We are quickly approaching the November 2022 midterm elections. These midterm elections represent an important political milestone for the people’s struggles in the United States. Not only will there be a lot on the line for people to either win or lose, but the outcome seen this November will impact the next presidential election in 2024 and serve as an indication for what may happen.

Milwaukee, WI – On July 26, the Milwaukee Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression and Reproductive Justice Action Milwaukee joined SEIU Wisconsin for an event to speak against voter suppression. Early voting for the partisan primary kicked off on Tuesday in Milwaukee, and while many speakers emphasized the need to vote, the Milwaukee Alliance and RJAM kept their messages focused on the fight for voting rights. This is important, as our voting rights, especially those of oppressed nationalities, are coming under deeper and more frequent attacks.

Not the change we need

Just last year, the halls of power in Minnesota shook when people answered the murder of George Floyd by rising up. We marched on the State Capitol, the county attorney, the state attorney general, the police federation and the interstate highways. Day and night, for weeks on end, we faced riot police, tear gas, National Guard troops and white supremacists. The Third Precinct police station was burned, as were hundreds of other buildings. And fires here sparked protests across the world and transformed the political landscape.

Desde 2013 cuando la Corte Suprema con mayoría conservadora debilitó la Ley de Derecho al Voto de 1965, Republicanos y derechistas han intentado pasar más y más restricciones jurídicas al voto. El objetivo principal de estos esfuerzos es reprimir los votos de afroamericanos, quienes llevan mucho tiempo luchando en contra del racismo del Partido Republicano moderno. Estos esfuerzos han incrementado tras la derrota electoral de Donald Trump en las elecciones presidenciales del 2020 y la victoria de un senador afroamericano en Georgia. Las mentiras de Trump y sus aliados acerca de fraude electoral se han unido a la campaña para suprimir el voto. Su objetivo no es solamente ganar las elecciones del 2022 y 2024 sino también establecer la fundación para anular futuras elecciones si los resultados no les convienen. La supresión del voto de afroamericanos, chicanos y otras nacionalidades oprimidas es el enfoque de estos esfuerzos.

Ever since the Supreme Court conservative majority weakened the 1965 Voting Rights Act in 2013, Republicans and the right wing have tried to pass more and more legal restrictions on voting. The main aim of these efforts is to suppress the votes of African Americans, who have long fought the racism and reaction of the modern Republican Party. These efforts redoubled in the wake of the 2020 elections with Donald Trump’s loss in the presidential race, and the election of one African American senator from Georgia. Trump and his allies’ lies about voter fraud have merged with this campaign for voter suppression. Their goal is not just to try to win elections in 2022 and 2024, but to lay the basis for trying to overturn future elections if the outcome is not to their liking. Disenfranchising as many African Americans, Chicanos and other oppressed nationalities is at the center of their efforts to turn the clock back.

Los Angeles, CA – Right-wingers, racists and proponents of anti-COVID-19 measures are leading a recall election of Governor Gavin Newson. California voters will vote Yes or No on the recall and also pick who they would prefer if the recall is successful. The last day to decide is on election day, September 14.

Tallahassee, FL – I found out about the right-wing attack on the U.S. Capitol while casually scrolling through social media on my phone. It started off as one Facebook post about Mike Pence being dragged away by the Secret Service. It had no context. More information trickled, then flooded, in – “protesters stormed the capitol,” then more videos, images and of course memes – painting a picture of the most nauseating, gut-wrenching and insulting scenes. Cops taking selfies with white supremacist reactionaries. Trump supporters are in politician’s’ offices. One man joyfully flung his boot-clad feet up on House Leader Nancy Pelosi’s desk, and felt so immune that he broadcast himself doing so, live. Some of the far-right wing reactionaries even wore t-shirts that read “MAGA Civil War Jan 6, 2021”, stylized to parody the Marvel movie franchise installment titled Civil War.

On Tuesday, January 5, the people of Georgia made history with their defeat of two Trump-supporting Republican Senators in the runoff election. First to be declared a winner was Reverend Raphael Warnock, who is the first African American ever to be elected to the U.S. Senate from Georgia. He is only the second African American to be elected from the Deep South since Reconstruction after the Civil War. A little later, with a smaller margin, Jon Ossoff clinched the second seat for the Democratic Party, giving them a bare majority in the Senate.

St. Paul, MN – On November 27, the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar Clark organized a rally and car caravan to protest the mass arrests of November 4. The Black Friday protest started in the parking lot of JJ Hill elementary school, where Philando Castile worked before he was killed by police. During a brief rally, participants decorated their cars, then a caravan of 100 vehicles left for the governor’s mansion, by way of the Grand Avenue.

It is a good thing that a decisive majority of voters in the United States rejected Trump in his run for the White House. The massive turnout of youth, African Americans, Chicanos, Latinos, native peoples and other oppressed nationalities was critical in defeating his anti-immigrant, racist, reactionary and misogynist agenda. This defeat provides a more favorable context to fight for and win things people desperately need and for revolutionaries to advance the struggle to end the existing order of things.