All In: The Fight for Democracy Review: An Important Look At Modern Voter Suppression

Release date: September 18, 2020
Running time: 102 minutes

In anticipation of the 2020 presidential election, ALL IN: THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY examines the issue of voter suppression in the United States. The film interweaves personal experiences with current activism and historical insight to expose a problem that has corrupted our democracy from the very beginning. With the perspective and expertise of Stacey Abrams, the former Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, the documentary offers an insider’s look into laws and barriers to voting that many people don’t even know are threats to their basic rights as citizens of the United States.

All In starts with a historical perspective on the suppression of the vote.  It looks at some of the worst past practices and then what was done to eventually overcome them.  This provides a thorough and critical look at what has been tried in the past and how it might relate to current practices of voter suppression.  It also interweaves personal experiences from the narrators with voting issues, and other prejudicial instances that happened.  Stacey Abrams has a particularly powerful personal anecdote about her own experiences with discrimination that helps to frame the overall movie.  

However, the film really picks up on the second half when it looks at modern examples of voter suppression. The use of Abrams as a narrator is not simply her star power, but the film uses her experiences in the Georgia gubernatorial race to frame what modern steps have been taken to suppress the vote.  It shows a shocking number of examples and then shows how they were put to use in that election.  And the film also shows what else has been done in other states that mirror these changes.  The film ends with practical advice on how you can protect yourself and your right to vote.  

What makes this film so important is that often times, voter suppression techniques will seem reasonable or logical, but taking a step back and seeing their impact can really show you why they are so insidious.  It might make sense to limit voting to those who have voted recently, but then you have to think what happens if your name comes up as inactive on election day in error?  Requiring an ID sounds reasonable, but what if you were born in a time when you didn't get a birth certificate or you can't take a half day off of work to go secure an official ID to then take a day off of work to vote?  All of these are important issues that strike at the core of the democratic process.  And the important message of this film is one that will hopefully ensure people protect their right to vote, and perfect it in the short time before the next election.  

All In; The Fight for Democracy is an important film about modern voter suppression techniques, with poignant examples and valuable advice to ensure that all Americans are able to exercise their rights to vote.  Make sure to watch this with plenty of time to follow its advice! 

Watch it.

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All In: The Fight for Democracy is available to stream on Amazon Prime now.