Tennessee ranks dead last at number 50 in voter turnout. This comes as no surprise as the Souls to the Polls event held at Mt. Zion Baptist Church Antioch showed just why. Many seats were empty as panelist prepared to speak.
Minority voting is an issue that has many underlying factors. Some of these factors include redistricting and gerrymandering , Junaid Odubeko, attorney and law professor at Vanderbuilt University, did a presentation on the two topics explaining its affects and how to fix them.
The Equity Alliance is the only African American Organization of its kind in Tennessee. This organization is ran by a member that worked for free while working Full-time jobs. They are working to change the polling numbers for minorities statewide.
Citizens of the community were concerned about the upcoming elections and came out to learn more about what to aspect as midterms approach. After panelists made their presentations, the floor was open for questions. Many were concerned with if redistricting would have an effect on their vote.
Sydney Prittard, Kyle Mothershed, Jeff Yarbro, Representative Heartwell, and Junaid Odubeko sat as the panelist for the Souls to the Polls event. Each candidate talked about different but very connected roles in politics and why it mattered to vote in upcoming elections. The experts shared statistics, laws, and facts that showed why minorities aren't voting and what is being done to ensure that minorities don't vote.
Sydney Prittard , the current president of the youth NAACP chapter of Nashville explained why the upcoming Census is so important to Millennials , our community, and improvements the community would like to see. the next Census will be in 2020.
In all, it takes a lot of dedication to get the community to pay attention to the importance of voting in the upcoming elections. Every American has the right to vote, or at least that's what the Constitution says. However, more and more stipulations are put in place to deter minorities from getting to the polls. The Equity Alliance is fighting hard to change that.
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“Only two out of 12 of my friends are registered to vote” said Latasha Garrett, a volunteer for the Equity Alliance, a nonprofit group geared toward increasing minority voter participation and civic engagement. Minorities voting in America has been an uphill battle that continues to get harder as the years go by. In the 2016 presidential election, the minority vote made up only 26 percent of the overall casting according to the Pew Research Center.
According to the Census, the African American vote saw a decline for the first time in 20 years during the last election. The Latino vote remained steady, but the male vote seemed to help our current president get elected. The Asian vote barely made up nine percent. This is due to tactics like voter purging, voter id laws, and gerrymandering.
Voter purging is one of the many ways that minorities are blocked from taking part in the voting process. Purging is the removal of voter registration for various reasons with rules varying from state to state. In Tennessee, a voter can be removed for being a convicted felon, having a name change 90 days prior to the election, or missing two consecutive elections with a failure to respond to notice about it. The last voter report, which is taken every six months, showed that at least 350,000 voters were purged from the Tennessee registration back in June. During the 2004 presidential election was the first time this became a controversial problem, but as of July purging has been ruled legal by the Supreme Court.
With voter purging hard at work stopping minorities from getting to the polls, laws affecting many people of color are also put in place.
“We are a 40 percent Democratic state, every day. But you would not guess that from the laws that we pass,” said Attorney Kyle Mothershead, one of the panelist on the Souls to the Polls forum hosted by the Equity Alliance.
Higher turnouts of African American people during the 2008 election changed things for many legislators around the country. However, the voting crisis didn’t strike in Tennessee until the 2014 midterm election where the state implemented the 2011 Voter ID Law that says to vote a person must have a government issued photo ID which could range from a driver’s license to a handgun carry permit with a photo. This law hit college students, African Americans and Hispanics the hardest.
“Tennessee has the strictest voting laws in the country. We rank 40th in voter registration and 50th in voter turnout, and that is due to the Voter ID Law. We have senior citizens who never got a driver’s license or ID because it wasn’t required for them to vote. College students who may not have a state ID or license, which we are seeing more of. Then minorities in general who can’t get an ID. This law was designed to limit, and it is doing just that,” says president of Equity Alliance Charlane Oliver. The mission of her organization is to inform urban communities of the restrictions against them and help find a solution to the problem, so that they will get out and make their voice heard.
