# 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:** 9
**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:** [April 6, 2021, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/161 "2021-04-06T16:26:28Z")
There is a disturbing intellectualization of fascism, one which I assumed would eventually rear develop. Consider this from the Claremont Institute: > **["Conservatism" is no Longer Enough](https://americanmind.org/salvo/why-the-claremont-institute-is-not-conservative-and-you-shouldnt-be-either/)** > > All hands on deck as we enter the counter-revolutionary moment. Obviously Claremont Institute isn’t the AEI but still…it’s disturbing that people who think of themselves as intellectuals are trying to put this out there into the mainstream. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2021, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/162 "2021-04-06T17:14:50Z")
So I read that whole damn thing (ok I skimmed a bit near the end) and found nowhere any indication of what exactly they were fighting for or against, or what defines a real American, other than the fact that Trump voters represented it and the Democrats and other Republicans didn’t. If you swapped Trump with Biden, Republican with Democrat , conservative with liberal and deleted a few of MAGAs here and there, this could be posted on the Democratic Underground as a call for unwavering progressiveness. Pure pablum from beginning to end. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/163 "2021-04-06T18:00:02Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#): > > any indication of what exactly they were fighting for or against, or what defines a real American If you _were_ a Real American, then you would know. Obviously you are not. /s obviously. But seriously, that’s just a pure fascist screed laid down there. I also couldn’t really read it to the end, it just went on and on with pure jingoism and othering. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2021, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/164 "2021-04-06T18:01:40Z")
Maybe, but I don’t recall anyone on Democratic Underground proposing laws that make voting more difficult; the Republican party does. Here are the laws proposed in Wisconsin alone. > **[Wisconsin Legislature follows a nationwide systemic push against voting rights...](https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2021/04/06/wisconsin-legislature-follows-a-nationwide-systemic-push-against-voting-rights/)** > > Wisconsin is one of many states that are pushing restrictions on voting based on false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election. > - [**203**](https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2021/proposals/sb203) / [**AB192**](https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2021/proposals/ab192): This bill would prohibit any individual from helping more than one non-family member return an absentee ballot. > - [**SB209**](https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2021/proposals/sb209) / [**AB177**](https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2021/proposals/ab177): This bill says that absentee ballot drop boxes must be attached to the building where the office of the clerk is located. Many voters with disabilities who vote absentee are non-drivers and it would reduce the number of drop boxes in highly populated areas. > - [**SB204**](https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2021/proposals/sb204) / [**AB201**](https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2021/proposals/ab201): This bill would no longer allow voters who are indefinitely confined or who are overseas to receive absentee ballots automatically. Instead, they would need to fill out an absentee ballot request for every election and show an ID. It would also prohibit sending absentee ballot applications _en masse_ , as the state did in 2020 to 2.7 million Wisconsin voters. > - [**SB205**](https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2021/proposals/sb205) / [**AB179**](https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2021/proposals/ab179): This bill would take away privacy and create burdens on nursing homes by requiring the home’s administrator to notify relatives of the occupants when the special voting deputies will be coming to the facility to assist in the casting of absentee ballots. It also makes it illegal for employees of a retirement home or residential care facility to encourage a resident to vote. > - [**SB206**](https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2021/proposals/sb206) / [**AB180**](https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2021/proposals/ab180): This bill adds hoops for indefinitely confined voters, including requiring a statement under oath affirming plus requiring a note signed by their doctor or nurse if the voter is under 65. It specifies that an epidemic does not count and kicks people off the indefinitely confined list. > - [**SB207**](https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2021/proposals/sb207) / [**AB173**](https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2021/proposals/ab173): This bill prohibits anyone who is a member of a political organization or issue advocacy group from being a poll worker when many polls are experiencing shortages already. ---
**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:** [April 6, 2021, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/165 "2021-04-06T18:14:02Z")
I think you misunderstood me, I wasn’t trying to equate the two parties or their agendas. I was just pointing out how absolutely contentless that screed was. It was all just vague allusions to how great Trump was and how unamerican everyone else was without ever saying what the actual different between them were. The only identifiable difference was their party names. So if you just changed those labels it would read just as well for claiming that the Democrats were the real Americans. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/166 "2021-04-06T21:13:16Z")
Said another way, it was designed to mean whatever the audience wanted it to mean. And then it was heavily publicized to one particular audience who’ll eat it up, while maintaining total plausible deniability over any criticism coming from the other side. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2021, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/167 "2021-04-08T12:41:14Z")
