By Donald C. Menzel
As a youngster I was taught that it was your civic duty to vote. It never occurred to me that somebody might not want me to vote. After all, America is a democracy, isn’t it? And voting is an essential component of a functioning democracy. Alas, if I happened to be an African American or Hispanic or Native American or a Democrat, Republicans and their allies across a number of states don’t want me to vote — it’s called voter suppression. Consider what’s happening right now.
Pennsylvania leads the nation in proposed voter suppression legislation in 2021, with 14 restrictive policy proposals. A GOP-backed bill in Iowa would cut the state’s mail and in-person early voting period from 29 days to 18 days, down from 40 days just four years ago. In Georgia, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, bills requiring an excuse and an ID number for absentee voting would create new restrictions after last year’s presidential election. There are 19 bills in Arizona to make voting harder. Florida’s vote-by-mail system worked so well in the 2020 presidential election that Republicans want to require voters to reapply every calendar year. The Brennan Center for justice asks: “Look at North Dakota: a federal district court found that, when the state enacted its current ID law in 2017, 19 percent of Native Americans lacked qualifying ID compared to less than 12 percent of other potential voters.” Further, the Brennan Center reports that “legislators have introduced three times the number of bills to restrict voting access as compared to this time last year. “GOP lawmakers in 28 states,” states the Brennan Center report, “have prefiled, or carried over 106 restrictive bills this year (as compared to 35 such bills in fifteen states on Feb. 3, 2020). These proposals seek to: (1) limit mail voting access; (2) impose stricter voter ID requirements; (3) limit successful pro-voter registration policies; and (4) enable more aggressive voter roll purges. These bills are an unmistakable response to the unfounded and dangerous lies about fraud that followed the 2020 election.”
What is the defense for voter suppression? Election integrity, claims the right wing media and Republicans. Oh, so American democracy is plagued with voter fraud. OK, show me the evidence — ah, that’s not a fair question. Why not? Because study after study has shown that voter fraud is but a tiny statistic. A comprehensive study published in the Washington Post found 31 credible instances of impersonation fraud from 2000 to 2014, out of more than 1 billion ballots cast. Even this tiny number is likely inflated, as the study’s author counted not just prosecutions or convictions, but any and all credible claims. Two studies done at Arizona State University, one in 2012 and another in 2016, found similarly negligible rates of impersonation fraud. The project found 10 cases of voter impersonation fraud nationwide from 2000 to 2012. Enough?
Many Republican lawmakers cite a new reason for restrictive laws: the lack of voter confidence in the integrity of U.S. elections, which Trump has fomented since he entered politics. And, of course, the “big lie” that the election was stolen from Trump remains alive and well.
Voter suppression is a patently obnoxious effort to keep Republicans in power. Republicans have become the anti-democracy party of our time. American democracy must be cleansed of this cancer before it spreads an inch further. Easier said than done? Absolutely, but to do nothing will allow the cancer to metastasize — and we all know how that ends.
Where to start? First, honest Republicans who care about America must recognize that the post-Trump party is not a home for them. They must find a new home — say, a new party or become independents. Second, a massive effort must be taken to convince the American public that pressing public problems will never be solved by a Republican Party that cares only about political power and self-aggrandizement. Third, voters in the 2022 elections must send a resounding message to the Republicans that the end is here — there is no future for a radicalized party.
Isn’t it past time to restore American democracy to its historic place in world affairs? Voter suppression is fact, but it doesn’t have to be the future.
Donald C. Menzel, Ph.D., is a Loveland resident. He studied political science at Penn State University.