“Our democracy hangs in the balance. This is not an overstatement.”
— Michelle Alexander in the NY Times, June 8, 2020
Attempts to interfere in our election by Russia and other foreign players have received much deserved attention since 2016. But an even more insidious threat to our democracy may be homegrown: voter suppression.
“In a close election the rules matter,” says Rick Hasen of UC Irvine and author of Election Meltdown, “and if the rules can be manipulated it can affect the outcome of elections.”
Recognizing that voting rights are civil rights, the July selection for the MD LMP First Thursday film series is a provocative and disturbing documentary that takes a sobering look at the hydra that is voter suppression.
Narrated by Jeffrey Wright, Rigged: The Voter Suppression Playbook chronicles how our right to vote is being undercut by a decade of dirty tricks - including the partisan use of gerrymandering and voter purges, and the gutting of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court. The film captures real-time voter purges in North Carolina and voter intimidation in Texas.
We are honored to welcome a distinguished panel to discuss the film:
David Blight, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Frederick Douglass, Prophet of Freedom
Tim Smith, award-winning producer of Rigged
Gilda Daniels, Associate Professor at University of Baltimore School of Law and author of Uncounted: The Crisis of Voter Suppression in America
The cause and course of racial justice in our nation is intimately bound to the outcome of the 2020 election. It’s therefore incumbent upon all of us to understand the grave and imminent threat that voter suppression poses to “free and fair elections” and what we, as citizens, can do to protect the vote and our democracy.
Please join us on Thursday, July 2, 2020 at 7.00p for an important discussion of the issue and this film. We look forward to seeing and hearing from you then.
When you register, you will receive a link and password allowing you to screen the film on your own for free, in advance of the discussion. Attendance at the panel discussion is also free, but you must pre-register here.