12-yr-old takes on NC Governor re. voting rights | Story of America #102

Filmed Monday Oct. 28, 2013 in Burlington, NC http://www.StoryofAmerica.org | 12-year-old Madison Kimrey of Burlington founded NC Youth Rocks after the North Carolina legislature passed voting restriction laws targeting young people, women, minorities, and the poor.

The law appears to be designed to create long lines at the polls — especially in more populous, urban areas — by cutting early voting and making the voting process more time consuming (this was the formula that created 8-hour waits in Florida for the 2012 election, as a FL election official testified to the House Elections Committee in March 2013). Also, the law requires voters to produce a photo ID, but student IDs are not accepted, even if issued by a state university.

The same law does away with disclosure requirements for political advertising and increases the limit on campaign contributions. Also, the law does away with same-day registration during early voting, which had been popular with African Americans and other groups who had previously not engaged in the democratic process at the same level as white voters had. The US Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit under the Voting Rights Act.

In this speech Kimrey takes exception to the end of a program by which 16 and 17-year-olds pre-registered to vote when getting their drivers license or through school programs. More: https://www.facebook.com/NCYouthRock

video by Eric Byler & Annabel Park for Story of America
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Hundreds of people packed downtown Burlington's amphitheater Monday night, spilling out into the Historic Depot and along the Front Street sidewalk to get an earful of Alamance County's first Moral Monday rally.

Local and state officials charged an amped-up, sign-waving crowd to continue registering their discontent with the current North Carolina leadership, regarding the state's failure to accept Medicaid expansion money, the rejection of federal unemployment insurance funds, cuts to teachers and educators, and legislation NAACP leaders say suppresses voting rights.

Barrett Brown, education chair for the Alamance County branch of the NAACP, asked the crowd which members were veterans. Several raised their hands. He asked who were teachers. Half of the crowd stood. He asked who'd participated in Moral Monday events across the state. The crowd erupted.

"People of Alamance County are paying attention," Brown said.

Madison Kimrey, Burlington resident and founder of NC Youth Rocks, said Gov. Pat McCrory's voting rights laws sought to reduce voting participation in the younger generation and dismissed the youth's voices.

Ellie Kinnaird, retired state senator from Orange County and founder of the NC Voter ID Project, asked everyone in attendance to make sure their neighbors were registered to vote, and knew which precinct in which to vote come November.

Carolyn Smith, state director of Working America, said 1,200 people in Alamance County are unemployed and 2,600 will lose their emergency unemployment benefits by the end of the year due to the state's rejection of federal unemployment insurance funds.

Rodney Ellis, president of the North Carolina Association of Educators, said, "We are witnessing a mass exodus of quality educators," due to cuts to education and the phasing out of tenure.

"Public school educators aren't failing North Carolina's children," Ellis said. "Politicians are."

Matthew Antonio Bosch, director of Elon University's Gender & LGBTQIA Center, encouraged those at the rally to seek out people who are different from themselves and become their ally, because "allies matter."

He said women's rights issues aren't handled by women alone, and a law about who is and who isn't allowed to get married affects everyone in a community. Bosch said despite differences in gender, sexuality, nationality and background, people continue to cohabit the same places and live together.

"You don't get growth because of sameness," but because of diversity, he said. "Think of someone who's different from you today, and have their back."

The Rev. Curtis E. Gatewood, the Historic Thousands on Jones Street People's Coalition (HKonJ) coalition coordinator for the state's NAACP, led the crowd in chants demanding justice, health care and women's rights.

He read a Bible passage from Jeremiah 17:7-8, stating, "But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream."

MORE: http://www.thetimesnews.com/news/top-news/protesters-stand-strong-in-alamance-county-moral-monday-1.225992?page=2

Madison Kimry, North Carolina, Youth Rocks.

(applause)

Wow...I just got ten times more nervous. Okay.

(laughs nervously)

it's really an honor for me to speak today here in my own home town.

But the reason I'm here today is because we young people

have a serious leadership problem here in North Carolina

(applause)

We have leaders here in our state

who have shown that not only do they want to reduce

the amount of participation by young people in our government;

they also want to dismiss and belittle our voices.

Part of the new voter ID law that was passed by the North Carolina General Assembly

and signed by Governor pat McCrory

eliminated the ability of 16 and 17 year olds to pre-register to vote.

(boos)

The legislation granting teenagers this ability

passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in 2010

Teenagers were encouraged to pre-register, through programs in their high schools

and when they went to the DMV to get a driver's license.

The elimination of pre-registration was one of the first parts of the new 56-page

voting law to go into effect.

The ability of 16 and 17 year olds to pre-register

and automatically be added to the voter roles when they turned 18

ended on September 1st.

For a lot of kids, this is the start of the school year.

So...ask yourselves, your people, why?

why did they want to take away our ability to pre-register so quickly?

When pre-registration was debated in the North Carolina Senate,

Senator Bob Rucho of Mecklenburg County said pre-registration was confusing to teenager.

(laughter)

he said his own son was confused as to when he was supposed to vote.

(laughs)

This senator, who has server over 7 terms,

said he had to write a letter to the Board of Elections

to clarify at what age his son was supposed to vote.

(groans and laughter)

Before Governor Pat McCrory signed the bill,

he was asked about the elimination of pre-registration

and his answer was he hadn't read that part of the bill.

(more groans and laughter)

After signing the bill, Governor McCrory's office issued a statement

calling pre-registration "a bureaucratic burden."

I wanted to meet with our Governor to discuss pre-registration

but he called my request to meet with him ridiculous

and called me a prop for liberal groups.

(groans and laughter)

This is not leadership. The young people of North Carolina deserve better.

(cheers and applause)

I am not a prop.

I am part of the new generation of suffragettes

(cough)

And I will not stand silent while laws are passed

to reduce the amount of voter turnout by young people in my home state.

(more cheers and clapping)

Listen to these words from our state song:

Hurrah, hurrah, the good old north state.

And her daughters, the queen of the forest resembling.

so graceful, so constant, yet the gentlest breath trembling.

And true lightwood at heart, let the match be applied them.

Oh! How they kindle and flame. Oh! None know but who've tried them.

Well the match has been lit and my fire burns bright.

(applause and cheers)

I'm going to do everything I can to get the opportunity for North Carolina's teenagers

to pre-register back by the time I turn 16 in four years.

But I can't do this alone.

I need other young people to contact their lawmakers.

I need other young people to talk to their friends and family about the issue.

I need the adults who can vote to ask their elected representatives and candidates seeking office

how they plan to encourage young people to take an active part in our democracy.

Young people: our state needs you. Our nation needs you.

Pay attention.

Find the issues that are important to you and take action.

We are the future of North Carolina and we deserve leadership that recognizes

North Carolina's future and respects our ideas and our voices.

The future of our state and our nation deserves no less than for us not to give up.

Let's get out there and work.

Forward together?

(crowd yells in unison) Not one step back.

Thank you.

(crowd breaks into cheers applause)

Madison for president...