The Washington Post has published a column by Anita Earls, the Southern Coalition for Social Justice’s Executive Director. The column covers how dangerous the rhetoric being used in North Carolina’s election process is and the likely consequences of doing so.
Ms. Earls writes:
“Despite this, McCrory and other Republican Party officials are engaging in an effort to subvert the election results by tainting them with unfounded allegations of widespread voter fraud and elections officials’ misconduct. Doing so is not only dangerous, but it also creates the perception that the election results are unreliable when they are not, and it fuels future legislative efforts to disenfranchise voters.”
Further, Earls outline why claiming voter fraud is dangerous when there’s no evidence to support the claim:
“…claiming voter fraud without any supporting evidence is dangerous. Free speech is protected, but one cannot yell “fire!” in a crowded theater. It’s dangerous. So, too, is making an allegation of election fraud with no solid evidence. It causes irreparable damage to the public’s faith in the democratic process.”
The column lays out how these allegations can be used in future legislative efforts to disenfranchise voters in North Carolina:
“…we have already seen a willingness for state legislators to run roughshod over minority voters. And despite a federal court rejecting North Carolina’s previous voter suppression efforts, we expect to see more attempts to deprive people of their right to vote in the next legislative session. Undoubtedly, fears stoked in this election will be used to push those regressive changes through the legislative process.”
Anita Earls and the voting rights team at the Southern Coalition for Social Justice are dedicated to combatting efforts to undermine our elections process, and are quick to point out the real threats to our democracy:
“It’s time to move past the dangerous rhetoric being used by McCrory and his allies to disparage the election results. Only then can we focus on the real threat to democracy in North Carolina — the continual effort to keep people of color and others from fairly and equally participating in civic life.”
Click here to read Anita’s full column on the Washington Post’s website.