Fighting for Fair Elections

The right to vote is a non-partisan issue.  It represents the "voice" of the electorate and is a right of all citizens - except that, in reality, it is not.  Stacey Abrams, however, is doing what she can to ensure that EVERYONE can exercise the right to vote.

More than four hundred concerned and enthusiastic voters, including voters from Lincoln, attended a meeting sponsored by Force Multiplier (FM) in Wellesley, December 4, to meet Stacey Abrams, the founder of Fair Fight, the non-profit organization established to fight voter suppression in Georgia and in the nation. 

 Fighting for fair elections-- and fighting against voter suppression-- is the key mandate of Fair Fight, and an issue on which we can all come together.  Abrams asserted that many problems prevent fair elections-- foreign intervention, lack of uniform federal voting standards, corruption, and disinformation - exist, but we can't overcome all of them immediately.  Fair Fight's immediate aims are practical and on-the-ground:  train poll watchers to oversee the elections, assure accessible polling stations, provide aid to voters, have lawyers on call, and give reliable information to voters ahead of time.

 Following the 2018 race for Governor of Georgia, Stacey Abrams, the Democratic candidate who lost by 55,000 votes, led efforts to study the role of voter suppression in the election.  She and other analysts learned that 1.4 million people were removed from the list of registered voters including 570,000 people who were purged in one day.  They were removed because they had not voted in recent elections and were considered “not to exist.”   Abrams asserted that the “sacrosanct” right to vote must not be sacrificed to assure the election of those who want to stay in power.

In Georgia, the contested race for Governor was not ‘called’ by the networks for 10 days because of irregularities.   After the elections, 50,000 voters called the hot line to try to understand why they were told they did not “exist.”    Abrams herself, when she went to vote, was informed that she had already voted.  A Yale-trained lawyer, with cameras from CBS, NBC, FOX News and other networks observing the exchange, Abrams prevailed and cast her vote for Governor

Abrams, a charismatic speaker and passionate advocate for fair elections received at least three standing ovations for her words and her work.    She answered numerous questions from a well informed and concerned audience.  When asked about the Electoral College, Abrams asserted that the Electoral College itself creates voter suppression and ought to be eliminated.   “It’s not about giving Idaho an equal chance to elect the president,” she continued.

In response to a question of how we in Massachusetts could help, Abrams suggested we go to the organization’s web page at www. Fairfight.com and www.Fair Fight 2020.org.  The former fosters voter education and advocates electoral reform at all levels.  The latter, Fair Fight 2020.org, is focused on the upcoming election and will fund, staff and train voter protection teams in 20 battleground states.  These team members will be hired locally so that they will know the vulnerable communities they are trying to protect.  

We are co-chairs of the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee.  We strongly believe that the right to vote should be supported by all of us whether Democrats, Republicans, Independents, or otherwise.   In her newly established organization,  Fair Fight, Stacey Abrams offers us an opportunity to make a commitment to this right of citizenship.

Joan Kimball and Barbara Slayter

Lincoln Democratic Town Committee