In 2024, we are confronting a major election year with history and the rights of marginalized communities on the ballot. The disparities that Black and Brown people confront in this country are significant and growing from housing and employment to access to health care and access to capital. The Sundial Group of Companies which includes ESSENCE, the Global Black Economic Forum, Girls United, AfroPunk, BeautyCon and New Voices Foundation are coming together, along with our partners, to mobilize and ensure that we educate, mobilize and register voters to take action this November and into the future.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00We're going to be joined again by Emily McMorris and Sophia Dennis and Rochelle Dennis.
00:06So let's talk about the first issue that I think many people are confused about is identification.
00:12Okay, I'm registered to vote, and I'm going to go out and vote in November. Do I have to
00:16take my photo ID with me? What do we think the answer is? And this will be a multiple choice.
00:24Yes, you have to take your ID with you. No, you don't have to take your ID with you. And C,
00:34it depends.
00:39We're asking us?
00:40Yes.
00:41I would say yes, because I feel like you need to have some sort of government documentation.
00:48Okay. Any person disagree? Do you have to take an ID with you when you are going to vote?
00:59Ooh, timid group. So it's a trick question. It depends.
01:03Right. I was about to say, it depends on where you are. I know in Maryland, I don't need my
01:08driver's ID. I have my state registration. And when I come in, they just ask me my name. They
01:13ask me where, and they ask me my address. But we are, I will say, quickly seeing across states,
01:22many states have been enacting so many different voter registration laws that are changing,
01:29and people are going to go to their precincts and not know what to do, or even if that precinct is
01:35even still there, because they are constantly moving the goalposts on these things. So it
01:40depends on the state that you are in.
01:43And so for many people who say, well, then that's even more confusing. What do I do?
01:47Go to vote.gov. There are many other websites that you can go to that you can check your local laws,
01:53and it will tell you whether you need to show up with a photo ID or driver's license or passport,
01:58and if so, under what circumstances. Now, second question is, okay, I don't have to show up with
02:06my ID in certain states, but I see that they're asking for ID, but only of certain people.
02:15What do you do then? What do we think the answer is? I go to vote. I know in my state,
02:22I don't need to show up with a driver's license or a passport, but I see that the Black woman,
02:29they asked her for her ID, and the Black man, they asked him for his ID. What do I do?
02:34So this is not... Go ahead. No, you go ahead.
02:42I think this may tie back to what Lene was discussing earlier about having different
02:48people who are stationed at polling locations to basically police and just ensure that everybody
02:56is being treated equally and fairly. And those people being stationed there would be able to
03:01report that people are being treated unfairly and that certain people are being, basically,
03:08being given the runaround and being told different information and being given hurdles to jump
03:13through while trying to vote. And I would say, go to a poll watcher.
03:18So that's why this is important. Two things, not just go to a poll watcher, because
03:23depending where you are, it may work a little differently. But I also, and I know, Alfonso,
03:30you've talked about this, I would encourage everybody to also have a number on you that
03:36you can call and report the DOJ has a number, and I believe you said a group before, Alfonso,
03:46but there are numbers that you can call to report them immediately. I see some of the comments
03:50coming in. You need to report it immediately. I would also say, before you get to that,
03:56please think, before you know, know your rights. We always talk about knowing your
04:01rights in criminal justice. Know your voting rights. Also know if your name has been removed
04:07from the poll, because what Georgia is trying to enact in allowing everyday citizens to question
04:14whether or not their neighbor is able to vote or not and get your name removed is huge.
04:22Indeed. Indeed. And so for folks, all of those are correct. If you see conduct at a voting booth
04:30where Black people are being asked to do one thing, but White people aren't being asked to
04:33do the same thing, there are a number of things you can do, including talking to a poll station
04:38watcher. But you can also call election protection watchers. So the Global Black Economic Forum,
04:45in essence, we have a partnership with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law.
04:50And that partnership means that when you go into a voting booth or you go to a polling station and
04:56you see conduct that doesn't look right, you can call several numbers. There are voter helplines.
05:02One is 866-OUR-VOTE. Easy to remember. 1-866-OUR-VOTE. And you can call if you are the
05:11target of voter suppression or if you see others that are being targeted and they can provide
05:16support as well. Voter intimidation was such a huge...
05:23I really want people to understand that we've seen, even as a reporter, we've covered stories,
05:27they have had rallying calls for people in many Southern states to stand outside in places,
05:34especially where you're allowed to carry your weapons and practice voter intimidation. I mean,
05:40literally just standing there and being a presence, scaring people to not come to the poll,
05:48to not come out to the poll. So this is real, but it is because the threat wouldn't be so real if
05:54they didn't understand the power that you have. Yes. So let's shift to another common question
06:00that we hear, which is if anyone has an interaction with the criminal justice system,
06:05right? If you've had any type of interaction with the criminal justice system,
06:09question is, can you still vote? Yes or no?
06:16So it depends.
06:20Are you talking about felonies? In some states, some states allow for... If you are a former
06:30felon, let me just say that, and have a record, you've served your time, you are able to vote.
06:40That is not in every state. That's why we're saying no, if you can or not, before you go.
06:44Some states do allow that. And here's the thing, another reason why it's important to vote,
06:50because that may be a referendum. So when we're talking about that down ballot,
06:55these are measures that you're also voting for in your area. I know we talked about the
07:00president, but you need to see what referendums are going to be on that ballot, because we've
07:05seen many states coming out and pushing to allow, if I've done my time, why am I not able to...
