Listener Feature: Voter Man
This “merry warrior” wants you to do your part.
Steve Scott
Robert Armengol / Democracy in Danger
Steve Scott is a tireless champion for democracy — and one of Democracy in Danger’s biggest fans.
Scott traveled from his home in Sarasota, Fla., to join us not once but twice this past season at our live shows: first in Austin, Texas, in September, then on our local turf in Charlottesville, Va.
This self-described “Voter Man” has spent more than a decade registering new voters and actively supporting inclusivity in the democratic process. Lately he has been writing his own blog about those efforts and about his views on how to get a broad electorate out to the polls.
“Getting people the right to vote is only the first step in my goal of someday seeing a 90-percent voter turnout in a presidential election,” Scott says.
His journey began in 2008. At the time, Scott, who is white, lived in a predominantly black neighborhood. Although he had little prior political experience, he says then–Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign for president fired him up. Scott says he realized that voter turnout, relatively low in the United States, was going to be crucial “since so many had never bothered to register at all.”
Nowadays, Scott — no relation to Florida Sen. Rick Scott, a Republican — advocates for the ratification of a constitutional amendment that he calls “All U.S. Citizens Should Vote.” It would guarantee voting rights for any citizen, with no exceptions. Consider this: As of last year, some 4.6 million Americans were denied voting rights because of felony convictions, according to the Sentencing Project.
In Scott’s home state, the situation has been improving, thanks in part to the efforts of activists like the McArthur fellow Desmond Meade, whom we spoke with on an episode in 2021. (To learn more about mass incarceration and its impact on inequality in the United States, listen to Will and Siva’s conversation back in 2020 with historian Elizabeth Hinton.)
Scott queues up to ask a question during D in D’s live show at the Texas Tribune Festival, on Sept. 22.
Ariana Arenson / Democracy in Danger
Engaging in discussions about ongoing threats to the rule of the people is what brought Scott to both of our live recordings in Season Seven. The second of those was held at Democracy360, a three-day forum organized by our parent foundation, the University of Virginia’s Karsh Institute of Democracy.
Along with hundreds of attendees, Scott took part in many D360 events, not just our show. You can hear him ask a question about women in politics on “Wonder Women,” taped at Charlottesville’s Light House Studio. After the show, D in D co-host Emily Burrill had the chance to speak with Scott about his larger aspirations.
“Steve Scott is a merry warrior for democracy,” she says. “I enjoyed talking to him about voting rights, constitutional law and one of his favorite books, Bury the Chains, about the 18th and 19th century antislavery movement in the British Empire.”
Scott hopes others will follow his lead and do what they can locally to support the political process and protect free and fair elections. He wants you to attend local town meetings, write letters to editors, post on social media and educate yourself. He also wants you to stay curious and never stop asking questions — of your leaders, of the news, of yourself.
And, of course, Scott recommends listening to D in D. As he says, quoting Winston Churchill, “democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” Still, that’s no reason to despair, Scott insists. Instead, he argues for implementing ranked choice voting and offers advice to “voters who don’t like either major party candidate in an election.”
Do you know any fans of the show you think we should feature — or bring on as guests? Let us know! Leave a comment below.
