This Wednesday, I went to the Securing the Vote event, hosted at Kennedy Hall by professors Charles Stewart and Stephen Ansolabehere. At this event, we discussed whether or not the right to vote in American society was in jeopardy, and how problems were currently being addressed For example, I learned that, prior to 2000, 4-6 million out of the 100 million or so American votes would be be lost, and would simply not be counted. Even though I knew that technology was not as advanced back then, I was shocked. The idea that voting, considered a fundamental American right, was simply not registering for millions of people made no sense. Since then, there have been attempts to remedy these incidents, and while they have significantly reduced this harm, the fact that it still exists is nonetheless surprising.

After this, we went over how certain groups are being disenfranchised from the voting process, such as gerrymandering and Voter ID laws. While I was already vaguely familiar with both concepts, I was very interested by the professors’ views on how they will proceed in the near future. For example, they predicted that, over the next few years, gerrymandering would be remedied by State Supreme Courts, as the US Supreme Court does not want to step in. Meanwhile, I learned that Voter ID laws disproportionately impact minorities, as the forms of ID that are accepted tend to be those that minorities would not have.

All of this made me consider my right to vote, a right I have often taken for granted. Despite living in a democracy, supposedly of, by, and for the people, millions are left without this right. Therefore, I must use this right to vote for policies that expand this right to others. I must use my power as a democratic citizen to bring those less fortunate than I am into the national discussion.