Voter Suppression and Protecting Voting Rights in Mississippi, National Medical Association

MEMORANDUM on Voter Suppression and Protecting Voting Rights in Mississippi, National Medical Association

Problem Statement: Mississippi has a vast history of being a state with the strictest voting laws, lowest voter turnout, and is well-known for suppressing its citizen’s constitutional right to vote. With the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965, the United States was able to open political opportunity and equality for Black and other communities of color to participate in all parts of the justice system and find equality. However, long before the passing of this act, there has been a steady agenda for states like Mississippi to enact laws to prohibit voting policies. Mississippi has continually seen a history of voter suppression and disenfranchisement which has continued through present day with irreversible consequences such as the striking health disparities that persist.  It is crucial that Mississippi amend the prohibitive voter suppression tactics to give each of its citizens a chance at equality.

Background: In the United States, every citizen has the right to vote and within that right, our votes should possess equal merit. Prior to the Civil War and under the Mississippi 1817 constitution, voting rights in Mississippi were limited to white men that owned property, followed by an amended law under the 1832 Constitution that allowed all white men over the age of 21 to vote.[i] However, the 14^th and 15^th amendment largely hindered Mississippi’s plight to suppress the African American vote. The 14^th amendment gave citizenship status to all people born in the United States and affirmed that all people are equal under the law. The 15^th amendment guaranteed that a person’s right to vote could not be denied based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. This was a monumental feat for Mississippi because it gave the recently freed slaves, who made up most of the Mississippi population, the right to vote and be guaranteed citizenship. Although these laws didn’t make things seamless for Black voters, the Reconstruction period established a time of record high turnout and representation for the Black community. Between 1867 and 1876, at least 200 African Americans held public office, two Black Mississippi state senators were voted into office and the state saw its first Black lieutenant governor. However, it was not long before things began to turn for African American voters in the state. After the removal of the Federal troops from the south, a lot changed for African American rights within the state. The creation of the Mississippi Plan in 1875 was devised by the then all white-American Democratic party to overthrow the Republican party by organized violence to redeem the state of Mississippi. The plan included the creation of intimidation tactics towards the Black population, the largest part of these tactics being violent attacks. The methods of suppression forced out the Black people who had come to power and over the course of several days, hundreds of Black citizens were murdered. While there was a request for federal troops to control the violence, President Ulysses S. Grant ultimately declined to intervene as to not cause turmoil in the upcoming election. Subsequently, due to the violence not being quelled, in the 1875 election, out five counties with Black majorities, only a total of 25 Black people voted. This was the beginning of a now centuries long history of voter suppression in the state that has continued through present-day.[ii]

Landscape: Voting plays a key role in the health and wellbeing of American citizens as the lawmakers we elect control access to care, parameters for health insurance, and significantly impact every other polarizing health issue that Americans experience. While housing, education, and job security may not seem directly correlated to adequate healthcare, each of these are aspects of the social determinants of health that dictate our ability to lead healthy lives. Public policy and our policymakers shape health related social needs such as food, healthcare coverage, and housing access and resources. Because these areas affect us all, within our right to vote, each of our votes should have equal merit. As the premier organization representing the collective voices of Black physicians leading the force for parity and justice in medicine and the elimination of health disparities, we know how imperative voting rights are in the quest for health equity.  However, 20 states have utilized census data to redraw congressional maps within the last few years. These new maps are no more than modern day gerrymandering that strip voting power away from communities with Black and Brown voters and influences the number of people of color serving in Congress. Over the last decade, communities of color account for nearly all population increases for the first time in history. Although voting rights are being repressed across the country, there is indication of some possible change. In June 2023, the US Supreme Court found that the Alabama Congressional maps adopted in 2021 violated the Voting Rights Act by severely reducing Black political power.[iii] This was a major win in voting rights for Black people in the United States, which is why looking to Mississippi, the recent enacting of legislative districts preventing Black Mississippians from having proper representation in the Mississippi state House and Senate is not a new phenomenon. Mississippi residents feel even more disenfranchised and less incentivized to vote as they have recognized that not only is it harder for them to vote, but their needs are not being met. Their children do not have the correct textbooks in school, health insurance is difficult to receive and does not provide adequate coverage, and essential necessities of residents such as clean drinking water remain a struggle to receive.  These factors, in addition to the aforementioned history of voter suppression has left Mississippi residents in a place where they feel hopeless and have a lack of faith in the United States voting system.[iv] An unprecedented number of voting laws were enacted in 2023 and have created additional barriers in voting for the upcoming elections. For Mississippi specifically two laws were created, MS H.B.1310 and MS S.B.2358. The former requires a voter purge without proper safeguards for eligible voters and the latter makes it a crime in most instances to assist another voter in returning a mail ballot. It is crucial that in an election year such as the one we are currently facing that we not only protect voting rights but expand voting laws to be more inclusive and generous to grant more voting coverage for residents. While some states took to restrictive laws last year, 23 states enacted a total of 53 expansive laws.[v] Organizations such as the Legal Defense Fund, ALCU Mississippi, and the Southern Poverty Law Center have been advocating for voting rights expansion and protection in the state and the National Medical Association stands with and supports these efforts and initiatives.

