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2024 US Elections: What’s on Your Ballot?

2024 US Elections: What’s on Your Ballot?

We are just one week away from the 2024 US presidential election. In the eight years of the Trump and Biden administrations, we have witnessed increasingly restrictive immigration policies that violate international human rights and human dignity .

While no single presidential election will address all our challenges and aspirations, elections do impact our communities. Down-ballot races,  state propositions and amendments as well as local initiatives directly impact our daily lives. Housing, access to driver’s licenses, reproductive rights, school funding and the allocation of resources away from policing and detention are policy matters that we have an opportunity to inform. Even those who can’t vote due to criminalization and immigration status can influence election outcomes by pressing our priorities with friends and family who are voters, or volunteering on issue-based campaigns.

With that in mind, here are some critical issues to watch in this election:

Immigration

Both political parties are currently participating in a race to the bottom using divisive rhetoric and promoting scarcity mindsets to foster conflict. In reality, neither party  is offering any particular policy that would provide protections from detention and deportation for Black migrants. Neither are they providing sufficient access to basic social services for all Black people. We must make clear that we will not support candidates or policies that exacerbate the existent harms and racial disparities we have been fighting long before the 1994 Crime Bill and the 1996 IIRIRA Bill. Policies that increase police powers, continue the prison-to-deportation pipeline, and expand mass incarceration do not keep people safe – they threaten the integrity and well-being of our people by separating and destroying Black families and communities. 

The People’s Response

This election is an opportunity to support candidates and policies aligned with the People’s Response Campaign (PRC). The PRC, a major initiative by M4BL and M4BL Action, aims to advance our Vision for Black Lives by advocating for transformative community safety and care systems at local, federal, and electoral levels. The data speaks for itself: 88% of Black people in the US support hiring mental-health professionals as non-police first responders to address mental-health crises. This election, we can use the ballot to push for cities and states to invest in community safety solutions rather than increasing police funding. Check your ballot to see if any amendments and propositions support investing in community care (housing, education, healthcare for all) rather than investing in state sanctioned violence (policing, jails, surveillance). 

Reproductive Rights 

Reproductive rights continue to be a key issue in this election cycle. (You can read our reproductive voter guide here.) Reproductive rights include the right to choose an abortion and also encompass the right to access reproductive care and protection from sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Forcing childbirth in a country where Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications is a clear example of systematic racism in America. 

Black immigrant women and birthing people, especially those who are undocumented, are further impacted by being less likely to seek abortion services due to fear of deportation or legal consequences.  Reproductive freedom is non-negotiable. Access to reproductive care must be ensured for all, regardless of where someone lives or their economic and immigration statuses. We must fight for Black communities by spreading critical information on the connection between abortion bans to limit reproductive rights and adverse health outcomes. 

The Sweet Life

Regardless of immigration status, gender, sexuality, economic background, abilities or race, we all have the right to live fulfilling lives. Our human rights should cover not only our basic needs but also empower us to achieve our dreams. A good life should not be a privilege reserved for the few—it should be accessible to all. The personal is political and if you do vote this election, we ask that you think through the impact that your vote will have on our communities as we build a new world that brings us closer to the sweet life.  

About BAJI

The Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) fights for the rights of Black migrants and African Americans through organizing, legal advocacy, research, policy, and narrative building to improve the conditions of Black communities by advancing racial justice and migrant rights. 

About BAJI Action

BAJI Action Fund’s mission is to advance the rights of Black migrants and African Americans at the local, state and federal level by advancing policies, legislation and ballot initiatives that promote a just society, fully inclusive of the Black Diaspora. BAJI Action Fund also advances its mission by engaging in civic engagement campaigns that mobilize our communities to participate in the democratic process by registering and educating voters and non-voters on issues, candidates and ballot initiatives.