Justice is on the November 18th ballot!
6th November 2023 · 0 Comments
“No Justice, No Peace” echoes through the streets, from protesters marching for change to issues antithetical to Justice. We see people blocking streets, carrying signs, and shouting angrily at law enforcement officers assembled to keep the peace.
The sight of protesters speaking truth to power and demonstrating against the inaction of elected officials to do the will of the people is heartwarming and sad. It’s beautiful and great to see people stand up for their rights. But honestly, it would be much more helpful if protesters organized marches to the polls to vote.
Indeed, the low turnout during the recent Louisiana primary makes it clear that many need to be awakened to the fact that Justice is always on the ballot.
Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute defines Justice as “the ethical, philosophical idea that people are to be treated impartially, fairly, properly, and reasonably by the law and by judges of the law, that laws are to ensure that no harm befalls another, and that, where harm is alleged, remedial action is taken.”
Justice is on the November 18 Ballot. Louisianans must vote to elect a secretary of state (the official that oversees voting and business registrations), an attorney general, and a state treasurer, and voters must vote on four amendments. Ballotpedia is an excellent source for information on the upcoming ballot.
Whether we push buttons for new policies, constitutional amendments, or candidates, what we choose determines whether Justice or injustice prevails.
Voting is a civic duty, a sacred right, but more importantly, the only absolute path to Justice for Black Americans. Do we go to the polls in record numbers? Do we vote like our futures and Justice depend on who we choose to represent us or the amendments we approve? Nope.
Only 36 percent of three million registered voters cast ballots, and Governor-elect Jeff Landry got only 18 percent of the votes cast. Still, that was enough for him to claim victory.
Some political watchers blame the Democratic Party, whose members mainly are Black, for not spending more to elect democratic candidates in the recent primary where Jeff Landry, a Trump-endorsed candidate, won the governor’s race. It’s been reported that Republicans outspent Democrats in Louisiana’s race.
We don’t buy that hype. Money, or the lack thereof, isn’t the sole determining factor that drives people to the polls. Money buys political ads, but that doesn’t mean Black Louisianans blindly vote for candidates because they appear on television and in radio ads.
No. What we have here is Black voter apathy. Many Black Louisianans don’t believe in the power of their vote. They probably have yet to hear of the candidate who won office with only 12 votes more than his opponent. For sure, non-voters are unconscious when it comes to the centuries-long struggle Blacks have endured to cast ballots.
The percentage of Black or African-American voters is much higher in Louisiana, 31.9 percent, compared to the rest of the country, according to Stacker.
There are 928,975 Black registered voters, 1,870,342 white voters, and 177,295 other voters in Louisiana. There are more registered Democrats than Republicans, according to the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office.
So why is the new governor a Republican? Governor-elect Jeff Landry doesn’t believe in climate change. He is pro-life but also a death penalty advocate. Landry convinced the U.S. Supreme Court not to make ruling non-unanimous juries unconstitutional retroactive.
Apparently, we will get a Trump agenda from Landry, meaning more Black voter dilution and cuts to the social safety net.
By not voting in every election, Blacks are collectively missing opportunities to elect candidates of our choosing in statewide races. And we have ourselves to blame.
Okay. Yes, we’re preaching to the choir. But it bears reminding faithful voters and those who understand the absolute necessity for Blacks to vote in every election that we must encourage family and friends to join us at the polls.
How about riding to the polls with those without transportation or an “I Voted” backyard barbecue after leaving the polls? Don’t we love a party?
Many registered Black voters seem oblivious to the negative results of not voting.
A consequence of Black voter apathy has led to gerrymandered maps, taxation without representation, abortion bans, attacks on constitutional rights and Black history, LGBTQ rights, and no control over institutions (re: schools, state legislature, congressional offices) and the purse strings that our tax dollars create for the state. Even worse, now we have a Donald Trump clone for governor.
We’ve already been gerrymandered to death. For example, in East Baton Rouge Parish, the school board and City Council are predominately white, although the population is primarily Black. That’s a result of gerrymandering. Louisiana has six congressional districts; five seats are held by white Republicans, and a Black Democrat holds the other. Both U.S. Senate seats are held by white Republicans. And let’s not even think about state judges.
Since Landry is the governor-elect, Black Louisianans face an uphill battle to get a second majority-minority district.
After the redistricting process following the 2020 census, the new population figures showed that the Black population had increased while the white population had decreased to the extent that a second majority-minority district was needed in the six-district state – but the GOP-dominated Legislature didn’t create one. Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards vetoed the Legislature’s congressional maps for lacking a second minority-majority district, only to have Republicans in the state House override the veto and enact them anyway, NBC News reported last year.
The Fifth Circuit is deciding whether Louisiana should have a second majority-minority district. That federal bench is loaded with white Republicans, and some on the court are thought to be racists.
On November 18, the last statewide ballot measure election of 2023, voters in Louisiana will decide on an additional four constitutional amendments and pick an attorney general, treasurer, and secretary of state.
Early voting for the runoff election will occur Friday, November 3, through Saturday, November 11 (excluding Sunday, November 5, and Veterans Day on November 10) from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Black people need to turn up and turn out to vote for Justice’s sake. If we don’t vote, we’ll be in for a significant fight for our civil rights and Justice, writ large.
This article originally published in the November 6, 2023 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
