Vote Your Voice: In Louisiana, grantee organizations counter state鈥檚 strict rule on absentee voting
LaKeshia Barnett avoids contact with the public in her job at the U.S. Postal Service, where she wears a mask and practices social distancing to the fullest extent possible. She is worried about infecting family members who are battling health conditions including asthma and hypertension that heighten their risk of dying from COVID-19.
Barnett, 26, has voted regularly since first registering at 18, and she intends to vote in the November election in her home state of Louisiana.
Barnett would like to vote by absentee ballot to avoid the risk to her family of doing so in person. But under the state鈥檚 current for an absentee ballot, voters like Barnett may not qualify because they must have a serious health condition, be under a doctor鈥檚 order to quarantine (or caring for someone who is), or be currently experiencing symptoms of COVID-19.
That means voters with vulnerable family members are forced to choose between their right to vote and their loved ones鈥� health 鈥撀爁acing the decision of whether to risk voting in person early or on Election Day, both of which promise long lines and crowded conditions.
Barnett, who is Black, is one of several Louisianans whom the Southern Poverty Law Center (人兽性交) has represented in court, seeking to protect their voting rights.
鈥淟ouisiana鈥檚 election officials have failed in several respects to protect the state鈥檚 voters during the pandemic,鈥欌�� said Caren Short, senior staff attorney for the 人兽性交鈥檚 Voting Rights Practice Group. 鈥淚nstead of ensuring that all voters could vote safely from home if they chose to 鈥� as legislators were allowed to do 鈥� they clung to the misguided and politically motivated myth of voter fraud to justify unnecessary and discriminatory restrictions on absentee voting.鈥�
As聽 part of its mission to ensure equitable access to the ballot box in Louisiana and throughout the Deep South, the 人兽性交 is investing up to $30 million from its endowment in nonpartisan, nonprofit voter outreach over several election cycles. The aim is to increase voter registration and participation among people of color, like Barnett.
In addition to Louisiana, the new Vote Your Voice initiative 鈥� a partnership with the 鈥� supports voter education and mobilization in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi.
The campaign seeks to empower communities of color by aiding them in their fight against voter suppression; support Black- and Brown-led voter outreach organizations often ignored by traditional funders; support and prototype effective voter engagement strategies; and re-enfranchise formerly incarcerated people.
The Vote Your Voice grantees 鈥� currently 40 in total 鈥� are encouraging millions of voters across the South to exercise their fundamental right to vote and ensure that they are able to elect, and hold accountable, candidates who represent their values.
A total of $10 million has been distributed in the first two rounds of grants: $1,210,000 in Louisiana; $2,910,000 million in Florida; $2,460,000 in Georgia; $505,000 in Alabama; $1,205,000 in Mississippi; $500,000 for a project focused on Alabama and Georgia; and $1,210,000 for multistate projects.
Voters face 鈥榚xtra layers of complexity鈥�
The Vote Your Voice initiative is just one of the tools the 人兽性交 is using to fight voter suppression in Louisiana.
Last year, the 人兽性交 and its allies successfully supported the passage of Louisiana , which restored the right to vote to anyone with a felony conviction, as long as they had met certain conditions. As of March 1, 2019, the law allows people who have been out of prison for five years but remain on probation or parole to register to vote. Previously, people with felony convictions could regain their right to vote only after completing probation or parole.
Vote Your Voice grant recipients, including , and , worked with the 人兽性交 in the effort to pass Act 636, as well as to register people with felony convictions and encourage them to vote.
The 人兽性交 is also engaging Louisiana voters by working with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the state鈥檚 election protection coalition to monitor polls, assist with poll monitor training and provide attorneys to help troubleshoot any challenges voters encounter through Election Day.
In May, the 人兽性交 sued Louisiana on behalf of LaKeisha Barnett and other plaintiffs 鈥� including Crescent City Media Group and the League of Women Voters of Louisiana 鈥� ahead of the state鈥檚 July election, seeking absentee ballot access for all voters during the pandemic.
The state had passed an emergency election plan for July and August that left out many who needed to vote via absentee ballot amid COVID-19 and failed to waive a burdensome witness requirement. The state also failed to have any plan in place for the November general election. The plaintiffs asked a federal court to enjoin the state鈥檚 excuse and witness requirements for the July, August, November and December elections.
鈥淯nfortunately, our case was dismissed ahead of the July election, but we continue to work with our Louisiana partners to ensure that voters know how to request and complete their absentee ballot and how to stay safe if voting early or in-person on Election Day,鈥� Short said.
As late as mid-August, the state had failed to put in place any plan to allow voters with COVID-19 concerns to vote by absentee ballot. 人兽性交 partners 鈥撀爄ncluding Vote Your Voice grantee Power Coalition for Equity and Justice 鈥撀爁iled suit asking for the July/August plan to be reinstated. The federal court reinstated the July/August plan, which allows the most vulnerable voters to get an absentee ballot and adds three days of early voting. Still, some who need to vote absentee remain ineligible, and others are skeptical about voting in this manner after the secretary of state鈥檚 office failed to ensure delivery of thousands of absentee ballot applications in the July primary, Short said.
The 人兽性交 is working with its partners to encourage the secretary of state to make certain that voters are aware of their options for requesting an absentee ballot.
