Ruthelle Frank was able to vote in Tuesday’s primary elections in Wisconsin. But it took multiple lawsuits and 10 months to make it happen. And she still may not be able to vote in November.
Ruthelle is the ACLU’s 84-year-old plaintiff challenging Wisconsin’s voter ID law. She is only one of millions of people who are at risk of losing their right to vote this November as a result of wide-ranging state-by-state efforts to deny people access to the polls.
The right to vote is what makes a country a true democracy, and it is the most basic right we share as Americans. And yet, outrageous attempts to deny people the right to vote are under way in state after state — virtually guaranteeing that many Americans won’t really have the right at all. It’s estimated that up to 5 million people will be blocked from the polls in this year’s general election as a result of new voter suppression measures on the books.
The ACLU is launching Let People Vote today, a campaign that highlights stories of voters across the country who will be impacted by these voter suppression measures. From Wisconsin to Texas, Ohio to South Carolina, every person who loses the right to vote takes us one more step away from being a nation of free people.
Act now to make sure that our most fundamental rights are protected this November.
Angry, shocked, overwhelmed? Take action: Support independent media.
We’ve borne witness to a chaotic first few months in Trump’s presidency.
Over the last months, each executive order has delivered shock and bewilderment — a core part of a strategy to make the right-wing turn feel inevitable and overwhelming. But, as organizer Sandra Avalos implored us to remember in Truthout last November, “Together, we are more powerful than Trump.”
Indeed, the Trump administration is pushing through executive orders, but — as we’ve reported at Truthout — many are in legal limbo and face court challenges from unions and civil rights groups. Efforts to quash anti-racist teaching and DEI programs are stalled by education faculty, staff, and students refusing to comply. And communities across the country are coming together to raise the alarm on ICE raids, inform neighbors of their civil rights, and protect each other in moving shows of solidarity.
It will be a long fight ahead. And as nonprofit movement media, Truthout plans to be there documenting and uplifting resistance.
As we undertake this life-sustaining work, we appeal for your support. Please, if you find value in what we do, join our community of sustainers by making a monthly or one-time gift.