{"id":817,"date":"2025-08-23T13:15:23","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T13:15:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/?p=817"},"modified":"2025-08-23T14:08:29","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T14:08:29","slug":"voting-rights-act-your-voice-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/2025\/08\/23\/voting-rights-act-your-voice-matters\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWho Cares if I Vote?\u201d: Why Your Voice Matters 60 Years After the Historic Voting Rights Act"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"817\" class=\"elementor elementor-817\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0bef9e6 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"0bef9e6\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6a40735 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6a40735\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On August 6, 1965, the <\/span><b>Voting Rights Act<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was signed into law\u2014a game-changer that broke down the walls keeping millions of Black folks and other marginalized communities from the ballot box. No more literacy tests. No more poll taxes. No more excuses for shutting people out of democracy.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sixty years later, the fight isn\u2019t over. This anniversary isn\u2019t just about looking back\u2014it\u2019s about checking ourselves and asking, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAm I showing up and honoring the legacy of what my people fought for?\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ac51871 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"ac51871\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Why the Voting Rights Act Still Hits Different\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-17388f7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"17388f7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Voting Rights Act wasn\u2019t just paperwork\u2014it was power. It gave a voice to those who\u2019d been silenced for generations. But here\u2019s the thing: over the years, pieces of that law have been chipped away.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These days, we\u2019re facing a different kind of hustle to keep people from voting:<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Strict ID laws<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that make it harder for seniors, students, and low-income folks to cast a ballot.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Fewer polling places<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in certain neighborhoods, meaning longer lines and more frustration.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Confusion about mail-in voting<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and shifting registration deadlines.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/li><\/ul><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It might look different than it did in the \u201860s, but the end goal is the same, keeping some voices out of the conversation.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5f39b29 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"5f39b29\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">\u201cMy One Vote Don\u2019t Matter\u201d \u2014 That\u2019s Cap<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6edf5d0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6edf5d0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A lot of people think, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhat\u2019s the point? My one vote won\u2019t change anything.\u201d<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> But history says otherwise:<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Local elections have been decided by just a handful of ballots\u2014sometimes literally a single digit.<\/span><p>\u00a0<\/p><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Public votes on local issues\u2014like schools, housing, and jobs\u2014have swung one way or the other because only a few people showed up.<\/span><p>\u00a0<\/p><\/li><\/ul><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The takeaway? Big changes don\u2019t happen all at once\u2014they start small. And every small step starts with <\/span><b>your<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> ballot.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Skipping the vote is basically giving your power away for free.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bb2c0d3 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"bb2c0d3\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Why Local Elections Are the Real Plug<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b2abfd7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"b2abfd7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Everybody gets hyped about presidential elections, but it\u2019s the local stuff that hits your life the hardest:<\/span><\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Food Access:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Local leaders decide where grocery stores and farmer\u2019s markets get built\u2014or don\u2019t.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Housing:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> They set the rules for rent control, affordable housing, and tenant rights.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Healthcare:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> State and city officials control funding for clinics, mental health services, and reproductive care.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Education:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> School boards make the call on funding, curriculum, and teacher pay.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/li><\/ul><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re not at the table, you\u2019re on the menu\u2014and your community feels it.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8d44525 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"8d44525\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">60 Years Later: The Legacy\u2019s in Your Hands\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-97dad6a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"97dad6a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People marched, got locked up, lost jobs, and even lost their lives just so we could <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">step into a booth and make a choice.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Think about the courage it took to face dogs, hoses, and beatings on \u201cBloody Sunday\u201d in Selma, Alabama. They didn\u2019t go through all that for us to sit home on Election Day scrolling TikTok.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Voting is more than a right\u2014it\u2019s a responsibility. And 60 years later, it\u2019s still one of the loudest ways we can speak.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a021106 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"a021106\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Get Your Vote Game Tight<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d349d3e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d349d3e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Register to vote<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Don\u2019t wait \u2018til the last minute. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/olvr.ohiosos.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Register here.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/a><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Know your ID rules<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Make sure you\u2019ve got what your state requires.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/li><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Early voting<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Skip the lines and vote early at the local Board of Elections in your county. Board of Elections can be hyperlinked to this site:\u00a0 <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohiosos.gov\/elections\/voters\/toolkit\/early-voting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">https:\/\/www.ohiosos.gov\/elections\/voters\/toolkit\/early-voting\/<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul><p>\u00a0<\/p><ul><li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Find your polling place<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ohiosos.gov\/elections\/voters\/toolkit\/polling-location\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">www.ohiosos.gov\/elections\/voters\/toolkit\/polling-location\/<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to know exactly where to go.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><br \/><\/span><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0ae61fd elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"0ae61fd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Bottom Line<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f3fd9e1 e-grid e-con-full e-con e-child\" data-id=\"f3fd9e1\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fb94f1b elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"fb94f1b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, \u201cWho cares if I vote?\u201d\u2014<\/span><b>your family does, your community does, and the people who fought for you to have the right sure as hell do.<\/b><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t let their fight be in vain. Your voice matters. Your ballot matters. And when you use it, you\u2019re not just remembering history but you\u2019re making it.<\/span><\/p><p><b>Learn More:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> For a deeper dive into history, check out the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.archives.gov\/milestone-documents\/voting-rights-act\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> U.S. National Archives\u2019 Voting Rights Act Exhibit.<\/span><\/a><\/p><p><b>Want to get involved or connect with us?<\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/contact\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Contact Us Here.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4e97eae elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"4e97eae\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" src=\"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/black-female-citizen-voting-at-polling-station-during-elections-in-usa--1024x682.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-268\" alt=\"Voting Rights Act\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/black-female-citizen-voting-at-polling-station-during-elections-in-usa--1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/black-female-citizen-voting-at-polling-station-during-elections-in-usa--300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/black-female-citizen-voting-at-polling-station-during-elections-in-usa--768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/black-female-citizen-voting-at-polling-station-during-elections-in-usa--1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/black-female-citizen-voting-at-polling-station-during-elections-in-usa--700x467.jpg 700w, https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/black-female-citizen-voting-at-polling-station-during-elections-in-usa--1200x800.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/black-female-citizen-voting-at-polling-station-during-elections-in-usa--500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/black-female-citizen-voting-at-polling-station-during-elections-in-usa-.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2366525 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"2366525\" data-element_type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On August 6, 1965, the Voting Rights Act was signed into law\u2014a game-changer that broke down the walls keeping millions of Black folks and other marginalized communities from the ballot box. No more literacy tests. No more poll taxes. No more excuses for shutting people out of democracy. Sixty years later, the fight isn\u2019t over. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[33,32],"class_list":["post-817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-voting","tag-voting","tag-voting-rights-act"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=817"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":828,"href":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/817\/revisions\/828"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/818"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ohiounity.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}