Individuals who experience voter suppression have disproportionately worse health outcomes, and these disparities largely affect people of color. As a result, Healthy People 2020 identified civic participation as a social determinant of health.  The NMA passed a policy position to collaborate with appropriate stakeholders to provide patients, communities, clinicians, and health systems with resources aimed to increase voter and civic participation among these groups and establish a relationship between voter and civic participation and health outcomes.

The NMA anchored civil rights in medicine and lobbied for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  The NMA tirelessly advocated for hospital desegregation and engaged with Civil Rights advocacy. The efforts were instrumental, to the passing of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that outlawed discrimination in government funded health programs.

The NMA has continued to be the voice for justice in medicine.  The NMA has been responding to inequities in healthcare throughout its history and NMA policies have not always aligned with the American Medical Association (AMA).  However, in 2022 the American Medical Association house of delegates aligned with the NMA and determined voting is a social determinant of health and plays a vital role into the overall wellbeing and healthcare of individuals.[vi]

A report from the Commonwealth Fund found deep-seated racial health disparities in all 50 states – with many more pronounced in Mississippi than anywhere else in the nation.  In Mississippi, for example, Black people and American Indian/Alaskan Native are more likely to die early in life from conditions that are treatable with timely access to high quality health care.  The Mississippi Maternal Mortality Report Black women had a rate four time higher than white women, 87.5% were determined to be preventable.  Mississippi has the nation’s highest fetal and infant mortality and pre-term birth rates. In 2001, one study found that poor health is frequently linked with a lower likelihood of voting. Individuals who are least likely to vote are also more likely to report poor health.[vii]

Outside of Mississippi’s state legislature, Congress can help protect voting rights in the states where it is being threatened. The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (H.R.4) and the Freedom to Vote Act (S.2747) both provide parameters by which disenfranchised voters can find justice. The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would establish new criteria for determining which states and political subdivisions must obtain preclearance before changes to voting practices may take effect. It includes parameters for tackling voting rights violations and ensuring that voting laws are not used to contribute to gerrymandering and other discriminatory practices. The Freedom to Vote Act addresses voter registration, access, election integrity, security, redistricting, and campaign finances. The bill includes the expansion of voter registration and access, offering options for same day and automatic registration, as well as establishing Election Day as a federal holiday, reducing barriers in people being unable to vote due to work obligations. Both bills establish several areas by which voting rights could be protected in states like Mississippi and both are supported by the NMA governing body.[viii]

Locally, there are other things that the state can do to support voting access to its citizens and improve protections for every voter in the state. Three of the most viable ways to help dismantle voter suppression in Mississippi are:

1. Reducing barriers in voting by mail
2. Increasing early voting options
3. Decreasing polling site closures

Each of these options pave a way by which voters can increase their access to sites to ensure their vote is counted and their voices are heard. The NMA recognizes the important role of voting in reducing health disparities and achieving equitable health outcomes.  Voting is a fundamental component in the national strategy to eliminate health disparities not only in states concentrated in the South with restrictive voting laws but for the entire U.S.

[i] “The Mississippi Plan, Political Deviance! – African American Registry.” African American Registry, 2009, aaregistry.org/story/the-mississippi-plan-political-deviance/.

[ii] Shawnboda Mead. “UM Votes: Exploring the History of Voting Suppression in MS.” Diversity and Community Engagement, 2 Mar. 2021, dce.olemiss.edu/um-votes-exploring-the-history-of-voting-suppression-in-ms/.

[iii] Dortch, Jarvis. “The Fight against Gerrymandering in Mississippi | ACLU of Mississippi.” Www.aclu-Ms.org, 8 June 2023, www.aclu-ms.org/en/news/fight-against-gerrymandering-mississippi.

[iv] Alexander, Ayanna. “Mississippi Has a History of Voter Suppression. Many See Signs of Change as Black Voters Reengage.” AP News, 5 Nov. 2023, apnews.com/article/black-voters-mississippi-suppression-election-2023-90e2b6df8e3f0f2ed4141830fa1ee8f6.

[v] Voting Laws Roundup: 2023 in Review | Brennan Center for Justice.” Www.brennancenter.org, 18 Jan. 2024, www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-2023-review.

[vi] “Policy Finder | AMA.” Policysearch.ama-Assn.org, policysearch.ama-assn.org/policyfinder/detail/voting?uri=%2FAMADoc%2FHOD.xml-h-440.805.xml.

[vii] Blakely TA, Kennedy BP, Kawachi I. Socioeconomic inequality in voter participation and self-reported health. Am J Public Health 2001; 91:99-104

[viii] Wiley, Ella. “Six Ways Federal Voting Rights Legislation Can Protect Voters and American Democracy.” NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, www.naacpldf.org/six-ways-vraa/.