Coming Out For Social Justice: We are Powerful! We are Raising our Voices!
When the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed and enforced, it was the first time that African American communities became an electoral force in the South. For the first time in US history, communities of color had a foothold in our political system. This political power quickly resulted in policy victories that have helped our communities to address institutionalized racism and challenge our political subordination. Why then, in 2014, do Voting Rights seem so important?
“Voting Rights are a real battle of our time,” says Emma Kallaway, Executive Director of the Oregon Student Association. In the West, we are lucky to have some of the strongest laws in the country protecting our right to vote. In Oregon, for example, vote by mail results in high voter participation. But we know that there are still barriers to voting especially for underrepresented communities.”
Not everyone in our communities has access to voting. Some decision makers want to limit voter participation by passing laws that exclude specific individuals or by setting up barriers that impact communities broadly. People of color, young people, LGBTQ people, people living with disabilities, people experiencing homelessness, low-income families, and the formerly incarcerated are often targets of this kind of legislation.
In June of 2014, the Voting Rights Act was gutted by the Supreme Court. When it passed it became easier for states to pass discriminatory voting rules. In just over 3 months, 53% of the states have passed voting restrictions including ending same day registration, purging voter rolls and limiting voting hours.
While people experiencing homelessness are eligible to vote, the system remains challenging to making this a reality. Having a consistent place to call home makes voting more accessible. For members of our communities experiencing homelessness, this is a serious barrier — especially for young people, students, and LGBTQ people of color. LGBTQ youth of color experience homelessness at a rate far higher than their peers, often because their home environment becomes unstable or unsafe after they come out. Among homeless youth nationally, 42% are LGBTQ and 65% are people of color.
Students face barriers to voting, including LGBTQ Students of Color. Moving an average of once a year, students need to re-register annually. Jennifer Gibbons, Equal rights Organizer at OSA shares, “Students have seen ballot drop sites moved out of our neighborhoods, their ID’s rejected and a weight of history telling us our vote doesn’t matter. LGBTQ communities and communities of color are growing, and registering students to vote is an important contribution in enfranchising our communities.” Oregonians have seen the rights of LGBTQ people debated on the ballot 35 times in the past thirty years. We’ve voted on racial equity, immigrant’s rights, worker’s rights and women’s rights. With this active of a ballot, students — and especially LGBTQ students of color — cannot afford to sit any elections out.
The Oregon Student Association (OSA) is a statewide organization that is a student-led that prioritizes advocacy and organizing to represent, serve and protect the collective interests of students in post-secondary education in Oregon. Pledge to vote here this November 4th!
