# Will Republican voter suppression efforts impact the race? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 28, 2016, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-republican-voter-suppression-efforts-impact-the-race/764264 "2016-08-28T12:31:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-republican-voter-suppression-efforts-impact-the-race/764264/61 "2016-08-31T12:10:32Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > It’s interesting that you would posit that States have more right to impose restrictions on voting than individuals would have to vote. However, that does to be consistent with the conservative zeitgeist, which is one of the reasons why I think that the 10th Amendment to the United States Constitution needs to be abolished once and for all. It should have been abolished by the Union circa Reconstruction. Congress is actually able to outlaw anything they determine to be inimical to the right to vote. As I keep saying though, Democrats don’t actually have the guts to stand up to the public and outlaw voter ID or mandate early voting or same day registration or what have you. With early voting though, not all states have it and those states are not suppressing the vote. Early voting is just not a protected right and some states start it too early. The rationale for early voting is that election day is a weekday so people need more opportunities to get to the polls. Two weeks is the maximum you need for that. Anything more and you might as well just let people vote as soon as the nominations are official in their state. So Florida became ready just yesterday, get the ballots printed, we can start voting by next week. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-republican-voter-suppression-efforts-impact-the-race/764264/62 "2016-08-31T12:13:26Z")
> [@asahi](#): > > [The GOP's Stealth War Against Voters](http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/the-gops-stealth-war-against-voters-w435890) > > I was well-aware of efforts to keep blacks, Latinos, and others away from the polls, but I had no idea that it was this widespread and this sophisticated. It’s enraging to think that this can occur, but the Voting Rights Act of 1965 has become almost worthless. > > If you even occasionally lean left, you cannot waste your vote on Jill Stein this year. We need Hillary to load the bench with progressives who will put an end to this right wing putsch. You’re accusing Republicans of wanting to suppress voting by (gasp) requiring ID to be shown at the polling place, while at the same time supporting a candidate who rigged the primaries in her favor. Oh, the irony… ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-republican-voter-suppression-efforts-impact-the-race/764264/63 "2016-08-31T12:17:14Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > You’re accusing Republicans of wanting to suppress voting by (gasp) requiring ID to be shown at the polling place, while at the same time supporting a candidate who rigged the primaries in her favor. > > Oh, the irony… The purpose of voter ID is to suppress minority vote and by extension, make it easier for Republicans to win. To deny this is to deny reality. Hillary Clinton won because she cleared most of the field before the primaries, building a war chest and raising money for Democrats. It’s how things work. She also got the most votes. I suppose there will be claims that she rigged the election as well, only winning because she got the most votes. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-republican-voter-suppression-efforts-impact-the-race/764264/64 "2016-08-31T12:23:02Z")
> [@Clothahump](#): > > You’re accusing Republicans of wanting to suppress voting by (gasp) requiring ID to be shown at the polling place Some Republicans have outright admitted this is the reason. No Republican has ever offered an evidence-based rationale for the requirement other than those who have admitted the actual purpose. > [@](#): > > while at the same time supporting a candidate who rigged the primaries in her favor. As someone who voted for and supported Sanders, I can vouch for your total wrongness on this point as well. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-republican-voter-suppression-efforts-impact-the-race/764264/65 "2016-08-31T12:32:35Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > The purpose of voter ID is to suppress minority vote and by extension, make it easier for Republicans to win. To deny this is to deny reality. > > Hillary Clinton won because she cleared most of the field before the primaries, building a war chest and raising money for Democrats. It’s how things work. She also got the most votes. I suppose there will be claims that she rigged the election as well, only winning because she got the most votes. I for one cannot deny the reality that there are a lot of old white guys who are Republicans who want to reduce minority turnout. This much has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. However, let’s also look at impact. Voter ID is not a very effective means of disenfranchisement, nor is restricting early voting. The more “moral” means of suppressing voter turnout are far more effective, such as rigging primaries by clearing the field first, running campaigns specifically designed to demotivate the opponents’ voters and get them to stay home, and holding elections that aren’t general elections. Probably the most devious thing Republicans ever did(and racist Democrats, since this is a very old policy), is make it so that the vast majority of states elect their governors in off-years. Nothing is more effective at keeping young people and minorities from voting than holding an election where the President is not being voted on. Then there’s the subversion of democracy itself which Democrats have turned into an art form. The vote is sacred, people getting what they voted for, well, not so much. If Democrats truly believe they are on the side of the angels on this particular issue, then they need to use the normal democratic process: win elections and then repeal voter ID, repeal citizenship proof during registration, repeal purges, etc. You may not like what Republicans are doing, but they are doing it through the democratic process: they win elections, they pass laws. What happens after the vote can be just as antidemocratic as what happens on election day and Democrats are masters at subverting the will of voters, primarily through non-enforcement and court challenges against laws they didn’t even have the guts to repeal when they had majorities. But at least court challenge are legal. Non-enforcement is just a total middle finger to voters. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-republican-voter-suppression-efforts-impact-the-race/764264/66 "2016-08-31T12:50:01Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > In general elections, yes. > > Oh, and NY Times writers apparently have also called for abolishing midterms: This doesn’t have anything to do with voter suppression, though. The author is basically saying that Representatives shouldn’t be elected every two years. That is a perfectly reasonable position. You can argue for or against it but voter suppression isn’t a part of this person’s argument. ---
