# The Republican War on Voting Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 11, 2021, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723 "2021-03-11T17:30:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 29
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2021, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/561 "2021-08-12T21:28:49Z")
The party of “no”, the party of negative policy, the party of obstruction, the party of no ideas, the party of “never”. That’s all the Republicans are now. The party of fucking up the country. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2021, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/562 "2021-08-12T21:52:12Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > her basic argument that _the Senate should remain a place where no desired-by-Democrats bills pass because that will ensure that in the future no bills Dems dislike will pass_ is ridiculous. It requires an assumption that a new GOP majority will never change the filibuster so as to be able to pass what they want. How can that assumption possibly be legitimate? Moscow Mitch already changed the filibuster for SCOTUS. He will do it again as he wants to, should he get 51 votes. > [@D\_Anconia](#): > > The Constitution gives the power to regulate elections primarily to the States, not the federal government. The Constitution gives the power to stop discrimination to the federal government. Most of the Jim Crow laws are racist. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2021, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/563 "2021-08-12T23:44:56Z")
I think the “procedural move” from **ThelmaLou** ’s cite was the request for unanimous consent, rather than blocking the request for unanimous consent. But that’s still not completely accurate, as senators _ask_ for unanimous consent on _everything_, and it’s pretty much taken for granted that they won’t get it on the controversial stuff. If you want to create a “National Catfish Month”, no one’s going to object. Immigration reform, you know what’s coming. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_S](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@Max\_S](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_S)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2021, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/564 "2021-08-12T23:47:08Z")
On a second read you are probably right. ~Max ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2021, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/565 "2021-08-13T00:05:48Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@Sherrerd](#): > > > > her basic argument that _the Senate should remain a place where no desired-by-Democrats bills pass because that will ensure that in the future no bills Dems dislike will pass_ is ridiculous. It requires an assumption that a new GOP majority will never change the filibuster so as to be able to pass what they want. How can that assumption possibly be legitimate? > > Moscow Mitch already changed the filibuster for SCOTUS. He will do it again as he wants to, should he get 51 votes. > > > [@D\_Anconia](#): > > > > The Constitution gives the power to regulate elections primarily to the States, not the federal government. > > The Constitution gives the power to stop discrimination to the federal government. Most of the Jim Crow laws are racist. Good points on both counts. Of course Sinema’s argument is ridiculous. I’m amazed that people don’t laugh right in her face when she makes it. And, yes, those relying on the ‘states get to regulate elections’ argument are quite disingenuously ignoring the ‘Federal government has the power to counter racist state polices’ part of the Constitution (and Supreme Court decisions too, for that matter–though as time moves on we are bound to get more ‘racism is fine and dandy’ decisions from this particular Court). ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2021, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/566 "2021-08-14T12:41:52Z")
> **[‘Unnecessary chaos’: Republican Pa. county asks senator to stop seeking...](https://www.pennlive.com/news/2021/08/unnecessary-chaos-republican-pa-county-asks-senator-to-stop-seeking-election-audit.html)** > > Tioga County leaders said they want to focus on COVID-19 recovery and the opioid crisis. An article from my neck of the woods. Nice to see a few Republicans seem to have their heads on tight-ish. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2021, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/567 "2021-08-19T23:55:27Z")
Not with a bang, but a whimper. . . > **[After a nearly six-week exodus over GOP voting bill, enough Democrats return...](https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/18/texas-house-democrats-quorum/)** > > Democrat Reps. Garnet Coleman, Armando Walle and Ana Hernandez were the latest to rejoin the House on Thursday, narrowly clinching a quorum. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/568 "2021-08-25T17:39:55Z")