鈥淭he restrictions on absentee ballots have added extra layers of complexity on top of a year already made complex by COVID and the presidential election,鈥� said Martha Christian Green, a League of Women Voters of Louisiana board member. 鈥淭he League of Women Voters of Louisiana, with other leagues around the nation, sees as its primary and nonpartisan task the education of voters in all aspects of how to exercise the right to vote for which so many have fought in our nation鈥檚 history.鈥�
鈥淭hankfully, advocates, organizers, the press and voters are rising to the task of ensuring that every voter will find a way to vote,鈥� Short said.
Here are the Vote Your Voice grantees working to ensure equitable access to the ballot box in Louisiana:
鈥� Grant amount: $150,000
Citizen SHE United strives to build an aligned group of Black women who inform, advocate for and enact a policy agenda that seeks to address the needs of Black women in Louisiana.
The Vote Your Voice grant will help the organization increase voter participation among Black women across the state from 157,000 to 300,000 through online engagement, a peer-to-peer voter registration program, youth civic engagement and legal training against voter suppression.
Citizen SHE targets Black women who vote infrequently.
鈥淲e can no longer suggest that聽anyone votes, but we must demand it,鈥� said founder Nia Weeks.聽鈥淭he semblance of democracy that we feel even a little bit depends on everyone鈥檚 participation.鈥�
鈥� Grant amount: $60,000
The Micah Project develops leaders among citizens in the greater New Orleans area, empowering them to organize their communities and find solutions to their problems.
The organization engages communities through volunteer leader recruitment, voter outreach training, phone banking, events and media communications. Its activities target faith communities in four predominantly Black parishes: Orleans, Jefferson, Slidell and Baton Rouge.
鈥淢any of our ancestors have fought and died for our right to vote,鈥� said Executive Director Daphne Haley. 鈥淭he actions of many people today during this election will determine the future of our children and our children鈥檚 children. And without their vote they have no say in the future outcome of our city, state and nation.鈥�
With the help of the Vote Your Voice grant, the Micah Project will engage 15,000 households 鈥撀爀ncouraging them to exercise their right to vote.
鈥� Grant amount: $500,000
The Power Coalition for Equity and Justice (PCEJ) is a statewide organization that serves communities that are systematically blocked from such opportunities and resources as housing, employment, health care, democratic participation and due process.
PCEJ was one of the lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit, which challenged Louisiana鈥檚 emergency election plan for the November and December elections. A U.S. District Court judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs on Sept. 16.
鈥淭his was a huge victory for democracy and a huge victory for the South when we won extended early voting and extended vote-by-mail options for Louisiana,鈥� said Morgan Shannon, director of strategic partnerships聽for PCEJ.
Because of the Vote Your Voice grant,聽the Power Coalition for Equity and Justice will have the resources needed for its 2020 get-out-the-vote effort, which has 1.3 million contacts across Louisiana. These activities will focus on聽young people, returning citizens, seniors and immigrants who are infrequent voters.
鈥� Grant amount: $100,000
Project South is a leadership development organization that helps build movements and provides political and economic education for personal and social transformation.聽
鈥淭he history of voter suppression is as long as the history of voting in our democracy,鈥� said Emery Wright, co-director. 鈥淚n this year鈥檚 election cycle, although we are seeing increased and widespread efforts to suppress the vote, from misinformation to restricted access, we are also seeing a groundswell of enthusiasm and defiant courage at the grassroots of our communities to educate ourselves about what is on the ballot, vote early and make sure our votes are counted.鈥�
With the help of the Vote Your Voice grant, Project South and its partners will reach 5,000 to 10,000 Black, low-income and young community members in Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi with events, drives, voter education activities and public service announcements on Black-owned radio stations.
鈥� Grant amount: $200,000
The Urban League of Louisiana is helping people better understand their voting rights through social media campaigns, virtual voter education town halls, radio ads, billboards and phone banking, particularly in communities of color.
鈥淭he late implementation of the [state鈥檚] emergency election plan and a lack of information being pushed out is resulting in confusion about options for voting in person or by mail,鈥� said Nicole Jolly, director of strategic initiatives and special assistant to the president of the Urban League of Louisiana. 鈥淢any individuals and organizations are becoming active in voter education to try to ensure residents are informed.鈥�
The group will use the Vote Your Voice grant to launch a campaign aimed at 300,000 people to inform them of their voting rights, engage younger voters and increase voter education. Efforts will include phone banking in multiple languages in the Latinx community and other communities of color.
鈥� Grant amount: $300,000
Voice of the Experienced (VOTE) began when a group of men at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, commonly known as Angola, created the Angola Special Civics Project. In 2004, one of those men, Norris Henderson, founded VOTE after his release. VOTE is now the leading criminal justice reform organization in Louisiana that is operated by formerly incarcerated people, their families and allies.聽
鈥淧eople with felony convictions are trying to get registered, but the process is not clearly listed anywhere,鈥� said Deputy Director Bruce Reilly. 鈥淚t is critical that we band together and share our resources, and we are able to engage our people across the state to turn out and be recognized by our elected officials.鈥�
With its Vote Your Voice grant,聽VOTE will register people who are formerly incarcerated, have a conviction or have never voted before, and will encourage them to vote.
Illustration by Mary Kate McDevitt