During the 2010 midterm elections, Republicans took advantage of the Census year to go in on gerrymandering. Gerrymandering is the manipulation of electoral constituency boundaries to favor one party or class, in this case, the Republican party. With gerrymandering already helping the Republicans win House seats, another strategy was put in place to further halt the advancement of the Democrats in the House. “There are many cons to gerrymandering. But one of the most important is that the individual vote loses power,” said Junaid Odubeko, attorney and law professor at Vanderbilt University.
While gerrymandering decreases the weight of the individual vote, it doesn’t just stop there. Gerrymandering also increases partisanship and polarization, makes races less competitive, and serves as the “break” of Congress leading to a rise of extremism. Gerrymandering is set to make things more difficult for minorities to vote in order to systematically sway the vote in favor of the Republican party.
The REDMAP Project created by Republican consultant and strategist Chris Jankowski was a strategic effort by the Republican State Leadership Committee, which Jankowski was the president of from February 2011 until February 2014, to win Republican control of state legislatures in the election right before the redistricting process for Congressional district lines. Following this project Republicans won all races they needed to control the key states’ redistricting. In 2012, Democrats got over one million more votes, but the Republicans gained 33 seats in the House of Representatives.
As you can see, all three of these things are serious problems as to why minorities aren’t voting. Voting all together, is not really easy process. It is something that you make time to do as an individual. As citizens the Constitution grants everyone the right to vote, but the question is does everyone really have that right to vote? Not everyone has that equal opportunity to vote. For instance, a person who has is a convicted felon, a person who has changed their name and people with no identification are stripped of their right to vote. These are factors that could easily affect anyone but not by chance it has the most daunting effects on minorities. Gerrymandering is another big issue as to why minorities aren’t voting and it is an issue that can't be fixed overnight. Gerrymandering is like a cheat sheet for politicians. It helps them get exactly who they want to ensure a win for their party. All in all, our voting system is nowhere near perfect and needs quite a bit of fixing, but the belief that one vote can make a change.
Legalizing Mary Jane
Over the course of these past few years, and in this year’s election, there has been some debating on whether or not cannabis should be legalized. Some states have already legalized it, whereas, others are just not in agreeing with legalizing it. According to the “State Marijuana Laws in Map 2018,” states such as Louisiana, West Virginia, and Oklahoma have legalized marijuana for medical uses. Other states like Alaska, California, Colorado, D.C, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington have legalized marijuana for recreational uses. Tennessee, Texas, Kentucky, and the other remaining states are against legalizing cannabis. However, if they look at the cons of legalizing marijuana, then everything will go a float. For instance, if they legalize marijuana it will reduce harm in communities, it will create jobs, save money, and promote consumer safety.
If they should legalize marijuana, they are in actuality preventing harm to the community. When you sit back and take a look at society, “the criminalization of marijuana use disproportionately harms young people, African Americans, sponsors massive levels of violence and corruption, and fails to curb youth access says the “Marijuana Legalization and Regulation.” In other words, the illegal use of marijuana is relatively harmful to the young and African Americans. Young people, and people across the world use cannabis, however, some use it more than others. If they go ahead and legalize marijuana, then they will see the reduce of harm it brings to the community.
Another reason as to why they should look into legalizing cannabis, is because it will create jobs for those in need. Think about it, “one of the nation’s largest cash crops under the rule of law.” Not only will it create jobs, but it will create economic opportunities in the formal economy instead of eliciting the market, the “Marijuana Legalization and Regulation” explains. Different states, have now opened up their own dispensary for cannabis and other legal uses. Why open up a dispensary, and not be able to use it for what it is and make money off of it. In many states, there are people who sale marijuana and make a living off of it, so why not legalize it, and allow everyone to profit from it.
