to fight against this suppression. The unsolicited ballots refer to the ones sent automatically to registered voters in nine different states, as well as Washington DC. Additional funding forWhose Vote Countsis provided by the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation. The response was, "If I would have done it three weeks before it would have been the same result." Butch Ellis was the county attorney. New mail ballot rules, extensive publicity over how to vote correctly by mail and broadened opportunities to fix minor errors on a ballot before it was discarded worked to limit wide-scale absentee ballot rejections. We find them through press releases from law enforcement officials, state attorney generals and others. And they certainly weren't interested in a mail ballot. Every state runs its own election process, and as Wisconsin was moving forward, others were pulling back. Three new Explained episodes on the ways our democracy is broken. In fact, I think the correct assessment of this is going back to the Jimmy Carter-James Baker commission. On Sept. 10, he. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});After the Supreme Court struck down a provision that required some states to get clearance before changing voting laws, some states have started finding new ways to restrict voting by closing polling places, especially in communities of color. The first is a formal way of not letting a certain group of people vote, and the latter is an attempt to discourage people from trusting the voting system. Or is this just an attempt to discourage voting and undermine our democracy? What exactly is at stake? If you care about these issues, then use your power as a citizen and vote. The big state race everyone was keeping an eye on. The right to vote is at the foundation of America's democracy. Wisconsin is the only state stupid enough to have an election April 7. Please consider making a one-time contribution to Vox today. With Columbia Journalism Investigations and reporters from the USA TODAY NETWORK. It goes back all the way to our nation's infancy when voting was considered a privilege, not a right. Why are U.S. elections so awash with cash, and what does that money buy? FRONTLINE tells the story of Vladimir Putins clashes with American presidents as hes tried to rebuild the Russian empire. FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation. When people say "the south side," that's code for "Latinx folks.". The electoral college has become the source of heated debate, with many calling for it to be abolished and for the use of a simple popular vote. Open that door! The Trump campaign has indicated it plans to launch more litigation. that critics say have made voting harder. You'll receive access to exclusive information and early alerts about our documentaries and investigations. We went to places in the state that were being hardest hit by the virusdensely populated urban areas: Madison, Green Bay and especially Milwaukee. Well, voter suppression is a made-up term that's used by those who oppose very common sense measures to make sure that, one, everybody who's eligible is able to vote. with a few exceptions, almost every lawsuit that's been filed have been unable to show that in fact it keeps people out of the polls. It's not slowing down. At one time, we talked about reducing sites to maybe from 180 to 120. One series that caught my eye was . stated mail ballots will be sent automatically to eligible registered voters in only nine states and the District of Columbia. What the Republicans began in 2011 with voter ID grew and grew. Your audio is fine, Jelani, on this side. Only white men with money and land were allowed to vote back then. The April election brought it all out. According to Whose Vote Counts, Explained, 18 of the 25 countries with the highest turnout rates hold elections on weekends, unlike the U.S. Belgium, Australia, Mexico and Greece consider voting to be a duty similar to jury duty. 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