Vote Like Your Life Depends on It. Mine Does

Unite America Board Member, Lisa Rice authored an op-ed featured in Real Clear Politics and The Chicago Tribune.

The message is clear -- Black Lives Matter.

In order to create meaningful change, we can begin by addressing our political systems.

“The movement’s road map for fixing our broken political system and empowering all voters includes:

• Ending partisan gerrymandering to make legislative districts more competitive and less polarized. “Cracking” and “packing” voters based on identity and party  has undermined Black representation for decades;
• Opening primary elections to independent voters, especially to the over 2 million Blacks voters who are disenfranchised in closed-primary states and my hometown, Washington, D.C.
• Enacting ranked choice voting to eliminate run-off elections, which are vestiges of racist electoral rules, and ensure that winners have the support of majorities of voters.

These reforms undercut the duopoly’s toxic grip on American politics and put our country’s interests ahead of the parties’. These reforms also would level the playing field for women and minority candidates, giving us not just the empathy of our white friends but also the powers and privileges they’ve long enjoyed. Then, maybe, we can strike a powerful blow against systemic racism with a more functional government, potentially capable of tackling issues like police and criminal justice reform.”

Read the full op ed here.