To Reduce Inequality, We Need a More Democratic System of Political Representation
By: Leslie Mccall
Tags: Inequality, Cuny Graduate Center, Civic Engagement, Voters, Politics And Elections

In this commentary, Professor Leslie McCall, associate director of the Stone Center, explains why, in the United States, efforts to increase voting access are critical to achieving a more egalitarian society.

The pandemic necessitated expanded ways for voters to cast their ballots. Building on this historical access will be critical to creating a truly representational democracy (Image credit: Getty)

The For the People Act of 2019 was the first bill to be introduced and passed by the 116th Congress that came to power in the midterm election of 2018. A little-noticed bill, in part because it had no chance of passing the Republican-controlled Senate, it nonetheless was important symbolically. Its message was championed by the newly elected progressive wing of the Democratic Party, a message that, in essence, was this: we can argue all we like about this or that policy to reduce inequality, but there will be no progress in enacting any such policy without first creating a more democratic system of political representation.

Although the bill included reforms in government ethics and campaign finance, it more prominently featured efforts to increase what was termed “election access” through automatic registration, same-day registration, ex-felon enfranchisement, early voting, voting by mail, provisional balloting, prevention of voter intimidation, and the recruitment and training of poll workers (essential workers if there ever were any), among other provisions.

If it were not for the coronavirus pandemic, however, we likely would not have seen the expansion of access that was arguably the most important factor leading to record turnout in the 2020 election, estimated at 67 percent of eligible voters. This level surpasses by several percentage points previous peaks, including at the start of World War II, during the 1960s, and in the historic election of President Barack Obama in 2008. While it is true that a battleground state like Pennsylvania enacted voting by mail in 2019, prior to the pandemic, it is hard to imagine that these procedures would have been taken up in such large numbers in the absence of social distancing and other public health protocols, which also facilitated and encouraged early voting in other ways (such as the use of drop-off boxes and, in other states, early in-person voting).

The new and expanded use of electoral laws that increase voting accessibility was not the only factor propelling historic levels of political participation. After all, participation surged among Republicans as well as among Democrats, even though Democrats were far more likely to avail themselves of the new voting options (especially in states where such options were indeed new). The health, economic, and climate crises surely motivated participation as well, as did the loyalty to President Trump of his base, but we also know that states flipping from narrow Republican victories in 2016 to narrow Democratic victories in 2020 were the sites of intense grassroots organizing by the Democratic Party and allied groups over the past four years (evident also in the 2018 midterm gains).

Much attention in this regard has rightly focused on Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania (see especially Lara Putnam‘s reporting on Pennsylvania), but an important case in point is Georgia, which, according to my estimates, had the 11th-highest increase in turnout among states between 2016 and 2020 (Michigan had the 15th- and Pennsylvania the 20th-highest increase; Wisconsin’s increase was in the middle of the pack; Arizona, which also flipped blue, had the 3rd-highest increase). Stacey Abrams is widely credited with mobilizing the electorate with her own 2018 campaign for governor of Georgia, which she narrowly lost amid evidence of voter suppression. Her efforts at voter mobilization in Georgia and elsewhere are ongoing with Fair Fight Action, the voting rights organization she founded soon after her loss. These efforts are bound to ramp up between now and the two Georgia Senate runoff elections in January.

Where are the most important and promising fights for a more egalitarian society being waged today? In my view, and in the views of many political scientists who study inequality, as well as the countless grassroots organizations and coalitions that have sprung into action over the past decade, the answer is in the fight for dramatically expanded political voice and representation, through protest as well as through the electoral process. It simply does not matter if strong majorities of Americans support a wide range of equality-enhancing policies, which they do, if none of those policies will ever be enacted by a Congress, president, or Supreme Court that represents only a minority of Americans. This fight for true democratic representation will not be won in the short term with any single election. But crucial steps toward expanding voting rights in the 2020 election will represent a milestone if they are seen as merely a beginning, not as an end in themselves.

About the Author:

Leslie McCall is a Presidential Professor of Sociology and Political Science at The Graduate Center. Her research focuses on public opinion about inequality, opportunity, and related economic and policy issues; trends in actual earnings and family income inequality; and patterns of intersectional inequality.