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Environmental Justice and Democracy Issues
This blog was written by Amanda Robert, the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter's Democracy Organizer and a member of our Environmental Justice Action Group.
Environmental Justice and Democracy Issues
Environmental injustices happen every day and
in all types of communities, but they disproportionately affect low income
communities and communities of color. Why is this one might ask, and what can
we do to help remedy the situation. The Flint water crisis is probably the most
well-known current case of environmental injustice in Michigan, let’s examine
what allowed that situation to happen. For starters it is widely acknowledged
that having laws and institutions that promote transparency, inclusivity and accountability
are essential to effective governance. It is when these rights are available to
some and not to others that we see inequalities and injustices arise. According
to the Flint Water Advisory Task Force, governance failures were at the heart of
the crisis. In other words we have a problem of ineffective governance due to a
lack of transparency, public inclusion and accountability. If the residents of
Flint had been taken seriously and had their voices heard when they sounded the
alarm almost immediately the crisis could have been greatly minimized. Flint is
not alone though, these sorts of governance failures happen all over our state
especially to groups and communities that are politically or economically
disempowered. We in essence need to strengthen our democracy, and that is
exactly what we hope to do by passing both proposals 2 and 3 this November.
Proposal 2 would fix our current process of
redistricting or drawing electoral maps. In the current system politicians draw
the lines, giving themselves the advantage. This makes it very difficult to
then hold these representatives accountable, even when they allow people’s
water or air to be poisoned. Proposal 3 would update our voting laws, which
have not been substantially updated since 1975. Rights like the ability to get
an absentee ballot without a reason, the choice to vote straight-ticket and the
ability to register to vote anytime up to and including on election day as long
as it is in person and with proof of residency would be added. In all seven new
voting rights would be added to our laws, expecting to increase voter turnout
by 400K for the 2020 elections.
These proposals may not seem all that
important in the face of today’s political atmosphere. People are focused on
electing environmental and social justice champions who will protect the
interests of all. The problem is, without fixing the system electing some of
those great people may be close to impossible. Our electoral maps are drawn to
give an advantage to those already in power, and as we know many of them have
no interest or incentive to protect us or the environment. What’s even worse is
they are continuing their attacks on access to the democratic process and this
time it is with the removal of straight-ticket (or straight-party) voting.
Why would the Sierra Club care about
straight-ticket voting you may ask, being a non-partisan organization. That is
a good question, and it is simple, because it is more convenient for voters and
encourages electoral participation. Straight-ticket voting speeds up the
process of voting, leading to shorter lines. When lines are long people often
leave before they get a chance to vote, either out of frustration or necessity.
An MLive survey found that in the 2012 election
almost fifty percent of Michigan voters used the straight-party option when
voting. Some claim that it is only used by Democrats, but that is untrue, that
same survey found that of those straight-party voters 30% voted for Democrats,
19% voted for Republicans and 1% voted third party. Even more interestingly,
straight-ticket voting is believed to have helped the Republicans significantly during
the 2016 election.
 |
| Long lines on election day discourage people from voting, especially in urban communities dealing with environmental injustices. |
From an environmental justice lense we are concerned about the removal of the straight-party option because African Americans and other minorities tend to use it more often, a fact that is backed up by U.S. Census data. Removing the option will have a disproportionate effect on communities like Detroit and Flint with a high population of minority citizens. Without the option of only having to fill in one bubble for the partisan choices, ballots will be long and it is expected to take the average voter longer to complete. In a city like Detroit where wait times are already some of the longest in the nation, sometimes upward of two to three hours, this change is expected to have a significant impact on wait times. With the current issues Detroiters are facing, like the toxins in their air in the Southwest part of the city, the lead in the water at their public schools or the mass water shutoffs threatening their communities, they can not afford to have their voter turnout suppressed by any amount.
When the right to vote is under attack, there
is little as important. The ability to vote is what gives us the power to
control what the futures of our communities look like. Environmental injustices
don’t happen alone, but alongside other types of exploitation, which are
possible when people are not able to be a part of the system and their voices
are muted. Strengthening democracy is good for all of us and all environmental
concerns, but it is especially important when trying to fight environmental
injustices. Remember to vote yes on proposals two and three in November, for
yourself and for communities like Flint and Detroit.
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