Ariana Trelles-Duckett
Contributing Writer & Copy Editor
Throughout October, several Ballot Drop Boxes have been set on fire in bipartisan districts of Oregon and Washington State: a smoking box in Vancouver, Washington was called in on Oct. 8; more drop boxes in Multnomah County and Clark County, Oregon were targeted on the morning of Oct. 29. No one has been charged, and new boxes have been replaced in every affected area with increased security. In a similar instance, two weeks ago a ballot box was also set on fire in Phoenix, Arizona, and an arrest was made. Cases of potent political expression like these bring into question the extent of the protection of free speech.
The right to free speech has always been contested by specific examples of either a rightful denial or a worthy expression of it. The well-known phrase of “shouting ‘fire’ in a crowded theater,” quoted from a 1919 Supreme Court ruling, has been used both as a helpful outline and a blatant misinterpretation of the free speech clause of the First Amendment.
Whether a crowded theater or poll workers, putting others at risk of harm by what you say or do does not seem like something that should be protected by the Constitution. Causing harm in the name of freedom moves the country no further forward because no one can be free if they’re not even able to vote without being put in harm’s way.
The intimidation of voters has been a significant issue in recent years: armed civilians from an Arizona group called Clean Elections USA were “monitoring outdoor ballot boxes” of a Maricopa County Ballot Drop Box in 2022 midterm elections. A federal judge — who had been appointed by Trump — decided not to forbid the group from doing so. During the 2020 election, a pro-Trump group protested by a polling location in Virginia, chanting and carrying signs, so county election officials chose to move the queue of voters indoors. Some argued that they kept a far enough distance from the voters that they were not being intimidating while others believed their behavior undermined Virginia election law and violated the people’s right to vote.
It seems almost ironic that voter turnout has become a key issue while voter intimidation is not clearly defined, and allows for civilians to show up to poll locations in ballistic vests and armed. Alongside cases of voter intimidation, campaigns to get more people voting have helped elections truly reflect what citizens want from their lawmakers, especially during 2020, when it seemed unlikely that many people would be able to vote because of the pandemic.
Many examples of voter intimidation, regardless of the right to free speech, are prohibited because they threaten voters or candidates during elections through the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Though the context of voter intimidation is different today, preserving an individual’s right to submit their vote and have a voice in American politics is essential. The enactment of this federal legislation enabled more protection for Black Americans to vote, ending arbitrary and systemically racist voting laws throughout the South and much more. Through three additional extensions in the following decades, Latine, Asian, and Native Americans also received better anti-discrimination protection.
The United States has come a long way since only white, male property owners could choose lawmakers that then affected which laws were passed, representing only a fraction of the population until shamefully recent decades. Now that more people in America are represented than ever, everyone should be able to vote in a safe and comfortable environment.
To permit voter intimidation undermines the work of so many who were forbidden from voting. Ensuring that every adult in the country has the opportunity to support a cause or a lawmaker of their choice improves democracy and helps elect officials who truly reflect the people who elected them there.
The country was built on flawed and exclusive ideas of freedom and who should have a voice in politics, and activists throughout the decades have proven that. As long as voter intimidation continues, neither side wins any of our elections, but fear certainly does.