> **[Georgia's GOP lieutenant governor says Giuliani's false fraud claims helped...](https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/07/politics/geoff-duncan-voter-fraud-cnntv/index.html)** > > A top Georgia Republican said Wednesday that Rudy Giuliani's false claims of election fraud -- which were presented before state lawmakers -- created momentum for a package of voting rights restrictions that recently became state law. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2021, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/168 "2021-04-08T14:46:45Z")
Kentucky just passed a bill improving access to voting. > **[Kentucky Gov. Beshear signs into law bipartisan elections bill expanding...](https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/07/politics/kentucky-voting-bill-signed-beshear/index.html)** > > Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear signed a bipartisan-supported bill into law on Wednesday that expanded voting access by codifying election recount procedures, online absentee ballot portals and early voting procedures -- an exception to the GOP... While that’s a good thing, the cynic in me says that the only reason Republicans got on board is because they know that Democrats don’t stand a chance of winning federal elections in Kentucky, even in a completely fair election. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2021, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/169 "2021-04-08T14:50:34Z")
> [@](#): > > **Georgia Governor Suggests Voters Waiting In Long Lines Order Uber Eats** > > Georgia Gov. [Brian Kemp](https://www.huffpost.com/topic/brian-kemp) said Tuesday voters waiting in line in Georgia could order food from Grubhub or [Uber](https://www.huffpost.com/impact/topic/uber)Eats after [a new state law](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/georgia-voter-suppression-bill_n_605d01dfc5b67593e056fb32) criminalized offers of free food and water near polling stations. > > “They can order a pizza,” Kemp said on the conservative cable news network Newsmax. “They can order Grubhub or UberEats, right?” > > A new law in the state, pushed by [Republicans](https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/republican-party) who have echoed former [President Donald Trump](https://www.huffpost.com/news/topic/donald-trump)’s false assertions of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 elections, makes sweeping changes to election rules in Georgia. Among the law’s provisions is a rule barring anyone other than election workers from offering food or water to voters within 150 feet of a polling place. > > That provision, which makes it a misdemeanor to hand out food or water, has become a symbol of Democratic complaints about [the law’s broader provisions](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/02/us/politics/georgia-voting-law-annotated.html#link-23d5f90c), which make it more difficult to vote absentee; curtail voting access in Democratic-learning urban and suburban counties while promoting it in rural areas that favor the GOP; and give Republican politicians sweeping power over the state’s elections. > > Long lines to vote are common in metro Atlanta, the center of Democratic power in the state, where a rapidly growing and diversifying population means the number of voters assigned to some polling places [has doubled](https://www.npr.org/2020/10/17/924527679/why-do-nonwhite-georgia-voters-have-to-wait-in-line-for-hours-too-few-polling-pl) since the beginning of the last decade. In the interview, Kemp blamed county governments ― many of which are run by Democrats ― for those long lines. > > “They need to do a better job of running their elections and moving people through the lines, so they’re not standing out there so long,” Kemp said. > **[Georgia Governor Suggests Voters Waiting In Long Lines Order Uber Eats](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/georgia-governor-suggests-voters-waiting-in-long-lines-order-uber-eats_n_606df616c5b6c70eccad0776)** > > A new Georgia law bars anyone other than election workers from offering food or water to voters close to polling stations. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2021, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/170 "2021-04-08T14:56:13Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > “They need to do a better job of running their elections and moving people through the lines, so they’re not standing out there so long,” Kemp said.- Well _DUH_– the best way of dealing with the long lines is to fix it so fewer people can vote. Problem solved! ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2021, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/171 "2021-04-08T17:05:20Z")
Great op-ed piece in today’s Chicago Tribune - [Republicans vs. ‘woke corporations’: A losing battle](https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/steve-chapman/ct-column-mcconnell-baseball-delta-georgia-chapman-20210407-pfkqf5bj4vgk5bugadbpxrzfju-story.html) (might be paywalled. sorry) My favorite part was the last paragraph, > [@](#): > > Republicans have a penchant for accusing the left of hating America. But it’s not liberals who find themselves at odds with baseball, Coke and Mickey Mouse. ---
**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:** [April 8, 2021, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/172 "2021-04-08T17:17:24Z")
Oooo-- good one! Go Trib! ---
**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:** [April 8, 2021, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/173 "2021-04-08T17:49:49Z")
> **[Texas House committee advances bill that would make it a crime for election...](https://www.texastribune.org/2021/04/08/texas-elections-vote-by-mail-applications/)** > > Like other Republican proposals, the measure would target Harris County’s initiatives from the 2020 general election, including a shift to proactively send out vote-by-mail applications. This is the whole headline: **Texas House committee advances bill that would make it a crime for election officials to send unsolicited vote-by-mail applications** They’re not talking about sending out the mail-in _ballots_ unsolicited-- just the _application_ for the ballot. And not just anyone can vote-by-mail in Texas. The biggest permitted group is people over 65. So this means a \ senior citizen who wants to vote by mail will have to seek out the means to request a mail-in ballot. I’m a pretty savvy old person, but I have to stop and think about exactly how to do this online. In person or by phone? Even more thought required. The task would (sorry to say) be beyond the capability of many of my peers. Some of them wouldn’t even know how to research it. (They don’t seem to understand what google is for.) A couple of weeks ago, I got an unsolicited application for a mail-in ballot from one of the city’s mayoral candidates (election is May 1) and I say, God bless him for sending it! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2021, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/174 "2021-04-08T19:42:48Z")
