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Santigold on Voter ID Laws

Santigold / Photo by Sean Thomas

Something that really concerns me is that people get discouraged because the election process is like watching a bad comedy. It’s all just slander advertisements. It’s really sad that this is what it’s come to, and it seems like there’s no point. But there is always a point, because if we don’t practice the use of our voices to make a difference than we lose that power.

This whole election process in our country has gotten really warped and so far away from what it’s supposed to be. It’s being manipulated all over the place in a way that doesn’t serve the people. It’s really important for us to stay aware and stay engaged and deal with all the stupid new voting red tape and make sure that we still use our vote to keep the country as close as possible to being run by the politicians that we choose.

Voter ID laws can seem completely random from state to state. It’s clear that the point of them, since they’re especially difficult in swing states, is to discourage voting. It’s really sad, because it’s hard to get people to vote, especially young people. When people want to vote, they should be able to vote. Then you end up getting these laws: If you don’t have a drivers license or if you don’t have the right type of ID, you can’t vote. A lot of people are going to just be like, “Eh, whatever.”

It’s unbelievable: first we had all the bullshit in Bush’s 2000 election with stealing votes and faulty voting, so the Republicans started there, and now disenfranchisement has gotten to a point where it’s legislated. It’s just ridiculous. So that’s the main thing for me. The first thing that people need to do is find out what the voter registration laws are in their area and then make sure that they time to get the proper ID so they can actually vote.

Obviously for the Democrats it’s less beneficial for students and poor people not to vote. So they’re not going to be the ones pushing for that. Voting laws are part of a political strategy. Think about who they stand to benefit.

As told to David Marchese