The Fourth of July is a holiday I’ve always struggled with, even before I had the words to explain it. When I was growing up in the white and wealthy suburbs of West Michigan, the Fourth of July was a holiday no one skipped. Parades, barbecues, fireworks—you name it. We even had “America Pride” themed days at my high school. I played the part, but it always left a pit in my stomach.

How was I supposed to love a country that didn’t love me back? This unconditional love, patriotism, and superiority my classmates carried along with their American flags left me feeling queasy. This is because I carried a pretty big secret: I was undocumented. So were my parents. I’ll never forget the day I was seated around my high school cafeteria with my best friends, and they began talking about immigration. They regurgitated what they had overheard from their parents, using words like “illegal immigrants', “criminals', and “closing the borders'. They had no idea they were talking about me. I left the table with tears in my eyes.

This “freedom” that everyone talked about was not available to me. In fact, I was supposedly a threat to it. But what is freedom if it’s not available to everybody?

For those of us who exist within the margins of American identity—immigrants, people of color, the disabled and the working class, political concepts have always been personal. We did not have the privilege of learning about politics in a textbook or a college lecture; we have felt, in our bodies, how our political systems harm our communities all of our lives.

The U.S. is built on the false pillars of democracy and very real pillars of white supremacy. I am constantly reminded that this isn’t a broken system; it’s a system functioning exactly as designed. The oppression of immigrants is a necessary part of how our systems work.

The best way to keep a community oppressed is to remove their power to change their circumstances. There are several well known, well researched tactics that the U.S. uses to disenfranchise communities - to take away their voice and ability to effect political change. Voter suppression is one of them and it’s something we don’t talk about enough. It is the most sinister tool of white supremacy; it weaves itself into the fabric of our culture so intricately that we are taught not to notice it.

As I look at our political systems and the power of voting - something I still do not have the privilege to do - I’m reminded of a quote by Sara Ahmed: “If whiteness gains currency by being unnoticed, then what does it mean to notice whiteness?”.

On a larger scale, voter suppression perpetuates imperialism. We can’t vote to protect our communities on a local or global scale, so things like genocides keep being funded by officials we can’t vote out of office.

This election year, I’d like to illuminate the well known but unnoticed ways white supremacy bars immigrants and people of color from voting. I’d like to remind you that this demographic comprises over 50 million people.

Voting in Immigrant Communities

There are 12 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. who can’t vote. These 12 million individuals are a significant lifeline for our economy, providing a crucial workforce that includes our farmworkers, day laborers, restaurant and hotel staff, and more. These 12 million individuals also pay taxes, summing up to tens of billions of dollars that go into our local, state, and federal economies each year. These 12 million lives have few pathways to become legal residents of the country they call home, because our economy depends on their exploitation. Not being able to vote ensures that these individuals remain exploited.

In addition to undocumented immigrants, the U.S. is home to 35 million documented immigrants. Many of these individuals will live their entire lives working, paying taxes, buying homes and starting families in the U.S.. They also can’t vote. It is illegal for non-citizens to vote, so even permanent residents do not have a political voice. Pathways to citizenship for these immigrants are incredibly limited, take many years, and require a lot of money. This suppression carries a legacy, with many first generation kids not able to inherit political literacy or know their legal rights. This lack of access to generational knowledge perpetuates inequalities.

Many immigrants and individuals who speak English as a second language, or don’t speak it at all, are excluded from voting. Studies show more than eight million U.S. voting-age citizens don’t speak English well enough to vote, and lack of translation services for mail-in ballots, online instructions, and even election offices themselves make voting impossible for those who don’t speak English.

This leaves us with 47 million people, immigrants, who cannot vote.

Voting in Indigenous, Rural and impoverished Communities

Indigenous reservations exist in the most rural pockets of the so-called United States. They are purposefully isolated from basic necessities such as running water, electricity, and fresh foods. It is no different when it comes to voting, with over 1 million of people having little to no access to nearby drop boxes and election offices. Many folks living on reservations do not have residential addresses, so they cannot register to vote in many states. Others have limited access to PO boxes and mailing in general, so mail-in ballots are not an option. With vote ID laws becoming more strict, most states no longer accept the use of tribal IDs to register as a voter.

In addition to all of these laws that disproportionately target Indigenous communities, the factors of rurality and poverty compound the voter suppression. Anyone living in a rural community may have to drive long distances to reach their closest election office, sometimes hundreds of miles. Studies find that election offices are closer and more plentiful in more affluent, white communities than they are in Black and brown rural communities. Having to travel long distances often requires private transportation, taking time off work, and finding daycare if you have children. All of these factors create real barriers for working class or impoverished communities who don’t own cars, work multiple jobs, and can’t afford to miss work let alone pay for daycare.

Voting in Incarcerated Communities

People who hold felony convictions are restricted or downright forbidden to vote in most states. That’s 1 in 50 adult U.S citizens, or another 5.2 million people. People with felony convictions are disproportionately Black and Indigenous People of Color. This is because our carceral systems are rooted in white supremacy. Our “free country” has one of the highest numbers of incarcerations per capita in the world, and 28% of Black men spend their lives in jail. So when we create laws to suppress voting for folks who hold felonies, we are really just targeting the Black community. One in 19 African Americans of voting age is disenfranchised, a rate 3.5 times that of non-African Americans. This racial discrimination has become more clear than ever before, with our very own Donald Trump being allowed to run for president as he is currently charged with 34 felonies.

Voting in Disabled Communities

Did you know that it is a crime to assist someone with their voting, or even hand out water while they are in line at the ballot?

Many polling locations do not have ramps for wheelchair access, do not have interpreters or translators to assist in the need of Disabled folks. By restricting vote-by-mail, curbside voting, and ballot drops, voting is becoming increasingly difficult for everyone, but the access issues are disproportionately felt by Disabled folks.

A 2020 Rutgers study showed that 11% of voters with disabilities, or 1.9 million people, had some type of difficulty voting.

While it’s important to continue spreading awareness about voter suppression, and to continue advocating against it, the real weight of this issue and this article is to remind those of you who can vote just how important it truly is. Exercising a right, using your privilege in a space where many folks of color cannot show up leaves you with a greater responsibility. Use your vote to advocate for those of us who can’t.

Citations

The barriers to voting faced by Americans with disabilities. Campaign Legal Center. (n.d.). https://campaignlegal.org/update/barriers-voting-faced-americans-disabilities
Fact sheet: Disability and voter turnout in the 2020 elections. (n.d.-a). https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/document_library/files/Fact_sheet_on_disability_and_voter_turnout_in_2020_0.pdf
Fichera, A. (2023, September 21). Immigrants pay taxes and housing costs, regardless of status. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/fact-check-immigrants-taxes-rent-vaccine-requirements-983035929946
Garber, A., Waldman, M., Verhovek, K. K., Morris, K., Henry, C., & Clapman, A. (2024, July 9). The impact of voter suppression on communities of color. Brennan Center for Justice. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/impact-voter-suppression-communities-color
Lifetime likelihood of going to state or Federal Prison. (n.d.-b). https://bjs.ojp.gov/content/pub/pdf/Llgsfp.pdf
Previti, E. (2020, October 31). Millions of U.S. voters risk missing the historic 2020 election because their English isn’t good enough. WHYY. https://whyy.org/articles/millions-of-u-s-voters-risk-missing-the-historic-2020-election-because-their-english-isnt-good-enough/

Voter Suppression in Marginalized Communities

Voting in Immigrant Communities

Voting in Indigenous, Rural and impoverished Communities

Voting in Incarcerated Communities

Voting in Disabled Communities