Ethics & Religion
March 17, 2021
Column #2,066
Republicans Impose Voter Suppression Bills
By Mike McManus
Chagrined by their loss of the White House, Republicans rolled out a
tidal wave of 165 voter suppression bills in 43 states. These proposals
primarily seek to (1) limit mail voting access; (2) impose stricter
voter ID requirements; (3) slash voter registration opportunities; and
(4) enable more aggressive voter roll purges.
Arizona leads the nation in proposed voter suppression legislation with
19 restrictive bills. Pennsylvania comes in second with 14 restrictive
policy proposals, followed by Georgia with 11 bills and New Hampshire
(10 bills).
Nearly half of restrictive bills seek to limit mail voting. Republican
legislators are taking aim at mail voting at every stage with proposals
to circumscribe who can vote by mail, make it harder to obtain mail
ballots and impose hurdles to complete and cast ballots. Their broad
goals is to limit voting by minority voters who voted in record numbers
in the 2020 election.
Georgia and Arizona, which narrowly voted for Biden as President, have
introduced 22 bills in each state to restrict voting access. The Georgia
House passed a bill which proposed to eliminate early voting on Sunday -
taking direct aim at the longtime "Souls to the Polls" tradition in
which black churches bussed church attendees to the polls on the Sunday
before Election Day. Last year, 71,764 Georgians took advantage of early
Sunday voting, 37% of whom were black.
Their broad participation was a major reason Biden won Georgia by less
than 12,000 votes and two Democratic U.S. Senators were elected.
Georgia also added a voter ID requirement for mail-in ballots, and
reduced the time voters have to request ballots that election officials
have to mail out and limit the use of ballot drop boxes as well as
barring counties from adding extra early voting hours.
Georgia Senate Republicans introduced a bill that would end no-excuse
absentee voting entirely in the state. It would also impose new ID and
witness signature requirements, including one mandating that voters
include a photocopy of their ID to be counted. Under the bill only those
required to be absent, are disabled or over 65, or observing a religious
holiday can vote by mail if they meet all other requirements.
Arizona and Pennsylvania have introduced bills to eliminate the
permanent early voter list, as did Hawaii, and New Jersey. Oklahoma's
bill proposes an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to prohibit delivery
of an absentee ballot to anyone who has not submitted an application
notarized or signed by two witnesses.
Republicans control both House and Senate and the governor's office in
these states - guaranteeing passage of bills to limit minority voting.
Montana Republicans are pushing to end Election Day voter registration.
Missouri Republicans are seeking a new voter ID requirement.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has proposed a measure that
could be the "worst voter suppression legislation" in the country. It
would ban mail-in ballots, restrict the use of drop boxes and impose
tougher signature requirements.
Nearly half of the new restrictive bills are aimed at limiting mail
balloting. Multiple bills in Pennsylvania, Arizona, North Dakota and
Oklahoma are among those aimed to eliminate no-excuse absentee voting
entirely. My wife and I voted by mail for the first time in 2020 and
were delighted to do so rather than waiting in long lines during the
pandemic to vote on Election Day.
Legislators in Pennsylvania and Virginia have introduced bills that
would ban the use of ballot drop boxes. An Arizona bill would ban
absentee ballots from being submitted by mail.
By contrast, 37 states have introduced, prefilled or passed 541 bills
to expand voter access. Of course, these are in states with
Democratic legislatures. However, even if passed, they would not affect
the anti-Black bills being passed by Republican legislatures.
Democratic attorneys are fighting in each state to defeat laws to
disenfranchise voters. They will take any voter suppression laws that
pass legislatures to court to block them. Many of the provisions,
particularly in southern states with a history of voter discrimination,
would have been subject to the pre-clearance requirement under Section 5
of the Voting Rights Act. Of course, court challenges to voter
suppression laws could be vetoed by the ultra-conservative U.S. Supreme
Court.
Most importantly, House Democrats have passed sweeping voting
legislation over unanimous Republican opposition that would be the
largest overhaul of US election law in a generation. House Resolution 1
would restrict partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts,
strike down hurdles to voting and bring transparency to a murky campaign
finance system. It would allow anyone to vote by mail.
Yet it is unlikely to pass the Senate, where Republicans could demand a
filibuster vote of 60 where Democrats only control 50 seats.
Sadly, voter suppression seems impossible to stop.
_________________________
Copyright (c)2021 Michael J. McManus, a syndicated columnist and past president of Marriage Savers. To read past columns, go to
www.ethicsandreligion.com. Hit
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