Today on Sojourner Truth, our Election Day special. Our guests are Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons, David Ayala, Ed Fallon, Marjorie Cohn.
As we speak, millions of people across the United States are heading to the polls and casting their ballots to elect a new president. Over 94 million ballots have been cast in the lead-up to todays election, according to NBC News. Early voting and mail-in voting totals already make up roughly two-thirds of all votes cast in 2016. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, representing the Democratic Party, are up against Republicans Donald Trump and Mike Pence. Voters arent just deciding who the next President and Vice President will be. They will also decide who will fill 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate. Within the Senate, the GOP is defending 23 seats. Furthermore, thirteen state and territorial governorships, as well as many other state and local elections, are up for grabs.
Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons is a civil rights icon and was a member of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, known as SNCC. Zoharah is also Professor Emerita of African American and Islamic Studies, University of Florida.
David Ayala is the National Organizer of the Formerly Incarcerated, Convicted People & Families Movement. His movement is a network of over 50 civil and human rights organizations that are led by people who are living with criminal records, and their family members.
Ed Fallon is an activist, politician, talk show host, and author. For the past 13 years, Mr. Fallons work has focused on the climate crisis, including leading the Great March for Climate Action on a 3,000-mile trek across the US in 2014.
Marjorie Cohn is professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law where she taught for 25 years. The former president of the National Lawyers Guild and criminal defense attorney is a legal scholar and political analyst who writes books and articles, and lectures throughout the world about human rights, US foreign policy, and the contradiction between the two.
