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ISSUE

Voting Rights

Every Eligible American Must Have The Opportunity To Use
Their Voice At The Ballot Box

Since the 2020 election, voter suppression has increased in many states around the country. 

The voter suppression playbook includes tactics such as partisan gerrymandering, long lines in minority communities, voting and voter registration practices that disproportionately affect minorities, excessive voter purges, and lack of early voting in places like Mississippi. Some have done their best to make it more difficult for Americans–Mississippians included–to vote by ranting about “voter fraud” (despite offering absolutely no proof that such is actually occurring regularly), and instituting measures that discriminate against poor and minority voters.

 

Ty believes that, as voting is one of our most fundamental rights and the best way that the average American can make his or her voice heard, we must make voting as easy and as efficient as possible for all eligible citizens. No one should be denied a vote simply because lack of resources, lack of time, age, belonging to “the wrong party,” or skin color prevents them from carrying out this sacred duty as a citizen. 

 

Not only that, we need to respect the everyday Americans, dedicated community members of all parties and no party, who freely volunteer their time, effort and spirit of public service to make sure that we have free and fair elections, and true and accurate vote counts. They are the bedrock of our democratic system, and shrieking hysterically and baselessly about “election fraud” undermines the valuable service that these people perform for our country, state and local communities. They must be treated with respect, and their work supported and protected.

 

In the spirit of great leaders like Congressman John Lewis, Fannie Lou Hamer, Medgar Evers, and so many others, many of whom have risked their lives and even shed their own blood to guarantee the universal right to vote, Ty understands that voting is our voice–among the absolute most important rights we have in our democracy. All Mississippians must have the opportunity to use their voice at the ballot box. 

 

That’s why Ty believes the best way to honor the legacy of those who fought so hard for voting rights in the past is to restore the Voting Rights Act that was gutted by the Supreme Court. Like so many states have recognized, we must institute early voting in Mississippi, and we must make sure that people who, for legitimate reasons cannot make it to the polling place, can still have their vote counted. We must have fair, open and safe elections in which every eligible citizen can participate. 

 

Ty will propose legislation that would, in years in which general elections are held, make election day a national holiday. We would celebrate Veterans Day on that day, as the right to have a free vote and fair representation was one of the foremost rights our brave ancestors gave their lives for. Nothing could be more appropriate than celebrating our veterans on the day that we go to the polls to commemorate their sacrifice by casting our votes.

 

That’s why, if elected Ty will focus on three things: 

 

  • Prioritize federal voting rights protections;

  • Support legislation to combat voter suppression efforts such as the Preventing Election Subversion Act introduced by Senator Raphael Warnock;

  • Help get the Freedom To Vote Act passed; and

  • Make election day a national holiday

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