**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 31, 2016, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-republican-voter-suppression-efforts-impact-the-race/764264/67 "2016-08-31T13:09:21Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Congress is actually able to outlaw anything they determine to be inimical to the right to vote. As I keep saying though, Democrats don’t actually have the guts to stand up to the public and outlaw voter ID or mandate early voting or same day registration or what have you. Yes, Congress can pass legislation that attempts to arrest efforts in white majority states to ignore the Constitution – and let’s be completely honest, that’s what happens every time congress even remotely involves itself in civil rights matters. But having said that, it is not as cut-and-dried as you assert. For one thing you need a congressional majority and a president acting in unison, a situation democrats might have enjoyed for all of two years. Moreover, that ephemeral majority occurred before Caesar Scalia and his Praetorian flank issued their fiat from the bench that nullified the Voting Rights Act of '65, which also brings me to the second problem with your post: congressional acts must pass activist bench muster. So to begin with, it wasn’t until fairly recently that democrats realized they had a real problem on their hands, and furthermore, they’re completely dependent upon courts to overturn the regressive and blatantly anti-14th amendment acts. > [@adaher](#): > > With early voting though, not all states have it and those states are not suppressing the vote. Early voting is just not a protected right and some states start it too early. The rationale for early voting is that election day is a weekday so people need more opportunities to get to the polls. Two weeks is the maximum you need for that. Anything more and you might as well just let people vote as soon as the nominations are official in their state. So Florida became ready just yesterday, get the ballots printed, we can start voting by next week. There is absolutely no compelling reason whatsoever to restrict early voting, nor is there any valid reason to use voter identification laws that almost clearly produce outcomes that affect urban and rural poor voters. Frankly, anyone who actually tries to legitimize this practice is essentially making an argument that inequality under the law is acceptable and that removing minority voters is an acceptable practice. Is that or is that not what you believe? State it for the record, please. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-republican-voter-suppression-efforts-impact-the-race/764264/68 "2016-08-31T13:20:10Z")
It is not inequality under the law and to say such is incredibly ignorant. Inequality under the law is different laws for different people. Laws can and do have unequal impacts. Actually, almost all laws have unequal impacts. Laws against violent crimes impact minorities more than whites. Does this make laws against violent crimes racist? Likewise, laws to ensure the integrity of the elections process have a rational basis even if their impact is unequal. As the example of NC shows though, legislatures must not pursue those laws precisely because of their unequal impact to gain an electoral advantage. But the legality of these voting regulations when done right is undisputed and can only be changed if Democrats make it a priority to change it. and if they intend to change it, they have a duty to campaign on it now. So far, their voting rights plan seems to consist mainly of automatic registration(which can be an incredible deception due to the details if they are not serious about doing it right), and having the courts define voting rights the way they’d like it done. Both of which involve avoiding direct accountability. Which as I said, is a major subversion of democracy that renders their concerns about voting rights rather insincere. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-republican-voter-suppression-efforts-impact-the-race/764264/69 "2016-08-31T13:38:49Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Didn’t we have this thread 4 years ago? And 8 years ago? And 12 years ago? No. In 2013 the Supreme Court struck down sections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This allowed a bunch of states to change their voting laws without federal approval. So even four years ago it would have been a very different discussion. > **[Shelby County v. Holder](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelby_County_v._Holder)** > > Shelby County v. Holder, 570 U.S. 529 (2013), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States regarding the constitutionality of two provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965: Section 5, which requires certain states and local governments to obtain federal preclearance before implementing any changes to their voting laws or practices; and subsection (b) of Section 4, which contains the coverage formula that determines which jurisdictions are subject to preclearance based on ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-republican-voter-suppression-efforts-impact-the-race/764264/70 "2016-08-31T14:19:42Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > …Which as I said, is a major subversion of democracy that renders their concerns about voting rights rather insincere. Ah! Liberal hypocrisy! Well, I guess that settles it, then. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-republican-voter-suppression-efforts-impact-the-race/764264/71 "2016-08-31T16:03:20Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > We’ve gone from [en]suring the integrity of our elections to making it a moral and civil rights issue that we NOT take any steps to insure the integrity of elections, since all regulations are by definition an obstacle. And they raise taxes, too. