We must break the stranglehold of voter-suppression laws
1st Jun 2021
Democracy is at stake.
Between Jan. 1 and May 14, 2021, at least 14 states enacted 22 new laws that restrict voting access, according to the Brennan Center For Justice.
The intention is to disfigure democracy until its very foundation is unrecognizable except to those with the hammers and chisels.
But in Texas, rather than sit and idly watch democracy being destroyed, Democrats in the House of Representatives got up and walked out of a session late Sunday that would have disproportionately disenfranchised brown, black, working poor, first-time and newly engaged voters.
The Texas boycott prevented a quorum, thwarting a voter suppression bill from passing by the midnight deadline. While laudable, the protest will only be a delay, since Texas Governor Greg Abbott has vowed to include the so-called voter reform bill in an upcoming special session.
Unwarranted restrictions on voting only leads to unworthy constraints on freedom.
In Arizona, Governor Doug Ducey signed into a law a bill to remove infrequent voters from the state’s permanent early voting list (PEVL). So-called “voter integrity” laws are simply aggressive acts of voter suppression disproportionately targeting brown, black, working poor, first-time and newly engaged voters.
Counts, recounts, canvassing and court challenges after the 2020 election have found no evidence of widespread voter fraud or any justification for exclusionary actions. Those are the facts.
Devoid of facts to the contrary, so-called “audits” – such as the one in Arizona involving 2.1 million votes in Maricopa County – are being ordered to cast public doubt on election outcomes. This political theater only feeds baseless conspiracy theories, such as those previously espoused by the founder/owner of the private firm conducting the election audit despite having no election audit experience.
CPLC Action Fund calls on all legislators, business leaders, community groups and citizens to band together to fight against voter suppression laws and actions to curb free elections.
The stranglehold of voter suppression must be broken. In a true democracy, the power of the people is with the ballot, not the mallet.
We must take the hammer and chisel out of their hands.
Democracy is at stake.
Thank you for your support of CPLC Action Fund. Donate today.
Join CPLC Action Fund Executive Director Joseph Garcia in a virtual panel discussion, Voter Suppression in the 21st Century: What Does It Look Like and What Can Arizonans Do. The Zoom event will be held Thursday, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Arizona/Pacific time.
Event link: https://zoom.us/j/96932927019