A new survey shows that LGBTQ+ people of color are ready to mail-in their ballots for the November general election.
Published on Thursday, a report from the Human Rights Campaign found that four in five LGBTQ+ people of color (80%) believe that all voters should be mailed ballots ahead of the presidential race. Of that demographic, 79% say the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has made them more likely to use absentee or mail-in voting options in their states.
The polling was conducted by surveying 800 voters of color in critical swing states like Florida, Georgia, Texas, and Wisconsin. These states all favored Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton in 2016 but are in play for Democrats in 2020, with Joe Biden leading in Florida and Wisconsin and polling evenly with Trump in Texas and Georgia.
Despite the overall support for mail-in voting, HRC President Alphonso David notes that voters — including LGBTQ+ people — will face “unprecedented challenges in how to safely make their voices heard in the pivotal election ahead.”
“As these results show, voters are hopeful, resilient and ready to cast their votes this
November — from the ballot box to the mailbox,” David said in a statement. “Along with our partners, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation looks forward to educating and empowering voters in how they can safely and effectively have their say in the future of our democracy.”
One of the most immediate challenges to the health and safety of LGBTQ+ voters, especially voters of color, is the novel coronavirus. HRC has previously released several reports indicating that COVID-19 may present unique dangers for LGBTQ+ people: They are more likely to be employed as frontline workers, to make a living in industries where they have close contact with the public, and also to not have health insurance that would allow them to access to medical care.
High rates of lung cancer from smoking and immunodeficiencies like HIV could also make LGBTQ+ people more vulnerable to COVID-19, although it’s unclear how severe these impacts are. Few states are collecting data on the sexual orientation or gender identity of coronavirus patients.
But more broadly, an additional obstacle to expanding voting options for November is sustained opposition from Trump, who has claimed that universal mail-in voting would result in the “most inaccurate and fraudulent election in history.” Last week, the president floated the idea of postponing the presidential election until it can be held safely, although he later claimed that he was merely joking.
While cases of election fraud remain extremely rare, constant attacks from the president on mail-voting could result in an underfunded election which experiences extreme delays and numerous procedural errors. According to a recent report from NBC News, results in a handful of New York Congressional primaries took weeks to tabulate after 10 times as many voters cast mail-in ballots as the previous race. Ritchie Torres, who could be one of the first gay Black men seated in Congress, had to wait until this Tuesday to find out his June 23 race had been called.
With 42 states offering options for absentee and mail-in voting during the pandemic, more than 80 million people are expected to vote by mail in the presidential election. Experts say that Congress must pass a billion-dollar funding bill within the next two weeks to avoid another election disaster, as NBC News reports.
Advocacy groups say they are doing their part to make sure that voters, including LGBTQ+ voters, are ready and able to cast their ballot on election day.
“Part of increasing voter turnout and engagement means meeting people where they are,” Woke Vote Founder Dejuana Thompson said in a statement. “We need to make sure voters are both empowered and excited to cast their ballots. The results of this survey provide meaningful pointers for how we can help voters navigate these uncertain times to safely and successfully cast their ballots.”
Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for our weekly newsletter here.
