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Leecia Eve: It’s Time to Reclaim Our Voter Power

Amsterdam News (June 15, 2006)
It’s Time to Reclaim Our Voter Power
By Leecia Eve

This week we once again celebrate Juneteenth, commemorating the period in 1865 when Union soldiers came to Galveston, Texas to announce that the Civil War was over, President Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation (two and a half years earlier), and enslaved people of African descent were now free. (It was the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, however, passed by Congress in January 1865, and ratified by the states in December of that year, that outlawed slavery everywhere in the United States, not just in areas under rebel control, as the Emancipation Proclamation addressed.)

Juneteenth is a time for paying respect to the indescribable suffering of millions of Americans of African descent and celebrating their hard-fought freedom. It is also a period of reflection and renewal.

Some of the earliest Juneteenth events in the late 1800s were political rallies used to teach African Americans about their voting rights. This is a challenge that exists today, particularly with respect to those convicted of crimes who have fully repaid their debt to society and who, at least under New York law, are in fact eligible to vote.

While I was a candidate for Lieutenant Governor, I often talked about the need for engaging people in the political process who had either never been engaged before or who had at one time been engaged but who had become so disaffected that they had become disconnected from the process. Though I am no longer a candidate, I remain steadfast in my commitment to this issue.

Millions of men and women, right here in New York State, have chosen time and time again not to vote. This, at a time when what happens in government will have consequences for generations to come. American lives are being risked every day to promote democracy around the world, but our democracy is weak right here at home.

In November 2002, there were 11.2 million New Yorkers registered to vote and an estimated additional 2 million who were eligible but who were not registered. That's more than 13 million New Yorkers who could have voted in 2002, making history by electing New York's first African-American Governor, and yet, only 4.6 million New Yorkers - about one out of every three - took the time to vote. I believe New York can, and must, do better.

Yes, 2002 was not a presidential election year, but even during presidential elections, year after year, New York State continually ranks near the bottom among the fifty states in terms of the percentage of people that vote. Indeed, in 2004, New York was ranked 46th out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of voter participation.

The numbers are particularly dismal when it comes to young people, African Americans and Hispanics. In 2004, in New York State, only one out of every seven 18-to 24-year olds, one out of every three people of African descent, and one out of every five Hispanics who were eligible actually voted.

This is very troubling because our communities and state will only be as great as the extent to which many more of us play a role in determining our collective future. So much is at stake, including the quality of the education our children receive, the need for quality and affordable housing and healthcare and for many more good-paying jobs with good benefits, the safety and security of our communities, and fulfilling the promise of a just New York and America for everyone.

Is voting the answer to everything? Of course not; life’s not that simple. But when you don’t vote, you let someone else make a choice for you. You give away your proxy.

There are approximately 4 million African Americans and Hispanics and millions of young adults in New York State that are of voting age, and who, if energized, could play a primary role in helping to move both New York and the nation forward.

We founded an organization called SHOW UP New York to try and do everything we can to encourage many more New Yorkers to "just show up" and exercise one of their most basic constitutional rights, the right to vote, and to continue to make their voices heard about the issues of concern to them and their families beyond any given election, when the governing begins.

In this period of celebration, reflection, and renewal, I hope you will join me in convincing many of our brothers and sisters to take a few minutes, just two or three times a year, to let their voices be heard in one of the most powerful ways possible, by simply voting. We will all be the better for it.

Leecia Eve is a former candidate for New York State Lieutenant Governor and Counsel to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. She was the principal drafter of the “Count Every Vote Act,” comprehensive federal legislation designed to ensure that every vote cast is counted. She is also the Founder and Chair of SHOW UP New York, which is focused on increasing the level of civic participation among young people and people of color across New York State.

Mixer For Ferrer
Who Is Leecia Eve?

Network North Star Holds 7th Annual Women’s Leadership ... WebWire (press release), GA - Jun 15, 2006 Network North Star, an employee resource group for African American employees at Kodak, will hold its 7th Annual Women’s Leadership Conference on June 20-21 at Crowne Plaza hotel on State Street. The conference theme is “Succeeding Amidst Corporate Change - Be Comfortable, Be Capable, Be Viable, Be Visible.” ....... The Keynote Speaker is Leecia Eve , Founder and Chair "Show Up New York.” Leecia Roberta Eve, former Counsel to Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton, is the Founder and Chairperson of Just Show Up, an organization dedicated to engaging New Yorkers in the voting process. She is a former Vice President of the Minority Bar Association of Western New York and is a member of The LINKS Incorporated and of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

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