We have a ton of rights as citizens of The United States of America. One of our more important rights is the right to vote. In any democracy, it is the citizens that head out to vote to determine who will represent them from a government standpoint. Think about it – we all get to vote for someone based on the morals we live by. It’s a good thing that every eligible citizen is registered and allowed to vote – or are they? That is what All In: The Fight for Democracy attempts to teach us.
The story begins with the most battle in Georgia for Governor. In that contest it was Stacey Abrams vs Brian Kemp. In this very closely contested matchup, even the candidates had their issues being able to vote. How could that be, you ask? How could the greatest country in the world (not anymore according to Newsroom) possibly have any kind of voter suppression? The reality is that the battle for voter rights for Black people, Hispanic people, Asian people, and women has been raging on in this country for generation after generation.
Over the years, this country has done everything possible to stop certain people from voting. There have been laws passed having to do with poll taxes so the poor couldn’t afford to vote, or literacy tests for those that couldn’t get a good education. Another law that came to fruition happened in Florida and it stated that if you are a felony, you couldn’t vote – we are the only democracy in the world to do this. It got so bad that at one point, only 3% of all eligible Black people actually could vote. In 2016 in Georgia, 70% of Black people had some type of voter restriction despite having a population of 32% Black.
This documentary points out a lot of areas of concern when it comes to voter suppression. No matter which side you are on, it should be of utmost importance that everyone has the same chance to vote with little to no restrictions. It is always in the best interest of the democracy for everyone to have his or her voice heard. I think All In: The Fight For Democracy does an excellent job of teaching us all of the changes that our voter laws have gone through over the years. It is imperative that we all make sure we are registered to vote and that we follow through with our right to vote. Catch this one on Amazon Prime and get fired up to vote!
The Verdict:
