Guest Commentary: Our President Is Threatening the Right to Vote, as Well as Public Safety

By Diana Becton, Garry L. McFadden and Miriam Aroni Krinsky

As we approach November, our nation’s access to a free and fair election — the very basis of our democracy — is being tested.

Over the past month, the Trump administration has launched deeply concerning and escalating attacks on the right to vote. This includes floating intimidation tactics such as sending law enforcement officers to police polling sites — reminiscent of a shameful time when Black people were kept from the polls by similar terrorization — and publicly undermining the U.S. Postal Service to mislead voters about the reliability of mail-in voting.

Most recently, the president suggested voters in North Carolina vote twice, once by mail and once at the polls, to test the integrity of the system (thereby committing a federal crime). And Attorney General Bill Barr further stoked voter fears by saying America was “playing with fire” by using mail-in voting, but he was unable to identify any evidence supporting this narrative of widespread fraud and further professed to have no knowledge as to whether the law prohibited voting twice.

Make no mistake: The Trump administration is the one playing with fire here.

These attacks on voting rights and our democracy, by our president, imperil the legitimacy of our entire government and put public safety at risk. That’s why, this past week, 79 elected prosecutors and law enforcement leaders from across the nation, including nearly a dozen attorneys general, issued a joint statement condemning these attacks. They have come together to say “the right to vote is fundamental to our democracy and our identity as Americans, regardless of political affiliation. It is a constitutional right and, ultimately, a public trust and safety issue.”

Let’s set the record straight.

From our many years of experience working in law enforcement, we know there’s simply no need for law enforcement at the polls. We have also served as public officials and know that voting by mail is a proven, reliable method of taking part in our democracy. Policing the polls is nothing but blatant voter intimidation. And it threatens to take us back to a dark time in our country, when voter intimidation was the norm for Black people and came in the form of threats of violence, lynchings and, when all else failed, an overthrow of Black elected officials by force.

Today, millions of protesters in the streets underscore that we must do everything possible to distance ourselves from that era of American history. Civil unrest across our country comes at a time when trust in our systems and institutions is at a historic low. Only 13% of people have confidence in Congress. And with the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, confidence in police fell to 48% this year, the lowest confidence level in law enforcement ever recorded by Gallup in the nearly 30 years it has been tracking public sentiment on this question. When trust in law enforcement falls, public safety suffers. Our work depends on members of the community reaching out when they need help, reporting crime, cooperating in investigations and collaborating to promote justice.

All of us will suffer if we cannot turn the tide and restore faith in the integrity of our government systems.

The safety and well-being of our communities relies on a social contract dependent on confidence in the rule of law and a system of checks and balances that holds people accountable and promotes just results. But when one of our systems is attacked and fails — especially one as integral to our democracy as free and fair elections — public trust is compromised, along with the ability for all our government systems to function, including our criminal legal system.

Right now, law enforcement leaders are facing the unprecedented challenge of keeping our communities safe and healthy in the midst of COVID-19, while also confronting systemic racism that has been a blight on American history and filled our criminal legal system with too many Black and brown bodies. As voters look at the tragic cost communities of color have paid because of COVID-19, and then turn their gaze toward equally concerning and racially disparate incarceration rates, it is critical they feel like they have the power to bring about change.

As leaders committed to justice and fairness, we are unwilling to resurrect our nation’s most shameful behaviors and we are intent on doing everything in our power to prevent it. The ability to vote safely and protect access to the ballot box for all, without intimidation, is inextricably tied to keeping our communities safe.

As we approach November, our nation’s access to a free and fair election — the very basis of our democracy — is being tested.

Over the past month, the Trump administration has launched deeply concerning and escalating attacks on the right to vote. This includes floating intimidation tactics such as sending law enforcement officers to police polling sites — reminiscent of a shameful time when Black people were kept from the polls by similar terrorization — and publicly undermining the U.S. Postal Service to mislead voters about the reliability of mail-in voting.

Most recently, the president suggested voters in North Carolina vote twice, once by mail and once at the polls, to test the integrity of the system (thereby committing a federal crime). And Attorney General Bill Barr further stoked voter fears by saying America was “playing with fire” by using mail-in voting, but he was unable to identify any evidence supporting this narrative of widespread fraud and further professed to have no knowledge as to whether the law prohibited voting twice.

Make no mistake: The Trump administration is the one playing with fire here.

These attacks on voting rights and our democracy, by our president, imperil the legitimacy of our entire government and put public safety at risk. That’s why, this past week, 79 elected prosecutors and law enforcement leaders from across the nation, including nearly a dozen attorneys general, issued a joint statement condemning these attacks. They have come together to say “the right to vote is fundamental to our democracy and our identity as Americans, regardless of political affiliation. It is a constitutional right and, ultimately, a public trust and safety issue.”

Let’s set the record straight.

From our many years of experience working in law enforcement, we know there’s simply no need for law enforcement at the polls. We have also served as public officials and know that voting by mail is a proven, reliable method of taking part in our democracy. Policing the polls is nothing but blatant voter intimidation. And it threatens to take us back to a dark time in our country, when voter intimidation was the norm for Black people and came in the form of threats of violence, lynchings and, when all else failed, an overthrow of Black elected officials by force.

Today, millions of protesters in the streets underscore that we must do everything possible to distance ourselves from that era of American history. Civil unrest across our country comes at a time when trust in our systems and institutions is at a historic low. Only 13% of people have confidence in Congress. And with the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, confidence in police fell to 48% this year, the lowest confidence level in law enforcement ever recorded by Gallup in the nearly 30 years it has been tracking public sentiment on this question. When trust in law enforcement falls, public safety suffers. Our work depends on members of the community reaching out when they need help, reporting crime, cooperating in investigations and collaborating to promote justice.

All of us will suffer if we cannot turn the tide and restore faith in the integrity of our government systems.

The safety and well-being of our communities relies on a social contract dependent on confidence in the rule of law and a system of checks and balances that holds people accountable and promotes just results. But when one of our systems is attacked and fails — especially one as integral to our democracy as free and fair elections — public trust is compromised, along with the ability for all our government systems to function, including our criminal legal system.

Right now, law enforcement leaders are facing the unprecedented challenge of keeping our communities safe and healthy in the midst of COVID-19, while also confronting systemic racism that has been a blight on American history and filled our criminal legal system with too many Black and brown bodies. As voters look at the tragic cost communities of color have paid because of COVID-19, and then turn their gaze toward equally concerning and racially disparate incarceration rates, it is critical they feel like they have the power to bring about change.

As leaders committed to justice and fairness, we are unwilling to resurrect our nation’s most shameful behaviors and we are intent on doing everything in our power to prevent it. The ability to vote safely and protect access to the ballot box for all, without intimidation, is inextricably tied to keeping our communities safe.

An election in which countless citizens are prevented from exercising their constitutional right to vote will irreparably damage trust in government. For the sake of our common good, we call on all leaders around the nation to join us in condemning these disheartening and destructive efforts. And we urge all citizens to not be intimidated — our democracy is on the line. Make a plan for voting, figure out how you’re going to vote now, and follow through.

Protecting an election process that ensures the voice of all voters will be heard is not a partisan issue — it is fundamental to our American ideals and essential to a democratic process we can and should all, jointly, stand behind.

Diana Becton is the elected district attorney of Contra Costa County. Garry L. McFadden is the sheriff of Mecklenburg County, N.C. Miriam Aroni Krinsky is the executive director of Fair and Just Prosecution and a former federal prosecutor.

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