The state of politics has become divisive, and with the general election around the corner, it’s important to recognize that the current playing field for politicians is full of dishonesty. To spread awareness of the tactics being used to cheat the system, the LMC Social Science Department collaborated with the Honors Program and Student Life to screen “Suppressed and Sabotaged: The Fight to Vote.”

The film was shown Oct. 24 in the Student Union Conference Center to inform students of the efforts that have been taken to suppress and undermine the legitimate votes of American citizens and the experiences of those who were affected.

Honors Director Jennifer Saito thought it was the perfect time for students to see this film and understand some of the struggles that people in other states go through trying to vote.

“A group of us got together and we knew we wanted to screen some type of film,” said Saito. “We just started looking and this film seemed perfect because it was a good length and it was really, really timely.”

Students from English professor Alex Sterling’s and political science professor Ryan Hiscocks’ classes attended the event. Before the film started, Hiscocks took to the podium to explain his perspective on how it explores voter sabotage.

“Our two political parties are diverging, they’re further away from each other than they’ve been in a very, very long time,” Hiscocks said. “We are so firmly entrenched in our camps that things like cross-party voting we’re seeing in our areas are at the lowest levels of all time.”

Hiscocks compared it to a game of tic tac toe, saying politics is polarizing and that most of the time it ends in a draw yet there are ways to get the upper hand and win.

“This is what the movie is about,” Hiscocks said. “This movie is showing you one of the ways in which the Republican Party is trying to win the game.”

The film was split into different parts, with each focusing on different tactics utilized to disrupt the voting system. It contained detailed accounts of people who have been the victims of these tactics and also included statistics to showcase just how many were affected. 

For some people, it was making queue times longer by having fewer voting machines, meaning people would have to stand for hours in line just to get to complete a ballot. Other tactics involved purposely sending absentee ballots to the wrong addresses so intended recipients wouldn’t have time to cast a vote.

The film was an eye opener to the reality of the state of US politics. It displayed the unfairness and lies that are being used to prevent honest voters from participating in democracy. For students and staff in attendance, it showed them why it’s important to fight and exercise their right to vote.

At the end of the film, a panel shared their perspectives and fielded questions from the audience.

“It brought so much emotion for me personally, there was sadness, anger, but then at the end there was empowerment,” said panelist and Umoja Counselor Faith Watkins.

In the audience was League of Women Voters member Shawn Gilbert, who spoke to the students about the importance of increasing young voter turnout.

“You have this power, the percent of your number in your generation of 18 to 35 are almost the same as my generation,” said Gilbert. “60 plus percent of my age group shows up, only 20% of yours shows up, so you’re relinquishing power.”

Gilbert used her time on the mic to spread the word that the young generation was wasting their voice. She encouraged students to go out to the polls and show that the elections aren’t as close as they seem to be.

“Close the power gap, go vote,” said Gilbert. “Give your voice so that we can improve things because your generation is now, mine has passed.”