> **[The Era of Easier Voting for Disabled People Is Over](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/08/people-disabilities-vote/619834/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%2BTheAtlantic%2B%28The%2BAtlantic%2B-%2BMaster%2BFeed%29)** > > Thanks to absentee ballots, drop-off boxes, and curbside voting, people with disabilities turned out in record numbers in the 2020 election. That’s likely to change. > … > Nearly [62 percent of Americans with disabilities voted in 2020](https://smlr.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/Documents/Centers/Program_Disability_Research/FactSheet_Disability_Voter_Turnout_2020.pdf), a [surge of nearly 6 percentage points](https://smlr.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/Documents/Centers/Program_Disability_Research/FactSheet_Disability_Voter_Turnout_2020.pdf) over 2016, or 1.7 million more voters. The number of disabled voters reporting difficulties while voting also dropped significantly; in 2020, 11 percent of disabled voters reported having problems, down from 26 percent in 2012, [according to an](https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/voters/Disability_and_voting_accessibility_in_the_2020_elections_final_report_on_survey_results.pdf) Election Assistance Commission report. That’s not to say voting was suddenly simple: Mail-in ballots [aren’t easier for everyone](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/disabled-people-had-easier-time-voting-in-2020-but-millions-still-had-issues-report_n_6034102dc5b67c32961fc93f), including those with visual or cognitive disabilities. And in 2020, disabled Americans were still roughly [7 percent less likely to vote than nondisabled Americans](https://www.eac.gov/sites/default/files/voters/Disability_and_voting_accessibility_in_the_2020_elections_final_report_on_survey_results.pdf). But the changes made a real difference. > > Now state policy makers want to turn back the clock. Citing exaggerated concerns about voter fraud, state legislators have passed [a wave of new bills](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/06/republican-state-legislatures-changes/619086/) that will make it harder for disabled people to vote in future elections. Overall, lawmakers have introduced [more than 400 bills in 49 states](https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-july-2021) this year that would restrict access to voting for people with disabilities. At least 18 [states have already](https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-july-2021)[passed such laws.](https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-july-2021) These laws either target mail-in ballots, reduce the amount of time voters have to request or mail in a ballot, restrict the availability of drop-off locations, impose stricter signature requirements for mail-in voting, or enact new and stricter voter-ID requirements. > … > > Some of these voter-integrity bills and laws do intentionally target people with disabilities. These measures are based on long-standing prejudices, Bishop told me: “That _those people_ are not intelligent, or they’re not with the times, or they don’t have a firm grip on reality and that someone is just going to try to influence them … If you know enough people with disabilities, you know that’s simply not true.” > … Truth?? What’s truth got to do with anything? It’s just part of the Pub goal of weeding more undesirables out of the voting process. You know, the kind of people that trumpy likes to mock. (Where does wheelchair-bound Greg Abbott fit into this?) * * * The Atlantic allows four free articles per month to non-subscribers. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/569 "2021-08-25T19:04:17Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > (Where does wheelchair-bound Greg Abbott fit into this?) He’s rich, so obviously is a good guy. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2021, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/570 "2021-08-25T21:33:09Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > {…} (Where does wheelchair-bound Greg Abbott fit into this?) {…} Yes, what is his position, hehe, on banning people from bringing chairs to waiting lines to vote?! ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2021, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/571 "2021-08-28T05:16:32Z")
With the collapse of the Democratic walkout, [the Texas House has passed legislation restricting voting in Texas](https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/26/texas-house-voting-restrictions-bill/). They still need to work out differences with the state Senate, but at this point passage of a bill limiting access to voting in an inevitability. This quorum break has been a debacle for Texas Democrats. The initial walkout at the end of the regular session was fantastic – it shone a spotlight on what the bill did and made Republicans look like idiots for putting themselves in the position that they could be susceptible to this maneuver. But once Abbott made clear he would keep the Legislature in session as long as he needed to pass the bill, the Dems should have stayed in Austin and fought the bill on the floor. They would ultimately lose, but they were always going to lose, and making a show of fighting the bill on the floor would have made more of an impact than sitting in a hotel in Washington hoping that Joe Manchin’s heart would grow three sizes. I don’t really see a good path forward for Texas Democrats from here. Even without these new restrictions, they’ve got no strong candidates for Gov, Lt Gov, AG, and the other offices that will be on the ballot next year. And they’re about to get redistricted to hell as Republican use the block-by-block data to ensure their dominance for the next decade. So, for Texas Democrats, more of the same. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2021, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/572 "2021-08-28T05:20:39Z")
