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.