Philly voting wonks bent NYT's ear on the math of disenfranchisement - Generocity Philly

People

Oct. 27, 2016 11:36 am

Philly voting wonks bent NYT’s ear on the math of disenfranchisement

Donald Trump warned against "large-scale voter fraud" in Philadelphia. A handful of social justice academics stepped up to explain to the New York Times why some Philly divisions are 100 percent blue.

Are these voting booths rigged?! (Not likely).

(Photo by Flickr user Ben Sutherland, used under a Creative Commons license)

There’s a reason why President Barack Obama received 100 percent of votes in 59 Philadelphia precincts in 2012.

Despite what presidential candidate Donald Trump might say, it has a lot less to do with rigging voting machines and a whole lot more to do with segregation and disenfranchisement.

“Large-scale voter fraud” will happen in cities like Philadelphia and Chicago, Trump warned earlier this month. As statistically improbable as it might seem for Democrats to sweep 100 percent of the vote in 59 voting districts, Chestnut Hill College professor and Social Enterprise Alliance Philadelphia advocate Jeffrey Carroll told the New York Times that it’s “definitely more about math than fraud.”

Read the full story

Gerrymandering has segregated and concentrated the Black vote. Trump’s accusations that Black voters are responsible for rigging voting patterns is adding insult to injury. Temple University political science professor Nyron Crawford warned of the dangers of undermining voting institutions.

“You have to pair that with the history of disenfranchisement among minority voters,” Crawford told NYT.

-30-

From our Partners

How 100+ years of disinvestment has led to today’s Philadelphia

Youth-led Solutions for a More Just Society

SPONSORED

Generocity Philly

Meet Kim Andrews, new executive director for The Fund for Women and Girls

Philadelphia, PA

Fairmount Park Conservancy

Capital Projects Manager

Apply Now
Philadelphia, PA

Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project (YSRP)

Director of Development and Communications

Apply Now
Philadelphia

DiverseForce

Managing Directors: Career Pathways & Community Resiliency

Apply Now

Community organizations lament COVID-19’s effect on Philly’s key anti-gun violence initiative

Hybrid (Princeton)

Young Audiences NJ and Eastern PA

Arts Education Administrator (Hybrid)

Apply Now
Philadelphia , PA

Community Legal Services

Communications and Social Media Associate

Apply Now
Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Remote, or Hybrid

Regional Housing Legal Services

Staff Attorney, Housing Development Legal Services

Apply Now
   
       
       

Subscribe to Generocity

       
* indicates required