Not only will legalizing marijuana create jobs, but it will also help save money. As I mentioned in the paragraph above, about people selling marijuana, people often times get caught by having it in their possession, which leads them to going to prison for doing so. Back in 2016, there were more than 587,700 people arrested for possession of marijuana. Nearly 90 percent of those arrest were made for marijuana possession. Marijuana Decriminalization and Legalization explains that “there are more arrests for marijuana possessions every year than for all violent crimes combined.” Sad to say, but in actuality, this is true. If you get caught with marijuana and any type of drugs, you get more time in prison than you do than actually committing a crime. Needless to say, if they legalized marijuana, then it will save people across the states money for not having to pay for court costs, bail bonds and lawyers as well. And in actuality have the government looking at bigger issues, and not just marijuana as a whole.
And to top it all, with the last and final reason as to the marijuana should be legalized, is that it should be prescribed for medical uses. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “The term medical marijuana refers to using the whole, unprocessed marijuana plant or its basic extracts to treat symptoms of illness and other conditions. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not recognized or approved the marijuana plant as medicine.” However, scientist are organizing a preclinical and clinical trials with marijuana. You also have quite a few elderly people using marijuana, for their glaucoma. Glaucoma is an eye condition that can cause blindness.
Voting: A Right, Now a Privilege
Ronald Reagan once said, “For this Nation to remain true to its principles, we cannot allow any American’s vote to be denied, diluted, or defiled. The right to vote is the crown jewel of American liberties, and we will not see its luster diminished.”
Yet there are laws in place that legally allow a voter’s voices to be taken away, including purging, voter ID rules that exclude traffic violators, college students, and other citizens. There are other small ways though, that are not even thought about that hinder voting like long lines or malfunctioning voting machines.
According to govtech.com, Tennessee is one of the hardest states to vote in. Shelby county, better known as Memphis, Tennessee, seemed to experience a bulk of problems this mid-term election.
“We have a 15-year history of election problems. But this one is silly season. It’s just one thing after another,” said Steven Mulroy, a law professor at the University of Memphis. According to Pew Research, voters reported that their machines weren’t functioning properly, for example the wrong candidates were appearing on the wrong ballots. Like Republican governor candidates appeared in place of Bill Lee on some ballots. Voter tampering was in full effect around the country, for example in Florida machines were unplugged. Georgia faced tampering as well and with candidates that were being watched like Andrew Gillum and Stacey Abrams, every vote mattered and had to be counted. But with faulty equipment or tracking systems, there is no true way to make every voice count. Indiana has tried to develop a fool proof method of voting counting that could be implemented around the country. They still use paper ballots and they have to be sealed shut, so just in case the machines go down there is still a way to count votes.
In Middle Tennessee, the major problems were with college students who wanted to vote. Most do not have a state issued ID or license. Therefore, it is hard to cast a vote. Another problem is that they are registered in their home county and go to school in another county. The rules for an absentee ballot say that you have to have submitted for one, seven days before an election. Then there are just some who do not know what to do at all. So Representative Jim Cooper created a graphic that was supposed to help explain how to properly vote, but it was just as complicated as the rules (see chart below). A student must register to vote in person before an election or have voted in a previous election before that they are permitted to mail in a ballot, as stated in the absentee voter registration rules of Tennessee. Senator Jeff Yarbro said, "it's critical that people establish that they are who they say they are to vote.” But there is hope because he is one of two representatives that are making it priority to address this issue. Senator Steve Dickerson is also speaking up for college students.
If citizens truly have the right to vote, why make it so complicated to cast ballots? Each year when it’s time to vote, there is always a problem that hinders voters from getting their chance to make their voice heard. In this year’s election in particular, it was the glitching of the machines, voter ID issues, and people finding out that they have been purged only when they arrive to vote. It is almost comical that at the end of the election period all of these factors start to come down on voters, particularly minorities. It has gotten to a point to where enough is enough. However, the very sad reality is that the people are being held back from doing what they are entitled to do, which is vote. Voting is a right, but it seems that since it became a right for all Americans, more stipulations have been put into place to turn this right into a privilege.