07:12These are tactics that people use to keep people from voting, and you got to know that they are
07:18targeted. Correct, correct. And to put a finer point on that for those,
07:24it falls into several different categories. So there are certain states where your voting
07:29rights are retained, even while you're in prison for a felony conviction. There are very few,
07:34Maine, Vermont, and DC. And then there are other states where voting rights are restored
07:39automatically after you get out of prison. So right after you get out of prison, your voting
07:44rights are restored. That's California, and Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania, and a few other states.
07:51And then there are states where your voting rights are restored automatically after you
07:55complete a sentence, including prison, and probably parole and probation. That's to
08:01Ebony's Point, Georgia, is one of those states, or West Virginia. And then you have those states
08:06where they are trying to take away your right to vote just because you've had some interaction
08:12with the criminal justice system. So once again, make sure you check your local laws to understand
08:18what your rights are. And all of these resources are publicly available. That's a question we often
08:23hear. And I think we have one more question, which is certification, right? Certification of votes.
08:30So after you vote, will the election that you're voting in be certified?
08:39And the answer is yes. The Department of State in every single state is responsible
08:47for certifying the election. And so that is their role. So after you vote, they're supposed to count
08:53those votes, along with a number of other agencies that are involved, and then certify
08:59those votes through the electoral process. I'm sure there may be many, many other questions,
09:04but Ebony? I was going to say, on that certification, we can't forget what happened
09:11in Georgia. Can't forget that infamous call where somebody called and said, I need 11,870 votes.
09:17Can you get it for me? That's why it's important. Can't forget that call. And we cannot forget what
09:29is so important, why it is important to have civic engagement. Because when we talk about
09:35the president and everything else, it is also important for us to begin to look at other roles
09:39we can fill when it comes to voting, to become an elector, whether or poll watcher or something.
09:47We must all really become more civic engaged, because it's not like we can't have that call
09:52again. Exactly right. Somebody may go through with the call. But Georgia gave us Senator Raphael
10:06Warnock, John Ossoff, and then Dems got the House. That's how important that was.
10:13And that was the precursor for what kicked off January 6. And this is why we are doing this
10:21town hall. This is the first of many engagements that we will be taking a part in for Paint the
10:28Polls Black. This is an important election, as you've heard, during this entire town hall,
10:32and we thank all of you for joining us. Closing comments, I'll start with Rochelle,
10:36and then we'll go to Sophia and Ebony. Yeah. So just to really close out,
10:43we've already talked about the importance of mobilizing young voters to get out and vote.
10:48The power is really within us to really set what we want our future to look like.
10:54Everything is being impacted from where we go to school to our jobs. And really,
11:01we have an active role in securing our future. And as we do more of these, it is really important
11:08to also encourage your friends to vote, the people around you to vote, because if we're not voting,
11:13we don't have a voice. So make sure that you're encouraging everybody in your life to get out
11:19and vote. Doesn't matter how young you are, you have a voice. And that's what I want to
11:22leave everybody with. Sophia?
11:26Yes, absolutely. As we sit here today and discuss the political process, getting involved in the
11:33political process, especially for young people who may be first-time voters discovering their
11:39political identity, it is incredibly important for us to remember that voter apathy is not the
11:46solution, will never be the solution. And anytime you are faced with that, you must continue to
11:52encourage people to go out and vote and to encourage people to find faith in the democratic
11:58process. While it's really important for us to encourage people to vote, it's also really
12:04important for us to give others the tools and the information and the infrastructure to get other
12:11people active, to encourage others, to interact with others on a political level. So while we're
12:17having these conversations about getting people out there to vote, it's also really important for
12:22us to also give people the tools to also inform others, to have political conversations, to create
12:30these communities where they can engage with one another, where they can register to vote with
12:35their friends, where they can go out and vote with their friends and to really engage in politics in
12:40a fun and interesting way. So go register to vote, become politically active, have these
12:47conversations with your friends, and yeah, that's that's my message.
12:53Ebony? Really quickly, I just want to say this. I spoke with a number of civil rights
12:59organizations and they said the biggest thing that they fear this time is misinformation and
13:03disinformation. So I encourage people that as they are talking around the kitchen table with
13:09their friends and families, that they are sourcing the information that they get. They are repeating
13:15what is facts, but may not always be popular. I want to thank you, Alphonsa, for allowing me to
13:21even be here on today. I appreciate it. As a member of the Black press and one of the very few
13:27members of Black owned and operated stations that's in that White House briefing room,
13:32I'm telling you that there is so much more at stake than we know. And as said before,
13:38this is not just about Trump or Harris. This is generational. Your votes are generational.
13:46This is about the courts. This is about kitchen table issues that you talk about all the time and
13:51how it's going to affect your life. So I just want everyone to leave here and remember
13:57that your vote is your power. Don't give up your power.
14:04Thank you. Thank you, Ebony. Thank you, Sophia. Thank you, Rochelle. Thank you, all of you for
14:08joining us. Thank you to all the speakers who also joined us this evening. We hope that you
14:14have more information. We hope that you are registered to vote. And if you're not, we hope
14:19that you do get registered to vote. As you've heard throughout this town hall, our right to
14:24vote is sacred. And if we don't exercise it, someone else will. And their vote will decide
14:31the trajectory of our lives. So we hope this serves as a meaningful resource to you.
14:36I want to thank the Sundial Group of Companies, which includes Essence and the Global Black
14:41Economic Forum and Girls United and Afropunk and Refinery29 and Beautycon and the New Voices
14:48Foundation for helping to support this town hall. The stakes here are high. And we want to make sure
14:53that you all have the information, the resources, and the support to exercise your constitutional
14:59right to vote and protect your future. Please visit paintthepolls.com. Over the next few weeks
15:05and months, we will be adding more information and resources to the site. And please stay tuned
15:11for more town halls to make sure that we are keeping you as informed as we can through this
15:17historic election year. Thank you again for joining us.