Liberty is a fundamental characteristic of the American identity. The freedoms and rights enumerated in our founding documents are essential, but in the end, it all boils down to liberty.
I have frequently used that line while serving the people of Rutherford County in Nashville. If I’m making decisions through the lens of preserving liberty, I’m doing right by my constituents and all Tennesseans.
As the election nears, and as the fight over election integrity persists, I’m reminded just how important liberty is in our country. On Nov. 5, the American people will make an important decision that will determine the success of our nation for, at a minimum, the next four years. The right to vote is an important one. And while it hasn’t been a quick or easy journey for all men and women to acquire suffrage, it’s never been easier to vote in the United States than it is today.
“The right to vote is the crown jewel of American liberties, and we will not see its luster diminished,” President Ronald Reagan said during his signing of the Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1982.
Without the right to vote, liberty ceases. That’s why ensuring the integrity of our elections is paramount. If one fraudulent ballot is cast, that cancels the vote of a law-abiding American citizen. Liberty is lost. This is completely unacceptable, but it’s almost taboo to bring up given the media landscape today.
The reality is that Virginia removed more than 6,300 noncitizens from its voter rolls in August. Pennsylvania election officials announced in 2017 that noncitizens had voted 544 times since 2000. Just recently, the United States Department of Justice charged an illegal immigrant from Guatemala for illegally voting in the 2016 and 2020 primary and general elections in Alabama. There are many more cases of foreign nationals illegally casting ballots.
One fraudulent vote is too many. We all know elections can be close, which is why we must work diligently to ensure every American is given the respect they deserve by protecting all legitimate votes. We must do everything possible to keep elections free, fair and secure to preserve the fundamental rights of all Americans.
Unfortunately, many people fight back against election integrity measures or actively try to diminish the security of the vote.
For example, Democrats in the Michigan Legislature earlier this year passed a bill weakening the state’s verification and validity measures meant to prevent voter fraud. And we all remember how Democrats attempted to loosen election laws in several states just before the 2020 election, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A common refrain for liberals is to say that any measure to promote election security is a form of voter suppression. As my Republican colleagues Reps. Tim Rudd and Jody Barrett have noted in separate columns on voter integrity, we often see these arguments in Tennessee.
Protecting one’s liberty often requires responsibility and accountability which may include a minor, inconvenient security measure. Being required to show a photo ID to vote or have a valid reason to request an absentee ballot might seem like an inconvenience to some, but the vast majority of Tennesseans value safe elections. Protecting one’s vote and one’s liberty is not suppression of one’s rights.
The reality is that Tennessee elections have repeatedly been recognized as the most secure in the nation. We make it easy to vote but hard to cheat in the Volunteer State. That’s why I’ve been honored to stand time and again for election security.
At the same time, I’ve worked to ensure all eligible Tennesseans can participate in the electoral process with ease. I was proud to pass legislation in 2016 establishing Convenient Vote Centers in Rutherford County as a pilot program for the rest of the state. Rutherford Countians now have more polling locations to choose where they cast their ballot on election day, making the process easy, convenient and secure. The program has been a success and is now expanded to additional counties in the state.
We don’t have to sacrifice ease of voting for secure elections or vice versa. As demonstrated in Rutherford County and across the entire state, we can have both.
The right to vote is indispensable. As voters cast their ballots in this pivotal election, I encourage them to remember how blessed we are as a people to hold that right. No matter who wins the presidency and state and local races, it all boils down to liberty. We must all vow to preserve and protect liberty for the success of our nation and the institutions that make it great.
State Rep. Bryan Terry represents House District 48, which includes part of Rutherford County.