State Rep. Morgan Cephas (D- 192nd Dist.) at the Harrisburg State Capital.
By Amy V. Simmons
As recent developments regarding voting rights in federal elections overshadow the nation’s primary election cycle, local and state house elections have taken center stage as democracy struggles to survive.
After years of cynical pushback to undo whatever gains were made after the Voting Rights Act was first passed in 1965, that cynicism appears to be paying off. The recent Supreme Court decision — Louisiana v. Callais — which has upended Section Two, has emphasized one important point when it comes to protecting civil rights gains in the United States – that it is a never-ending struggle.
Taking the hard earned right to vote for granted, not just for constituents in the south, but throughout the nation, is risky business. And not only just where it concerns federal elections, but in all local races as well. When it comes to the effects of racist policy, and bad policy in general, there is a contagion factor: what is designed to infect one group eventually spreads to everyone.
State House as protectorate
There will be long term implications stemming from this Supreme Court’s decisions concerning voting and other rights for decades to come, State Representative Morgan Cephas (D- 192nd Dist.) said.
“They’ve erased decades of work from previous generations,” Cephas told the SUN on Election Day. “In this moment, it makes me think of my niece, who is 5 years old, who now has less reproductive rights, and less voting rights than her grandmother. … I feel like we actually dropped the ball in this moment, and it’s going to take a significant period of time to reverse all the harm.”
State legislators play an important role when it comes to checks and balances on federal power and safeguarding the rights of their constituents, Cephas said.
“Local government, state government — we are becoming the backstop, even when it comes to our courts, in ensuring that, at the very least, in Pennsylvania, we can have fair, accessible elections,” she said. “When you look at what’s happening around redistricting, thankfully we have a Democratic majority in the House of Representatives. We have a Democratic leaning court, but that might not always be.”
Locally, the General Assembly primary election races — with a few notable exceptions — tended to favor incumbents in both parties.
Democratic candidate Chris Johnson bested Deshawnda Williams and Quasim Rashad in the race for the 200th District state representative’s seat currently held by Rep. Chris Rabb, who is now the Democratic nominee for the 3rd U.S. Congressional District.
Johnson, 33, who Rabb endorsed, is no political newcomer. He has worked at the state level as a district office director for Joanna McClinton and as a regional representative in former U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s Philadelphia office, which also contributed to his broad appeal.
In the 195th District, educator and social worker Sierra McNeil bested community leader Kenneth Walker, Jr. and incumbent Rep. Keith Harris.
In both districts, there were no Republican candidates for the seat.
“We must live together as brothers or…”
When it comes to the usual interparty dynamics and friction that can be a part of local primary elections — this year’s edition in Philadelphia’s U.S. 3rd Congressional District race being a case in point — somehow, effective governance has to prevail, regardless of the outcome.
It must, given the current situation, which includes a full-blown Constitutional crisis and revisionist policies that threaten every political gain African Americans have ever achieved.
The last day to register to vote in the General Election is October 19. Election Day is November 3.
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