Courtesy of Bastrop Advertiser
Jan. 27, 2022
By Joni Ashbrook
“I don’t want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of the people. They never have been from the beginning of our country and they are not now. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down.”
That gobsmacking statement was made in 1980 by Paul Weyrich who coined the phrase “moral majority,” and is considered the chief architect of the conservative movement after founding the Heritage Foundation, and other influential groups.
Republicans’ refusal to support voting rights today prove that’s still their North Star.
Democrats want every eligible citizen to easily vote and that is exactly what the Freedom to Vote Act would do.
These are a few provisions included in that act and some possible reasons why every Republican voted against it.
Maximum of 30 minute wait time to vote
A study by the Brennan Center for Justice found Latino and Black voters were more likely than white voters to wait in the longest of lines.
Minimum number of early voting days
Former Florida Republican Party chairman Jim Greed admitted his party limited early voting “for one reason and one reason only,” to suppress Democratic votes.
Universal no-excuse absentee voting
In 2005, the Republican governor signed a law allowing Georgia voters to request a no-excuse absentee ballot.
According to Mother Jones, that law exempted absentee ballots from the state’s voter ID law because Republicans believed that rural and elderly voters would be casting them.
But now Republicans are ending the no-excuse absentee system since the Black share of mail-in-voters increased by 8 points in 2020 and the white share fell by 13 points.
And now they are implementing strict ID requirements for absentee ballots.
Restore felon voting rights
Many people think that ex-felons, with exceptions, should be allowed to vote.
In 2018, that’s exactly what nearly 65% of Florida voters approved by way of a state referendum.
Later, Florida Republicans made it a requirement that all court fines and fees had to be paid before ex-felons could vote.
A Florida judge rightly saw this as a poll tax, and the law was declared unconstitutional.
Unfortunately, that ruling was overturned by an appeals court with judges appointed by former President Donald Trump.
Require neutral redistricting
The 2020 census showed Texans of color accounted for 95% of the state’s population growth, yet Republicans drew maps favoring whites. Legal challenges have begun.
Also in 2018, Ohio voters overwhelmingly passed a Constitutional amendment to end partisan gerrymandering.
Republicans ignored the law and drew a map that unfairly favored their party. Luckily, the Ohio Supreme Court struck it down.
Harassing, coercing election officials become a federal crime
Because of Trump’s Big Lie, election officials have been subjected to a barrage of threats and intimidation causing many to quit their jobs.
Some fear those non-partisan officials will be replaced with people willing to subvert our democracy at Trump’s request.
Restore the Voting Rights Act of 1965
The “preclearance” section of the VRA prohibited states with a history of racial discrimination from implementing changes affecting voting without federal approval.
Unfortunately, conservative justices on the Supreme Court removed that section which would have stopped dozens of recent GOP suppression tactics from becoming law.
For example, hundreds of mail-in ballot applications are being rejected in Texas due to Republicans requiring an ID for this type voting.
No matter how many words like “security” or “integrity” that Republicans slap on their suppression laws, their purpose is to make it more difficult to vote, and they have nothing to do with curbing almost non-existent fraud.
Ashbrook is a contributing columnist for the Advertiser. She is a retired school teacher and may be reached at [email protected].
