If you step back for a moment it is simply astounding to me that so many are working so hard to make it more difficult for people to vote. During a pandemic. Unreal.
I wrote an article about this early during the pandemic, and I concluded, contrary to what I've thought for the last 25 years, that the only way out of this mess is a constitutional amendment guaranteeing a right to vote and establishing nonpartisan election administration.
Here's that article: liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/el…
Three Pathologies of American Voting Rights Illuminated by the COVID-19 Pandemic, and How to Treat and Cure Them.
Since publication, the Supreme Court's conservative majority, and many lower appeals courts, have made things much worse.
Three Pathologies of American Voting Rights Illuminated by the COVID-19 Pandemic, and How to Treat and Cure Them.
Since publication, the Supreme Court's conservative majority, and many lower appeals courts, have made things much worse.
The fact is, (some) Republican officials, the Trump campaign and Republican Party have used various arguments to prevent efforts to make it easier to vote during a pandemic. I wish both parties competed for voters, and not to shrink the electorate. Especially during a pandemic.
And I get some of the arguments these officials make about sticking to the rules and avoiding voter confusion. But late litigation rolling back voting expansion causes more confusion, and during a pandemic we should put a thumb on the scale to make voting easier, not harder.
If some of these changes would cause serious voter fraud or administrative difficulties, I get the concern. But voting rights plaintiffs should not have had to run to federal court for help. All states should have eased burdens on their own. (Some did.)
Take the South Carolina example. Elected officials and the Republican party didn't mind when a federal court got rid of the signature requirement for absentee voting during the primaries. But they got the Supreme Court to kill it in the general. For no good reason.
So many of the arguments against easing voting burdens during a pandemic just disingenuous. Others are sincere but elevate other, lesser values over the right to vote. It's wrong, especially during a pandemic. <End of rant.>
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