The several problems with voting this mid-term election hit many college students the hardest. From feeling discriminated against, to being told different things as to how
they can vote, these students entered the polling places confused and feeling as if their vote really doesn’t matter.
“When my friends and I got to the polling place the line was very long, but it seemed to be moving,” said Bria Anderson, senior at Middle Tennessee State University. “But when we got in line, two men that worked the polls came out and told us it would be at least forty-five minutes to an hour before we’d make it in and that we should try another polling place. We decided to stay anyway and it only took fifteen minutes.”
Anderson and her friends are a group of African American college students. She felt that she and her friends were discriminated against because of their race. “I really felt like they didn’t want us there, which is one of the main reasons we don’t go vote,” Anderson expressed.
On the other hand, some white college voters seemed to have the opposite experience while voting. “I really enjoyed voting. It was my first time and it went fairly smooth,” said Victor Zito, a junior at Motlow State Community College. “When I first got there the line was long but it moved quickly and the workers were so helpful. They came out and walked the line to tell us what we needed to have ready when we entered the polling place,” he continued.
While intentional or not so intentional racial discrimination took place during voting, another major issue was the confusion of what applied for a valid photo ID. Some Tennessee college students stated that when they registered to vote on their college campus, they were told that their college ID could stand as a valid ID to be used for voting. Unfortunately, when they made it to the polls they were put to the side because their college ID could not be accepted. Tennessee is one of the fifteen “strict voter ID” states. A strict voter ID state is a state that would reject a ballot if the voter can not present a valid ID that falls under a specific criteria. According to the Tennessee State of Secretary website, a valid photo ID is classified as: any Tennessee driver’s license with a photo, a United States passport, a photo ID issued by the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, United States Military photo ID, and a Tennessee handgun carry permit with a photo. College student IDs and photo IDs not issued by federal or Tennessee state government are not accepted. The specific criteria for what photo IDs were acceptable was a very apparent misconception for college students this mid-term election.
A MTSU student offered her opinion on what could be done to change that for elections to come. “When we registered to vote, we should’ve been given a pamphlet or something stating all the stipulations that comes with voting,” said Ryan Rogan, a junior at Middle Tennessee State University. “For many of us, it was our first time voting so I felt like we were basically just thrown in the fire to figure it out for ourselves but it could’ve been much simpler if someone had explained the ins and outs of voting to us,” she said. Voters ran into their fair share of problems during this year’s mid-terms, with most of the backlash falling on college students and minorities. From voting machine malfunctions to miscommunication on what qualifies as a valid form of ID, Middle Tennessee voters were still determined to let their voices be heard at the polls. It will take some time to work out all the kinks of the day-of voting issues, but citizens have taken the first step by getting out to the polls to be a part of the change. In the midst of all the confusion, there was a bright side to this year’s mid-term elections for Tennesseans.
According to an analysis by the political data group TargetSmart, Tennessee’s early and absentee voting totals increased tremendously since the 2014 mid-terms. The analysis showed that 98,000 people aged 18 to 29 voted early compared 13,000 in 2014. Early voting totals were very similar for other age groups. This comes as a breath of fresh air as Tennessee was ranked 40 in voter turnout for the 2014 election term.
College Apartment Issues
“It was five in the morning and I woke up to a loud BOOM coming from outside my door. My roommate and I jumped out of bed and right outside our window, we saw bounty hunters bursting through our neighbor’s front door,” says Desiree Jones, a former resident of the University Ridge Apartments. In the days following the arrest of her neighbor, Jones says management never came to seal the broken door resulting in all the neighbor’s belongings being stolen. This caused Jones and other residents to question management’s priority of tenant safety.
Crime and violence at off campus housing has raised a concern for many college students within the past few years. There have been many reports on burglaries, shootings, and petty crimes that has taken place in apartments surrounding the campus area. Students are left to feel worried and a sense of unsafety when these type events happen. The priority of safety to apartment complex property managers seems as no priority at all in the eyes of many residents. Proper preparation prevents poor performance. Though, certain crimes cannot be prevented, upgraded security measures may be able to lessen safety concerns for residents. The protocol these apartment complexes have in place do not always guarantee residents will be safe. However, it is a start to decrease the crime and ease the minds of residents.