> [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](#): > > Great op-ed piece in today’s Chicago Tribune - [Republicans vs. ‘woke corporations’: A losing battle](https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/steve-chapman/ct-column-mcconnell-baseball-delta-georgia-chapman-20210407-pfkqf5bj4vgk5bugadbpxrzfju-story.html) (might be paywalled. sorry) > > My favorite part was the last paragraph, > > > [@](#): > > > > Republicans have a penchant for accusing the left of hating America. But it’s not liberals who find themselves at odds with baseball, Coke and Mickey Mouse. Heh. I made a meme of that quote and posted it on Facebook. One of my Trump-worshipping friends who apparently buys into all of the QAnon conspiracies commented: > Coke provides its customers poison, Disney is full of pedophiles and our sports are filled with murderers, rapists and devil worshipers 👍 ETA: She lives in Georgia. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2021, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/175 "2021-04-08T20:32:52Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Heh. I made a meme of that quote and posted it on Facebook. One of my Trump-worshipping friends who apparently buys into all of the QAnon conspiracies commented: > > > Coke provides its customers poison, Disney is full of pedophiles and our sports are filled with murderers, rapists and devil worshipers 👍 > > ETA: She lives in Georgia. She’s not wrong… ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2021, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/176 "2021-04-08T22:42:21Z")
Kentucky started from a place of having some of the most restrictive voting laws in the country – prior to this bill they had no early voting and very strict requirements for absentee voting. Even after both states’ voting changes, it will still be comparatively easier to vote in Georgia than Kentucky. ---
**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:** [April 13, 2021, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/177 "2021-04-13T14:44:31Z")
> **[After Georgia: Here Are 4 States To Watch Next On Voting Legislation](https://www.npr.org/2021/04/13/977234354/after-georgia-here-are-4-states-to-watch-next-on-voting-legislation)** > > Republican lawmakers in many states have proposed measures that would make their states' voting rules more restrictive. Of note are Arizona, Texas, Florida and Michigan. > ### Arizona > > … > > In Arizona, the biggest proposed election changes involve the state’s Permanent Early Voting List, a popular mail-ballot system that a majority of voters there use. > > A GOP bill that’s [passed the state Senate](https://tucson.com/news/state-and-regional/legislature-one-step-away-from-making-arizonas-early-voter-list-less-permanent/article_52ff5c1f-be37-5e7f-8e1b-ca1da12212dc.html?link_id=90&can_id=5f27a3767bd4756f5c4ec89f31b71bbe&source=email-voting-rights-roundup-georgia-gop-unveils-sweeping-new-voting-limits-in-response-to-2020-losses&email_referrer=email_1116083&email_subject=voting-rights-roundup-georgia-gop-unveils-sweeping-new-voting-limits-in-response-to-2020-losses) would make the list not-so-permanent anymore. If a voter doesn’t use their mail ballot for two straight two-year election cycles, they’d get a notice that they’re about to be removed from the list, and they’d have to respond to prevent that. > > Arizona Democrats, who are opposed to the changes, have said that 126,000 voters cast early ballots in 2020 after not voting that way in 2016 or 2018. As a reminder, President Biden won the state last year by fewer than 11,000 votes. > … > > #### Texas > > … > > The GOP measures would also create new criminal penalties related to voting and the unauthorized distribution of ballot applications, and would require that election administrators put the same amount of voting machines in every one of their polling sites, no matter the location’s size. > … > > ### Florida > > **Florida Republicans are weighing [changes](https://news.wfsu.org/state-news/2021-04-09/vote-by-mail-proposal-gets-an-overhaul-in-the-florida-house) to ballot drop boxes — including a ban on them altogether.** Another [measure](https://www.politico.com/newsletters/florida-playbook/2021/04/09/florida-gop-softens-elections-bill-amid-georgia-fallout-492417) would make voters request vote-by-mail ballots more frequently, if they wanted to continue voting that way. > … > > ### Michigan > > Republicans in Michigan’s Legislature have [introduced](https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/elections/2021/03/24/michigan-senate-gop-election-reform-laws/6963314002/) a number of voting measures, including new ID requirements for requesting an absentee ballot. PolitiFact Michigan [concluded](https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2021/apr/02/michael-macdonald/mich-gops-proposed-election-law-changes-would-make/) “that on balance, the changes would make it harder — not easier — to vote.” > … My bold. This is my fave. Eliminate drop ballot boxes all together! ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2021, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/178 "2021-04-13T14:55:46Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > our sports are filled with murderers, rapists and devil worshipers 👍 Wow…I might actually have to start watching then… ---
**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:** [April 13, 2021, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/179 "2021-04-13T18:49:54Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > This is my fave. Eliminate drop ballot boxes all together! Why don’t they just go all the way and eliminate voting by the public? Just have the Republican Party decide where the Electoral votes should go. Seems more straightforward. ---
**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:** [April 13, 2021, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723/180 "2021-04-13T21:57:40Z")
I think DJT actually suggested that. Shoulda issued an Executive Order when he had the chance. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-republican-war-on-voting-thread/937723.md?page=10)