Red or blue, Democrats have grand plans for diverse voters in your state

In 1964, a year after the assassination of Mississippi NAACP President Medgar Evers and weeks after Freedom Summer activists were brutally murdered while registering Black voters, Fannie Lou Hamer addressed the 1964 Democratic National Convention Credentials Committee, famously demanding a seat at the table for her Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. 

This year, on what would have been Hamer’s 106th birthday, Democratic Party leaders from across the nation were solidifying plans to ensure that Americans from all walks of life not only have seats at the table but also a voice in the direction of the party’s future.

I joined my colleagues in the Democratic National Committee at a meeting last week in St. Louis in voting to give conditional approval to state plans that include diversity goals set in preparation for our 2024 national convention. 

The goals create a floor — not a ceiling — for diverse representation at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August. They focus on the inclusion of Black, Hispanic, Asian and Indigenous Americans, people the age 35 and younger, people with disabilities and members of the LGBTQ community. Goals vary for each state, depending on the size of these populations and the percentage of state voters who are registered Democrats or support the party in elections. 

In addition, Democratic Party rules require that women make up 50 percent of voting national convention delegates. 

These strategic goals are important. They enable us to take advantage of the talents and perspectives of all types of people in our gloriously diverse country and help Democrats draw support from voters in a wide range of demographic groups. 

In addition, having diverse representation in the ranks of delegates to the Democratic National Convention recognizes that Democrats depend on people of color, young people, women and others to build electoral coalitions and win elections.  

While only 41 percent of white voters in the 2020 presidential election cast ballots for Joe Biden according to Roper Public Opinion Research, Biden was elected president on the strength of majorities he won among other voters. These included 87 percent of Black voters, 65 percent of Hispanic voters and 61 percent of Asian American voters. In addition, Biden won 57 percent of the female vote and 60 percent of the vote among people 29 and younger (compared with 45 percent of the vote among those 65 and older). 

Beyond voter statistics, it’s clear that if Democrats don’t prioritize diversity among our ranks and at our conventions, Republicans certainly won’t. Republicans in Congress, GOP presidential candidates and others running in down-ballot races loudly oppose diversity, equity and inclusion in workplaces and other settings. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who is running for the GOP presidential nomination, is among those who condemn such programs as “woke” and discriminatory against white Americans. There’s simply no truth to this myth. 

Most Republicans also oppose Democratic efforts to strengthen the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which barred governments at the federal, state and local levels from impeding the right of Americans to vote because of their race or ethnicity. The law was severely weakened by Supreme Court decisions in 2013 and 2021 and needs to be reformed to restore its effectiveness. 

In their denunciations of “woke” policies, many Republican elected officials and candidates have also called for whitewashing American history instruction in schools to give students a distorted picture of our country’s past. They want to minimize the evils of slavery, the seizure of land from Indigenous people and Mexico and discrimination against people of color, immigrants, minority religious groups and LGBTQ Americans. 

On top of this, Republican lawmakers in several states have passed partisan redistricting plans for state legislatures and the U.S. House to minimize the number of districts where Black voters have a reasonable chance of electing Black candidates. Some of these efforts, such as in Alabama, have been struck down by federal courts as violations of the Voting Rights Act.  

Republicans in Congress and those seeking their party’s presidential nomination have also fanned the flames of anti-immigrant hysteria — frequently attacking unauthorized immigrants of color — and opposed Democratic proposals for comprehensive and much-needed reforms of immigration laws.  

Many Republican legislative proposals to cut government funding for programs benefitting low-income families while cutting taxes for the rich and corporations would cause disproportionate harm to Black and Hispanic households.  

Republicans have also been far less receptive to equal rights for LGBTQ Americans than Democrats. Florida’s notorious “Don’t Say Gay” law, legislation banning gender-affirming care and the sweeping bans on books featuring LGBTQ characters are all driven by Republican agendas. 

As Democrats, we believe Hamer’s declaration that every citizen should be given an opportunity to participate in the electoral process and have a voice at the table where decisions are being made that could impact their lives. This is why I continue to encourage the broadest possible participation during our nominating process. Failure of state parties to adhere to our guidelines is not only disappointing, it also violates the basic tenets of the modern 21st-century Democratic Party. We understand that the party is “stronger together,” and more capable of representing the entire universe of our voters. 

The U.S. is rapidly growing more diverse. By about 2045, non-Hispanic whites are expected to make up less than half the nation’s population. In dramatic contrast, non-Hispanic whites made up about 87 percent of the American population in 1970. And, of course, most voters now 65 and older won’t be casting ballots decades down the road. 

All this points to the fact that Democrats must have their eyes fixed on the future where a new generation is not only encouraged to vote for candidates who look like them but also share their values. Now more than ever, we must begin to encourage a new generation to start thinking about running for office. That’s why members of the DNC have worked assiduously to encourage our state parties to reach out to voters who often feel overlooked, taken for granted or simply ignored until weeks before Election Day.   

I’m proud that my party has embraced diversity, equity and inclusion and is offering the citizens sound policies to bring about a better tomorrow for all Americans.

Donna Brazile is a political strategist, a contributor to ABC News and former chair of the Democratic National Committee. She is the author of “Hacks: Inside the Break-ins and Breakdowns That Put Donald Trump in the White House.”