To: Al Navarez, Chairman, Loudoun County Democratic Committee, VA and State Democratic Party of Virginia
Voter Suppression: Loudoun County Democrats Loyalty Oath
The Loudoun County Democratic Party of VA in its membership application has a clause that suppresses the individual right to vote as you would freely choose. This clause is in violation of two core principles of the Democratic party, which is to support the inclusion of many voices and the right to vote without any ill-conceived means to suppress your vote.
Why is this important?
I am an African-American Democratic local elected official for the Town of Leesburg, VA and I have challenged the Loudoun County Democratic committee on their requirement for a signed loyalty statement contained in their membership application. My efforts to have a conversation to address this problem have been dismissed and I, as an elected Democratic leader, have been subjected to public retaliation by the local party leaders.
Democrats know that the right to vote for all Americans was hard fought and is sacred and fundamental to the principles of the party.
The Democratic Party was founded on the promise of an expanded democracy and that the inclusion of many different voices makes our democracy work better. The right to vote is a key principle of the Democratic Party and a core goal is to maximize voter participation and not to control how you vote.
As a democratic value, we must all support efforts to defeat ill-motivated voter suppression tactics and to preserve the fundamental right to vote.
Loudoun County Democratic Committee of VA has violated this core value and is subverting the fundamental right to vote by engaging in these efforts by promoting ill-motivated voter suppression tactics to unduly influence the outcome of local elections.
The Loudoun County Democratic Committee in their January 2018 membership notification letter stated:
“…at its core, LCDC membership means that you will support our nominees and endorsees…This means more than not supporting Republicans, it also means not supporting Independents in races.”
This statement alone is an affront to every person who bled, fought and died for the rights of all citizens to freely vote. I could have chosen to simply not renew my membership and walked away as many others have, but this is a fundamental wrong that must be corrected.
The LCDC leadership must repeal this loyalty pledge and restore the democratic values and principles of “…preserving the fundamental right to vote." I urge you to join my efforts and sign this petition.
The freedom to vote as your values dictate must be a protected right and not the right of any party to control your voting choice. I believe in people over politics and now it’s time for the people to speak.
Democrats know that the right to vote for all Americans was hard fought and is sacred and fundamental to the principles of the party.
The Democratic Party was founded on the promise of an expanded democracy and that the inclusion of many different voices makes our democracy work better. The right to vote is a key principle of the Democratic Party and a core goal is to maximize voter participation and not to control how you vote.
As a democratic value, we must all support efforts to defeat ill-motivated voter suppression tactics and to preserve the fundamental right to vote.
Loudoun County Democratic Committee of VA has violated this core value and is subverting the fundamental right to vote by engaging in these efforts by promoting ill-motivated voter suppression tactics to unduly influence the outcome of local elections.
The Loudoun County Democratic Committee in their January 2018 membership notification letter stated:
“…at its core, LCDC membership means that you will support our nominees and endorsees…This means more than not supporting Republicans, it also means not supporting Independents in races.”
This statement alone is an affront to every person who bled, fought and died for the rights of all citizens to freely vote. I could have chosen to simply not renew my membership and walked away as many others have, but this is a fundamental wrong that must be corrected.
The LCDC leadership must repeal this loyalty pledge and restore the democratic values and principles of “…preserving the fundamental right to vote." I urge you to join my efforts and sign this petition.
The freedom to vote as your values dictate must be a protected right and not the right of any party to control your voting choice. I believe in people over politics and now it’s time for the people to speak.