There comes a point when you have to blame not the party but the voters. Greg Abbott is blatantly giving the middle finger to science and, FFS, children are dying - that’s not even a partisan thing. And yet, Texans treat the GOP like they’re the party of God and the Dems like they’re a satanic cult. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2021, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/573 "2021-08-28T14:06:12Z")
Sure. But even in Texas, COVID denialist death culters are a minority of the voting population. Abbott’s policies on mask mandates and vaccinations are deeply unpopular with the general public, and part of my gripe with the walkout is that Democrats should have been back here in the state pounding him on it for the last month. Anyway, this is just my bugbear. You’d think by now I’d just accept that Democrats in the Texas Legislature are useless. The future of the party (if it has one) probably lies with the city and county officials who have stood up to Abbott and told him to go pound sand on his COVID denialist bullshit, they’re going to do what’s best for their constituents. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2021, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/574 "2021-08-28T15:10:16Z")
Yeah, @asahi, your statement > [@asahi](#): > > Texans treat the GOP like they’re the party of God and the Dems like they’re a satanic cult. denies/overlooks/doesn’t account for all the pushback from local big city politicians, to wit: > [@flurb](#): > > The future of the party (if it has one) probably lies with the city and county officials who have stood up to Abbott and told him to go pound sand on his COVID denialist bullshit, they’re going to do what’s best for their constituents. Certainly true in San Antonio, but not only here. > **[Local Leaders In Texas Are Defying The Governor's Ban On Mask Mandates](https://www.npr.org/2021/08/17/1028542833/local-leaders-in-texas-are-defying-the-governors-ban-on-mask-mandates)** > > A surge in COVID-19 cases has local leaders across Texas openly defying the governor's ban on mask mandates. The fight has now moved to the courts. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2021, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/575 "2021-08-28T23:22:45Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > There comes a point when you have to blame not the party but the voters. **Greg Abbott is blatantly giving the middle finger to science and, FFS, children are dying** - that’s not even a partisan thing. And yet, Texans treat the GOP like they’re the party of God and the Dems like they’re a satanic cult. (My bolding.) Part of the problem is that Texas voters\* _do not even connect Abbott’s actions with the deaths of children_. They’re being told that the children are dying because of hordes of “illegals” pouring over the border. They are told that daily, all day long, on the Facebook pages they look at and on the television and radio channels they access. So they believe it. \ \*those inclined toward voting for Republicans; the others look at different sources of information than do the ‘it’s not Abbott’s fault’ people. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/576 "2021-09-01T00:35:10Z")
And it’s all over but the bill signing photo op. Will the last Democrats in Texas please turn out the lights? > **[Republican bill tightening Texas election laws is headed to Gov. Greg...](https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/31/texas-voting-restrictions-bill/)** > > Senate Bill 1 rewrites Texas election laws to further restrict the voting-by-mail process and outlaw local voting initiatives meant to widen access, namely those pushed by Harris County that were disproportionately used by voters of color. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/577 "2021-09-01T00:38:41Z")
Just wait until the congressional districts get redrawn ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/578 "2021-09-01T00:42:41Z")
And state legislative districts. They often get overlooked, but it’s the gerrymander of their own districts that has let state Republicans strip voting rights and gerrymander federal Congressional seats. ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2021, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/579 "2021-09-01T00:44:28Z")
Yeppirs. Very true. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2021, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/580 "2021-09-03T17:00:43Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > Will the last Democrats in Texas please turn out the lights? Probably no need, since [they will undoubtedly go out on their own in short order,](https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/26/how-texas-tough-winter-exposed-us-power-grid-problems-.html) . [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723.md?page=28) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723.md?page=30)