From poll taxes to voter intimidation, the American electoral system is woven with the thread of systemic racism. Earlier this week, a Republican member of the electoral board in the city of Hampton was forced to resign from his position after a racist social media post came to light.

David Dietrich was met with calls to resign from officials across Virginia after a local television station reported on a racist post he made on Facebook. The post included a racial slur and called for a lynching. Governor Glenn Youngkin was among those who called for his resignation, and on Monday, his office confirmed that Dietrich had agreed to resign.

The Governor’s condemnation came as a Tweet Saturday afternoon.

The post was shared by the Republican Party of Hampton in a Facebook post where they condemned Dietrich, stating, “Late last week, the Republican Party of Hampton was made aware of a Facebook post from David Dietrich, a Hampton Electoral Board Member. In the post, Mr. Dietrich uses abhorrent and unacceptable racist language that has no place in our Party or our Commonwealth.”

After the incident, the Virginia State Elections Board urged local parties to take their appointment recommendations more seriously. In line with state law, individuals are appointed to electoral boards by local judges who receive nominations from local political parties.

“This isn’t a partisan matter,” said Bob Brink, chair of the State Elections Board. “Both political parties need to show they appreciate the importance of positions on their local electoral boards and to show that understanding when they make recommendations to the circuit court for appointments to that board.”

While this is a glaring controversy that came as a surprise to many, the American election system is no stranger to racism. Whether it is a blatant white supremacist on a local election board or a systemic purge of Black voters from the voting rolls, our election system is a constant haven for racism. Expelling Dietrich from the Hampton Electoral Board was progress, but it does not address the desperate need for overarching systemic change.