Stacey Abrams: “To Safeguard The Future of Our Country, We Must Vote Trump Out of Office”

In an op-ed for USA Today, former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams says “To safeguard the future of our country, we must vote” President Donald Trump out of office.

But this election is about more than who will be our next president,” she points out. “It’s an opportunity to ensure that our political system doesn’t let people like Trump and his ilk make decisions that benefit them instead of the majority of Americans.”

Abrams says voting rights restrictions, “partisan gerrymandering, unlimited and untraceable money in our elections, and crackdowns on unions” allowed Trump to ascend to the executive office. The “putative Senate,” a “lopsided body” which represents only 48 percent of the United States population, has allowed him to remain in power.

Among the horrible ramifications of such a deeply unrepresentative body is its devastating ability to block or confirm Supreme Court justices. President Trump plans to cram Judge Amy Coney Barrett into Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s vacancy,” she writes. “Barrett is a minority-driven nomination that will have long-ranging effects on health care, choice and the rights of the marginalized and disadvantaged.”

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Despite this, Abrams’s message is more hopeful than it may appear on the surface.

“We can have all the partisan fights we want, but our electoral process and system of government should be neutral and fair to every American,” she writes. “If we vote in droves for the only candidate who supports checks and balances and will fight for a functioning democracy, we can reform the system so it works for all of us and finally delivers on the meaningful change most Americans want.”

Abrams says Election Day is the “last call” for the public to exercise their “duty to implement bold, comprehensive democracy reforms.” At stake: The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act “to restore the Voting Rights Act to full strength.” “Moreover,” she continues, “we must enact fundamental reforms to voting rights, especially those hurdles exposed by COVID; end partisan gerrymandering; support investment in our electoral infrastructure; and root out corruption in our elections. Progress demands that we end the centuries-long, racist disenfranchisement of Washingtonians in the District of Columbia and make D.C. a state, while giving Puerto Rico an opportunity to determine its own future.”

The Trump presidency will pass, but our urgency cannot,” Abrams concludes. “It is on us to shore up the foundations of our democracy and rewrite the rules for the 21st century — to guarantee freedom and justice for all.”