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-republican-voter-suppression-efforts-impact-the-race/764264/72 "2016-08-31T20:41:16Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > No. In 2013 the Supreme Court struck down sections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Were you answering someone else? Anyway, a quick search turns up a thread from 2011: [I pit Rick Scott, the FL GOP, and their blatant attempt to suppress voting rights - The BBQ Pit - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=609181) ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2016, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-republican-voter-suppression-efforts-impact-the-race/764264/73 "2016-08-31T21:33:41Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Were you answering someone else? > > Anyway, a quick search turns up a thread from 2011: [I pit Rick Scott, the FL GOP, and their blatant attempt to suppress voting rights - The BBQ Pit - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=609181) Congratulations on finding another thread about voter suppression. It wasn’t from 4, 8 or 12 years ago but still, solid search skills. Can you do police brutality next? ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-republican-voter-suppression-efforts-impact-the-race/764264/74 "2016-09-01T09:57:16Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Why is youth and minority turnout negatively affected by the simple act of not including the Presidential candidates at the top of the ballot? African-American turnout falls a lot more just from not having a vote for President than voter ID. Should we abolish midterms, as they suppress voters? Your “argument” can be summarized as _Some_ voters suppress their own votes due to apathy. _Therefore_ it is acceptable for the GOP to maliciously suppress other votes. Is there some particular logic system in which your conclusion follows? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2016, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-republican-voter-suppression-efforts-impact-the-race/764264/75 "2016-09-01T14:47:39Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Your “argument” can be summarized as > > _Some_ voters suppress their own votes due to apathy. > _Therefore_ it is acceptable for the GOP to maliciously suppress other votes. > > Is there some particular logic system in which your conclusion follows? Not to mention I pointed out in this very thread that he’s just wrong about African-American turnout. > [@CarnalK](#): > > Between 88 and 90, white turnout dropped 15% comlared to only 13% drop for blacks. Between 92 and 94 they both dropped 17%. Between 96 and 98 they both dropped 14%. Between 00 and 02 they both dropped 15%. Are you really going to stand by your “established fact” after your link proves you wrong? ---
**Author:** ![TruthHasNoAgenda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@TruthHasNoAgenda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruthHasNoAgenda)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-republican-voter-suppression-efforts-impact-the-race/764264/76 "2016-09-02T18:22:00Z")
Interestingly in the race between Clinton and Sanders, the states that Clinton beat Sanders that had a paper trail of the votes (as in voter ID) Clinton won by 2-3%, in the ones without a paper trail she won by 10+%. Coincidence? Not to mention Clinton and Obama’s push for Kenyan’s citizens to use a voter ID. [https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/06/27/fact-sheet-us-support-strengthening-democratic-institutions-rule-law-and](https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/06/27/fact-sheet-us-support-strengthening-democratic-institutions-rule-law-and) A bit of hypocrisy. In 2008 election a woman bused in 7 mentally handicapped people to vote that had no ID, they were wandering in circles one with a hockey helmet on and asked to “make their mark” they didn’t even know where they were. The voter location “helper” asked the woman escorting them if they knew what they were doing and I heard her reply clear as day, “no problem they are all voting democrat straight ticket I’ll help them”. Not only fraudulent but taking advantage of the handicapped. So what is wrong with an ID? Is it the belief that someone is too poor to get an ID? Yet if they are that poor they have welfare which requires an ID of some sort to get registered. and an ID to cash that check. Or an ID to rent a house, or an ID to get a job. What about a social security card, they must have one of those if they are of legal age and status. So who really doesn’t have a valid ID of some sort? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-republican-voter-suppression-efforts-impact-the-race/764264/77 "2016-09-02T18:30:22Z")
Nice story. Tell us another. ---
**Author:** ![TruthHasNoAgenda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@TruthHasNoAgenda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruthHasNoAgenda)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-republican-voter-suppression-efforts-impact-the-race/764264/78 "2016-09-02T18:53:34Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Nice story. Tell us another. Well that was the only time I witnessed anything like that. And granted it got us 7 more votes, but I would rather know we won on our agenda than from cheating the system. I mean isn’t that what we are working for, a fair system? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-republican-voter-suppression-efforts-impact-the-race/764264/79 "2016-09-02T18:58:26Z")
> [@TruthHasNoAgenda](#): > > Well that was the only time I witnessed anything like that. And granted it got us 7 more votes, but I would rather know we won on our agenda than from cheating the system. I mean isn’t that what we are working for, a fair system? Did anyone else “witness” this unusual event? Was it reported anywhere? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2016, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-republican-voter-suppression-efforts-impact-the-race/764264/80 "2016-09-02T19:00:14Z")
Isn’t his demonstrated concern enough proof? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-republican-voter-suppression-efforts-impact-the-race/764264.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-republican-voter-suppression-efforts-impact-the-race/764264.md?page=5)