I’m a Summer Baby, so, baby, let’s go!
Voting is fundamental, and “truth in labeling” matters. Voter ID Laws? I’m good. Of course voters should be expected to prove they are who they say they are and establish their eligibility to participate in our elections. No argument here. And I frankly find suggestions that some minority voters are incapable of securing standardized personal identification to be condescending, insulting and even racist.
But the wave of cynical legislation cresting in GOP controlled statehouses has nothing to do with “Voter ID.” This is about voter suppression. And water is wet.
Yes, let’s make our voter rolls as accurate as possible. (Although frankly this is a “solution” in search of a problem.) But once a voter’s legitimacy has been established, it is our democratic duty to make voting as easy and convenient as possible.
Who could possibly take issue with that premise? Well, cynically partisan politicians who possess basic math skills, that’s who. This is just about “numbers.” GOP electoral success is dependent on shrinking the size of the electorate. As voter turnout and participation rise, Republican chances fall, pretty much in direct proportion. Again, that statement is not “partisan.” It’s fact.
And we’re all about Bringing Facts Back into Fashion.
Particularly chilling for any American of integrity are provisions in many of these bills that would enable politically partisan legislatures to brazenly and arbitrarily toss out and overturn any election results they simply don’t like. That absurd notion is pretty much the reason we are where we are. And where we are is not a good place.
