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Black voters are flocking to the polls

2020-10-26T22:12:03.802Z


Black voters are going to the polls in large numbers, fueled by concerns about racial justice and voter suppression.


There are more than 45 million early votes in the US 0:38

(CNN) -

Dave Richards arrived at his polling place before dawn, with a blue lawn chair and a giant bottle of water.

It was around 6 a.m. on October 12, Georgia's first early voting day, and the business consultant was ready for a long wait in the Atlanta suburb of Smyrna.

After three hours in line, Richards, 51, voted in what he called the most crucial election of his life.

“This election is more important than the 2008 one for Barack Obama.

The one in 2008 was to change and make history.

This election is to save America, "said Richards.

And he cited his concerns about racial justice and suppression of black voters.

"The racial divide that is occurring, we need someone who is a leader for everyone, not just for his base," he explained.

Across the country, black voters are turning out in large numbers.

This year's stakes are especially high, they say, and nothing less than your health and safety is on the ballot.

Voters line up outside the State Farm Arena in downtown Atlanta on October 12, the first day of early voting in Georgia.

For many it is the most important choice

In interviews with CNN, they said they are concerned about racial injustice and police brutality, feel undervalued by a president who has been hesitant to condemn white supremacism, and fear losing health benefits if the Supreme Court annuls the Health Care Act. Affordable.

Many said that they feel this choice is the most important of their lives.

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During a terrible pandemic that has killed more than 223,000 Americans and devastated Black communities, many black voters could have mailed their ballots.

But after recent headlines about postal workers throwing away undelivered mail and the debunked claims of President Donald Trump questioning the integrity of vote-by-mail ballots, many do not trust that process.

"The pandemic didn't scare me," Richards said.

"The way (the president) 45 (Trump) was talking about voting by mail and lying about it, he wanted to make him (vote) in person."

The numbers of black voters

So far this fall, American black voters are going to the polls at much higher rates than four years ago when Hillary Clinton was on the ballot.

As of Tuesday, more than 601,000 black Americans had voted early in Georgia compared to 286,240 two weeks before the 2016 election. In Maryland, about 192,775 had voted compared to 18,430.

And California had more than 303,145 votes, up from more than 106,360 two weeks before the election four years ago.

That's according to Catalist, a data company that provides analytics to progressive Democrats, academics and activism organizations.

Keith Green, 65, went to the polls last week in Overland Park, Kansas, to vote in person for a number of reasons.

Many say they don't trust Trump

People line up to vote at a mall on Oct.17, 2020, in Las Vegas.

"We have a racist president who lies too much," he said.

He keeps saying he doesn't trust the Democrats.

Well, after everything that has happened with the ballots, I don't trust the Republicans, "he said.

Trump repeatedly said that he has done more for black people than any president since Abraham Lincoln.

As evidence, he has cited low unemployment among blacks, criminal justice reforms, and increased federal funding for historically black colleges and universities.

Some prominent black Republicans, including Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Jay Cameron, have sung his praises.

But most black people are not convinced.

Gallup polls during the summer found that 87% of blacks disapprove of his job as president.

Green said the Trump administration left him concerned about the future of his daughter and two grandchildren.

He believes Trump has emboldened white supremacists and set the nation back on the path of civil rights and equality.

"The last four years have been so bad," he said.

"We cannot bear four more years of that," he added.

Other concerns of black voters include health care and the composition of the courts.

Wilburn Wilkins, 61, woke up early on October 7, donned two face masks, and headed to a polling place in Joliet, Illinois, with his wife.

Although the retiree has pre-existing conditions, he wanted to vote in person.

"We have a president who is completely destroying our democratic Constitution," Wilkins told CNN.

“Many people are dying because they are ignoring the covid pandemic, ignoring the fact that people are unemployed, they need financial resources.

We need a change, "he said.

  • LEE: Blacks and Hispanics are twice as likely to test positive for covid-19, according to a new study

Like Green, he believes the White House decisions have undermined blacks and other minorities.

"The appointment of a conservative to the Supreme Court, (and) the accumulation of lower courts to have cronies to advance conservative ideas will most likely affect black and dark-skinned people," Wilkins said.

"They will affect things like civil rights, Obamacare ... all of these things have the potential to negatively affect minorities," he added.

The stakes are high in this election, said playwright and songwriter Nolan Williams Jr., 51, who lives in Washington, DC, and plans to vote in person on Election Day.

'Translate our social protests into political action'

Voters wait in line at Philadelphia City Hall.

Williams has composed an anthem, "I Have a Right to Vote," to raise awareness of voter suppression (a strategy to discourage or prevent some voters from going to the polls) and to motivate voters. blacks to cast their votes.

The song features Christopher Jackson, a member of the original "Hamilton" cast, artist Billy Porter and others, who recite words from abolitionist Frederick Douglass, the late Representative John Lewis and the late Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

“For African Americans in this country, voting is the most effective way to achieve the change we seek.

Given the events of this summer, it is crucial for our community to translate our social protests into political action, ”Williams said, referring to the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the unrest that followed.

“Health care, fair housing - including equitable access to home loans - poverty, the environment, significant reforms to our justice system, and improvements in community policing are all issues that make this choice extremely critical, "he said.

Some black voters are suspicious after the 2018 election

In Georgia, many black voters say they were motivated to vote in person by what happened in 2018, when Republican Brian Kemp ran against Democrat Stacey Abrams for governor while serving as the state's election chief.

Kemp, who as Georgia's secretary of state had promoted and enforced some of the most restrictive electoral laws in the country, was repeatedly accused before and during the campaign of trying to suppress minority voters.

Kemp won by a narrow margin and Abrams argued that he had used his position to suppress black voters.

Kee-Kee Osborne, 42, of Mableton, Georgia, said that is one of the reasons he voted in person this month.

To make sure your voice counts.

"For me, the outcome of this choice will be the difference between truth and deception, decency and dishonor, inclusiveness and bigotry," said Osborne, who works as an information technology manager.

“The words, actions and policies of the current (Trump) administration have deepened the marginalization of blacks in the last four years.

It is imperative that our community is involved in the process because we have the opportunity to vote for change at all levels, "he added.

People wait to vote on October 15, 2020, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

'Many people have died so that we have that right to vote'

In Los Angeles, business manager and travel blogger Nancy Gakere, 47, woke up early one day this month to drop off her ballot.

He also signed up for a follow-up service to ensure his vote is counted.

"I wanted to make sure I personally cast my vote," he said.

"This election is so important to blacks because of current events like the assassinations of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, (and) the way the coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately affected blacks," he said.

"This has exposed the long-standing institutional racism and racial inequalities that exist in America," he added.

But for Gakere, the most important issue is preserving health care under the Affordable Care Act.

"We have family members with pre-existing conditions and we believe that she is at risk of being annulled," she said.

With Election Day on the horizon, Wilkins has a message for black voters.

“Many people have died so that we have that right to vote.

We cannot take it for granted.

This is a privilege that was not offered to our ancestors, ”said the man from Illinois.

“They are trying to prevent us from voting right now by manipulating, intimidating, suppressing voters in plain sight, all the things that have been done in the past to our ancestors.

That tells you how important it is for us to vote, "he said.

Elections 2020 United States

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2020-10-26

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