Practicing social distancing as much as possible, and disinfecting before and after the March 15 meeting, members of Women for Kansas Barton County Chapter and the public viewed the documentary “Suppressed: the Fight to Vote,” followed by discussion and a celebration of SCOTUS Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s 87th birthday.
The film elicited audience sadness and anger, as the documentary followed voter suppression during Georgia’s 2018 governor’s race between Georgia’s Secretary of State Brian Kemp and Georgia Representative Stacey Abrams. If successful, she would have been the country’s first black female governor. The film wove the stories of voters from across Georgia and their attempts to vote. Voters, predominantly black, waited for 8 hours or more to vote, with some never accomplishing the task, as polling places were closed as they still stood in line waiting. In contrast, waits in white affluent neighborhoods were short, with plenty of polling places available.
One younger black woman was going to give up after waiting two hours in line because she had to return to work. But because an older black woman asked her to promise to vote, she stayed in line finally getting to the front of the line, only to find there was a problem with her registration. She was sent to another polling place, where they told her she should have been at the first polling station. She filled out a provisional ballot, being assured it would be counted. After following up over several weeks, she found out her ballot was not counted – only a certain percentage of provisional ballots were actually counted.
Georgians faced polling place closures, voter purges, missing absentee ballots, extreme wait times and voter identification issues. Many students and people of color were prevented from casting ballots, resulting in a win by Kemp, who was in charge of voting regulations as Secretary of State. Abrams lost by only 54,723 votes. (Kemp won with 50.3% of the votes versus her 48.7%, while Libertarian candidate Ted Metz received 0.9%.)
Although the film focused on Georgia’s election, statistics from other states’ voter suppression were listed, including Kansas.
After viewing the documentary, audience members discussed the film and what could be done to increase voter turnout locally, said Women For Kansas - Barton County member Pam Martin. Voter turnout in southeast Great Bend is historically low. Chapter members expressed interest in working to register voters, discussing several options. Two people shared voting problems they experienced locally.
The group then celebrated gender equality and women’s rights advocate SCOTUS Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s 87th birthday, with cake and photos with an RGB photo board. Those answering trivia questions correctly received chocolate for correct answers. RGB loves desserts! Everyone introduced themselves by telling what body part they would give up to keep RGB on the court. Answers ranged from hands and eyes to heart and soul. Participants also sang along to “Ruthie Hang On,” sung to the tune of “My Girl Sloopy” by the Yardbirds.
For more information about W4K Barton County Chapter, call Pam Martin, 620-285-1083. A DVD of “Suppressed: the Fight to Vote” is available free from bravenewfilms.org/suppressed or can be borrowed for a showing by contacting Martin.
