Voter suppression laws are meant to “kick the Democrats in the butt.” revealed Don Yelton, precinct chair in the Buncombe County, North Carolina Republican Party last week on the Daily Show, “if it hurts a bunch of lazy blacks that wants the government to give them everything, so be it.”
Just trying to read between the lines, but it seems to me like if you are a minority, the Republican Party really rather you didn’t vote. Not so much because of the color of your skin. It’s more because statistically, you’re likely to vote for a Democrat.
Under the guise of “voter fraud,” a problem that was never proven to exist, Republican operatives have done everything they can to restrict those who might vote against them. Less than two hours after the conservative Supreme Court struck down the voting rights act of 1965, allowing certain southern states with a history of discrimination to once again create barriers for racial minority voters, Texas led the rush to take advantage of their new found freedom by limiting the acceptable forms of identification, ending opportunities for student voting and reducing hours for early voting. Many Republican-led states have followed suit.
It is sad that after many years of sacrifice and progress, we, as a country are in some ways regressing back to the dark days in our history of racial discrimination. As an artist dedicated to creating works that challenge people to think more deeply about sociopolitical issues, I was inspired to paint “Voter Fraud.” I hope this piece can in some small way inspire positive change. There must be vigilance in overcoming the hurdles that would restrict the basic rights so many have sacrificed so much to attain. Don’t get mad, get a photo ID and vote out those who would try to take away those rights.
