Sat 10/19 @ 4:30PM
There are many of us who believe that if last year’s gubernatorial election in Georgia had been fair, Stacy Abrams would now be governor of that state.
Instead, her Republican opponent Brian Kemp, who was then secretary of state and overseeing his own election, engaged in wholesale voter suppression. It included tactics such as massive voter purges which dropped qualified voters from the roles (also a huge issue in Ohio), disqualifying voters for not having an “exact match” in their registration to the information on their drivers’ license or social security — no dropped middle initial, for instance — and closing polling places entirely for not being ADA-compliant. In every case, these efforts targeted — surprise! — mostly black voters.
Since that election where Kemp barely eked out a win over her, Abrams has dedicated herself to working to end such voter suppression tactics. (She’s also been widely mentioned as a potential vice presidential candidate, although one never knows how much of that is just speculation and clickbait).
Ohio has had its own share of voter suppression, which in turn leads to voter discouragement and low turnout. Former secretary of state Jon Husted, now lieutenant government, fought in court for the right to disenfranchise voters by limiting early voting, eliminating Sundays when black churches staged their “souls to the polls” efforts” and purging hundreds of thousands of voters. Those purges are continuing under current secretary of state Frank LaRose, and it’s turning out that a significant number of those had nothing to do with voters moving or having died.
So Abrams will be a welcome visitor to Cleveland when she joins local grassroots activists to talk about voting rights here in Ohio at the SEIE Local 1199 hall in AsiaTown. Registration starts at 3:30; program starts at 4:30pm
It’s free and open to anyone who cares about protecting democracy and the right to vote. Register here.
Cleveland, OH 44114
One Response to “Voting Rights Activist Stacy Abrams to Speak in Cleveland”
Greg Zyn
We need someone from our community to represent us in front of the government, so that’s why I think she is the perfect candidate. I am sure she can make a lot of changes if she wins.