After their first few semesters living on campus, some students feel it is necessary to move to off-campus housing. These apartments are considered a home away from home for these students. Unfortunately for some, crime in their apartments have left them uneasy. Stories like that of Desiree Jones are becoming all too common. If safety is more prioritized within management, there is a possibility that crime rates may decrease in many student apartment facilities throughout the Murfreesboro Area.
Safety
Laura Heringlake, a property manager at East Main Quarters Apartments, explained the word “safety” is a scary word for a property manager to discuss. When asked by potential tenants if the property is a safe place, Heringlake says they can’t answer that question due to Fair Housing Laws. However, they can offer what they consider amenities which are cameras, lighting, security patrol, and parking passes.
According to hud.gov, “Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act), as amended, prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of dwellings, and in other housing- related transactions, because of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, and disability.”
This poses an issue for some tenants because the Fair Housing Law does not directly explain why safety is such a “scary” word. It essentially does not touch on safety. Where properties forfeit the responsibility of guaranteeing safety to residents lies in an extensive clause in every lease. A lease from Student Quarters Rutherford and Aspen Heights both have a very similar excerpt regarding safety. In the event cameras or other security devices are installed, they are not monitored on a 24-hour basis. Each resident and their guest(s), invitee(s), is responsible for protecting his or her own person and property. These are just a few stipulations listed in both leases from different properties.
Crime
In 2017, Murfreesboro Police identified the apartment complexes they received calls from the most. College Grove apartments came in first place with over 220 calls to police within the first five months of the year from shots fired, thefts, to burglary. The police were called to The Vie 187 times during the same time frame for similar instances. Many unreported instances also occur regularly. Alexis Hatchett, a resident of Aspen Heights details her account of a several break ins in one week that management never notified the residents of.
“I only knew about the break ins because I knew one of the people whose home was broken into. The other burglary was my neighbor and his car was broken into overnight,” says Hatchett.
Conclusion
Recurring crimes cannot be stopped however, there can be more awareness to safety regarding college student apartments. Although, these unfortunate crimes took place in recent years, there can be change overtime with more safety procedures intact. It goes a long way to keep property managers and officers informed on upgraded security measures. These techniques may not prevent situations from occurring, but it gives individuals the opportunity to be aware of their surroundings and apartment community.
Takeaway Article
Living in a college apartment seems like a dream, until a relative is calling to do a wellness check. Students pay less money to live off-campus, but their safety is one of the rights they sign away. According to the lease at Student Quarters on Rutherford, “Each resident or invitees is responsible for protecting his or her own person or property.” Other apartments like East Main Quarters and Aspen Heights share a similar, if not the same phrase. Safety is not a concern or responsibility of an apartment complex or manager.
Laura Heringlake, property manager of East Main Quarters Apartments, says this is due to the Fair Housing Act laws. “The best way to find out about crime in your apartment complex is to contact the police department ask for crime reports.” Under the law, a property manager cannot discuss the crime rate or safety of their complex. Although safety assurance is not one hundred percent guaranteed, well-lit parking areas, parking passes, cameras, and security patrol are amenities provided to bring a sense of peace to certain complexes.
Crime still occurs though. “It was five in the morning and I woke up to a loud BOOM coming from outside my door. My roommate and I jumped out of bed and right outside our window, we saw bounty hunters bursting through our neighbor’s front door,” says Desiree Jones, a former resident of the University Ridge Apartments. It took a week for management to come repair the door, but not before that tenant was robbed of his belongings. The Blue continues to struggle with crime, just this past summer a visiting man was shot and dumped in the complex. To change their image, University Ridge has changed its name to The Blue and installed gates at each entrance to monitor property activity.