Republican strategists suffer from a reoccurring nightmare. In the dark recesses of their dreams they see long lines of eager voters snaking their way through the major urban communities of our country. The faces they see in these lines are not those of white faced corporate execs and stay at home moms. No, these faces are black, and Hispanic, and young…they are blue collar, they are working poor, and they are students. These are the faces of Obama supporters. Reality sets in; and the strategists awaken in a cold sweat.
To combat this nightmare scenario Republicans have spent the last two years in a concerted effort to deny these Obama supporters their right to vote. Republicans used their right as the new “majority” party to redraw key voting districts to more favorably support Republican candidates and policies. Citing the need to curb rampant voter fraud; Republican state legislatures passed a host of new voter identification laws specifically designed to make it harder for the poor, the elderly and the disenfranchised to cast their vote. (The fact that voter fraud historically represents less than 0.00001% of all votes cast has done little to dampen their resolve.) More recently we see a developing pattern on the part of Republicans to limit pre-election voting hours in large urban counties which tend to vote Democratic while extending voting hours in smaller counties that tend to vote Republican.
The key swing state of Ohio offers perhaps the best example of these shenanigans.
Ohio voters have traditionally enjoyed extended voting hours during October and early November. The purpose was to make it easier for folks to get to the polls…especially blue collar workers with 8-5 jobs. In 2008, 93,000 votes were cast statewide on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday before the election. Last year the Republican controlled Ohio General Assembly passed legislation preventing county elections boards from keeping polling places open the three days before Election Day. Republicans claimed tight budget constraints as rationale for the decision.
The Obama Campaign, the Democratic National Committee and the Ohio Democratic Party have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to restore those three days. While waiting for a decision in that case, some of Ohio’s 88 county elections boards have extended…or tried to extend pre-election day voting hours. Several of these county board efforts have resulted in deadlock, with the impasse…in accordance with Ohio law…decided by the Ohio Secretary of State; in this case Republican Jon Husted. Husted’s record here is telling. The counties where Husted joined with other Republicans to DENY expanded early voting strongly backed Obama in 2008. However, in those counties that heavily supported McCain; Husted allowed the expanded voting hours to continue.
The right to vote is the very cornerstone of our democracy. It is a right that hundreds of thousands of Americans have died to protect. We should be making it easier for people to vote not restricting their access to the ballot box for political gain.
The Republican Party loves to wave the flag and spew platitudes about America’s “exceptionalism.” Yet when it comes to protecting an individual’s right to vote they act like third world dictators.
No comments:
Post a Comment