CHN’s Human Needs Watch: Tracking Hardship

RJ Hamster

4 weeks ago

August 23, 2024

The election potpourri edition. It is difficult to believe, but in 25 days, Americans begin voting for President. That’s when voters in Pennsylvania begin early voting. The election is truly upon us.

Unfortunately, when some voters attempt to cast ballots, whether it be in person, or through some combination of early voting, absentee, mail-in, or drop-box, they will be in for a rude surprise. This is because a number of states have tightened voter ID laws and otherwise have made it more difficult to vote.

We all know the backdrop. Falsifications about stolen elections in 2020 flew fast and furious; many to this day believe in a stolen election, despite no evidence to the contrary.

“I think we can draw a direct line between lies about election integrity in 2020 and the passage of voter suppression laws, including new and stricter ID laws across the country,” said Lauren Kunis, Executive Director of VoteRiders in an interview with the Florida Phoenix.

What can we do as an antidote to attacks on voting, on democracy? The best antidote is delivering accurate, empowering information, to the people who need it the most. As you will read below, that includes people of color, young people, older voters, people voting for the first time as U.S. citizens.

Our democracy deserves no less.

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43,000 votes

Had Wisconsin, Georgia, and Arizona gone to President Trump in the 2020 election, the race would have been decided in the U.S. House of Representatives, where Trump would have had a procedural advantage. This scenario would have required a popular vote shift of just 0.63% or less in each of these three states, or a total of 43,000 votes. These were the closest three states. Retweet this.

77,000 votes

Somewhat similarly: in 2016, a shift of 0.77% or less in each of the three most closely contested states (Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania), or about 77,000 votes total, would have resulted in overall popular vote winner Hillary Clinton winning the Electoral College as well. Retweet this.

65%
88%

In the high-turnout 2020 presidential election, 88% of eligible voters with incomes over $75,000 turned out to vote, but fewer eligible voters with incomes below $40,000 did(65%). Making voting more accessible, through policies like easier mail-in voting, increased turnout more among lower-income voters than among those with higher incomes. So when states make voting less convenient, low-income communities are less represented. Retweet this.

18 states
38 states

According to VoteRiders, a voting advocacy organization, voter ID requirements have stiffened in 18 states since 2020 and 38 states have voter ID laws in place for the 2024 election. Retweet this.

47%

47% of Black Americans aged 18-29 lack a driver’s license with their current name and/or address. Thirty percent lack any license at all, compared to the same age range of White Americans, 5% of whom lack a license. Retweet this.

For the full report, click here.
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