In Texas there will only be one ballot drop off box per county, a rule upheld by the 5th circuit.
In Pennsylvania there is talk of Republicans sending armed “poll observers” to Democratic areas.
Florida’s voter registration failed and a judge refused to extend the deadline.
In many states voter roles have been purged. I’m sure there are many other efforts, both small and large scale, that I didn’t mention.
To top it off, the SCOTUS neutered the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in Shelby County vs. Holder.
My assumption is that Republicans know that they are at a disadvantage in a fair election, which is why they engage in these efforts. That being a given, what could a Biden administration and a Democratic Congress do about this?
Could they pass the 1965 Voting Rights Act again as it was originally written, basically daring the SCOTUS to strike it down again? Could executive orders by Biden do anything about the situation? Prosecutions of any offenders by whoever Biden appoints as AG, and if so, under what laws? Are there any realistic options available, or do we have to live with the cheating, even when Democrats are in charge?
Yes, I know I started a similar thread previously, but I wanted to start one to discuss the broader issue and all available remedies, not just the direct legislative ones.
My understanding is that in Shelby County, the majority held that times have changed and the anti-voting activity had stopped, so the pre-clearance provision was no longer needed.
It would seem to me that if Congress held hearings on all of the anti-vote activities which have been occurring, prepared a detailed report emphasising that as soon as the pre-clearance provisions were struck down, the anti-voting activities began again, and then built all that into the preamble of congressional findings of fact for a new and improved Voting Rights Act, it would be difficult for the Supreme Court to strike it down again - if the facts have changed since their previous decision, then the underlying basis is different. That’s no guarantee, of course, but I can see that argument appealing to someone like Gorsuch. Roberts, not so much, because he seems to have a strong approach favouring local electoral control.
Something else that might be done is to re-establish the Post Office as a government department, with the Postmaster and the board of directors all direct appointments of the President, subject to Senate advisin’ and consentin’. And pass federal laws governing the Post Office’s duty to deliver the ballots. Set the postage rate for ballots, uniformly across the country, give them a statutory priority in delivery, and make it a federal offence with serious jail time for any post office functionary to try to slow down the sorting and delivery of ballots, with a sentencing add on if it can be proven that slow-downs were down with a partisan motive. That kind of provision won’t affect the great majority of postal workers, who seem by news reports to be just as upset by the recent directives as the ordinary voter (since, after all, most postal workers are just “ordinary voters”, i.e. citizens, and it could well be their ballot which is delayed, or their shut-in grammie or grandad’s ballots). But those types of measures might make any higher-ups think twice about trying to sabotage ballot delivery.
I may very well be wrong, but if the BS ballot boxes and sending in armed ‘observers’ are felonies, then prosecute them. Even if they’re acquitted or it’s overturned, people may be less likely to do it if they end up in handcuffs.
That is, people are putting out the fake ballot boxes or open carrying guns near polling locations because they know that they, specifically, aren’t going to have to deal with the fallout. The GOP will take some heat in the media and it’ll blow over.
Now, what if we could identify the specific person/people that put out the fake ballot boxes or brought guns to a polling location, arrest that specific person and charge that specific person with a felony. Going forward, people may be more dissuaded to do this kind of thing if they know they’re, personally, going to be held responsible for their actions.
This may be a boring response but the best thing for Dems to do going forward might be to continually pound on their dedication to open and easy elections. That is a positive and progressive message that will vividly paint differences between them and their GOP counterparts and one which will win over public opinion in the long run. With favorable public opinion, election reforms are easier to implement.
Republicans have painted themselves into yet another corner with their support for voter suppression. They are holding on by their fingertips by means which the public finds increasingly distasteful. When they topple, they will go down hard and largely because of the perception that they are inherently undemocratic.
Minnesota has the highest voter turnout in the nation. And quite clean elections (shown by a couple of recent recounts).
Here are some things Minnesota does right in voting:
same-day registration. That takes away all those games about voter registration: restrictive ID requirements, limited dates/locations to register, witness requirements, etc.
many forms of proof of residency accepted. Including sworn vouching by a neighbor voter. Enough forms accepted that nearly everyone should be able to prove they live here. Eliminates those games of not having valid papers.
paper ballots used. Low-tech, easy to use, no electricity required, countless people can be voting at once. Eliminates games of limiting number of voting machines in the other party’s neighborhoods. And paper ballots are easily re-counted, and easily stored.
Easy access to absentee/mail-in ballots (no excuse needed, no witness requirement, requestable online, long time to return them). And can verify that they were counted online. Eliminates games of closing/moving poll locations, restricting poll hours, or setting up ‘fake’ ballot return boxes.
Strict controls on polling places: only 1 poll watcher per party, certified in advance. Vote challenges must be on specific knowledge, not speculation. Nobody allowed to loiter within 100 feet of polling place, no campaigning or poll taking in that area, no guns allowed. Eliminates most forms of voter intimidation games and baseless vote challenges.
I think that making these requirements in all states would limit the games that are used to restrict voting now. I note that these are common not jus in Minnesota, but in most of the other states that have high voter turnout.
. Pisses me off and saddens me yes, astounds me, not anymore.