We’ve got to get serious about fighting voter suppression. It’s that simple.

As an intern for the national voting rights organization Let America Vote, I spent the summer in Nashville, Tennessee meeting face-to-face with voters to ensure we elect leaders this fall who will stand up for voting rights.

Through thousands of phone calls and hundreds of hours spent knocking on doors, I spoke to all kinds of Nashvilleans. In meeting people of all kinds of political persuasions and world views, it became clear that we have much more in common than it may seem.

Everyone deserves a chance to have their voice heard through voting. Unfortunately, there are some people who are working hard to make voting more difficult. The fight for voting rights is real, and it’s going to get more intense as we get closer to the midterms and the 2020 Presidential election.

While I was knocking doors this summer, the U.S. Supreme Court gave legal cover to politicians who purge voters from voter rolls. Iowa began enforcing its anti-democratic voter ID law that’s very similar to Missouri’s. And some Republican politicians in Washington D.C. refused to address the threat of further Russian interference in our elections.

These developments are frustrating, and the only way to stop them is at the ballot box this fall. That’s why as I return to Mizzou, I’m more committed than ever to defending access to the ballot. We must get active, get registered and get out to vote this November.

Our democracy – and our future – depends on it.