Dear John,
I came of age in the civil rights era, and the fight for voting rights had a profound effect on me. That fight was a turning point for the Mexican-American community I grew up in, as it was for Black Americans and other communities of color who had been pushed out of the voting booths and marginalized in our democracy.
It was a fight about belonging and also about fairness, and we won. Or so I thought. The year 2020 proved otherwise, both nationally and locally, reminding us that politicians are still capable of manipulating elections and violating the rights of voters. At the national level, the former president and his congressional followers attempted to up-end the presidential election by interfering with the vote certification process. The Supreme Court was asked to review, and denied the attempts to alter the outcome.
Following the March 2020 election, the San Diego City Council intervened to change the results a year after voters cast their ballots. In doing so, councilmembers broke the trust of voters and undermined our democracy. That is why I and other voters joined Alliance San Diego, to challenge this election manipulation. This Friday, on March 4th, a court will hear our claim.
If the City Council’s power grab is allowed to stand, there is nothing to stop any city council from playing games to control election outcomes. But voters should decide elections, not politicians. We can’t expect voters to trust the electoral process if there is no election integrity. Integrity is all about following the agreed upon rules, not bending them. Back in the day, we used to call these kinds of manipulations “movidas” and our fight for voting rights was meant to end them.
Voters should decide elections fair and square, which is why we’re in this fight — a fight for our democracy. Stay tuned for more on this case.
