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Racist Voting System

Youth are the future of our communities, therefore we are committed to giving them the opportunities they need to grow and become the leaders of tomorrow. Our Youth Development Program gives them the necessary support and tools to initiate a change and speak their minds in a proactive way. This series of editorial pieces featured in the next couple of weeks, are the result of months of work from these young adult independent minds ready to take action and eager to be heard.

*The views and opinions expressed in the following piece are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of IBA.


By Niajah P, Sahgine M., Jesus P., Glerisber C.

Voter intimidation is when someone is threatening or acting hostile at the polls to try and stop voters from casting their ballots. This is illegal and no one should be trying to interfere with people voting.

For example, at a college campus some black students were inappropriately threatened with a prosecution by someone with different political views. They had told the students that they could not use their campus and dress to promote people to register to vote. But that is false and they shouldn’t be trying not to let the students speak up about voting.

The voting system of our nation is a confusing, and complicated topic. We all know every four years, eligible citizens elect our next president, but there is so much more to it than thatー there is a set number of electors per state, who determine the winner.

They look at the popular vote within their state and cast their vote based on that. There is a misconception about electoral college voters, where many people believe they cast their vote based on their own opinions, and that is not the case; every state (with the exceptions of Nebraska and Maine) use a winner-takes-all system. This is why every eligible voter must get to the polls on election dayー because even electoral votes count on them!

Voter intimidation is nothing new. We’ve seen it time and time again throughout US history— from Jim Crow laws to the 2004 presidential election, the same cycle continues. 2020 is no exception, with Donald Trump spreading false information about mail-in ballots and telling Proud Boys to “stand back and stand by”.

One instance of voter intimidation took place in Nevada City, California, where Trump supporters rallied outside a popular drive-up ballot box, while early voting was happening. Many voters were left feeling unsafe, and some were even unable to reach the ballot boxes due to the rally.

It is imperative that everyone that can vote, casts their vote. We need to ensure that we remove tyrannical authority figures from our office, voting out the 45th President of the United States was the first step.

If you want to join our program visit bit.ly/joinydpsummer and apply by April 16, 2021
For more information contact our Youth Program Director Pedro Cruz at pedro@ibaboston.org or call 617.399.195

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