Washington Post Editorial Board: Texas Republicans declare war on democracy

[Celerity]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/texas-is-on-the-cutting-edge-of-voter-suppression/2021/03/15/5c274fce-85cd-11eb-8a8b-5cf82c3dffe4_story.html



TEXAS IS already one of the toughest states in which to cast a ballot, and Texas Republicans want to make it even harder. As in many other GOP-dominated states this year, the pretext is restoring faith in the election system, following then-President Donald Trump’s 2020 torrent of lies about fraud. The real goal is to suppress voting in Houston and other areas trending blue. The consequence ought to be voter backlash against a party that displays such contempt for democracy. Texas GOP lawmakers introduced on Friday a wave of anti-voting measures. One proposal would force counties to close polling places at 7 p.m., making it harder for shift workers to vote.

Most Texas voters already may not vote by mail; a Republican plan would require those claiming disability as a reason to cast an absentee ballot to provide onerous levels of written documentation to prove they qualify. Another proposal would bar counties from distributing absentee ballot applications unless voters formally request them. These are only a few of the useless hassles Texas Republicans want to impose on the state’s voters. Drive-through and outdoor voting would be banned. Texans would be restricted from dropping off completed absentee ballots. Deputy voter registrars, who help voters sort through the process of registering and casting ballots, would be eliminated. Volunteers who drive voters to polling places would be discouraged. Mass voting sites would be effectively eliminated. Overzealous voter roll purges seemingly designed to disqualify many eligible voters would be mandated.

Texas Republicans are almost surgical in their cynicism. Many of their proposals are in direct reaction to the methods that Harris County, home of Houston, used to ease voting in 2020. This despite — or, perhaps, because of — the fact that Texas ran a smooth, high-turnout election last year. After 22,000 hours of work, the Texas secretary of state’s office demonstrated only 16 instances of minor fraud — such as voters providing inaccurate addresses on their registration forms — in last year’s elections, according to the Houston Chronicle. If there was a threat to election integrity, it was that the state’s gratuitously strict voter-ID law and mail-in ballot policies deterred eligible people from voting.

But that, after all, is the point. Take it from Arizona state Rep. John Kavanagh (R), as he defended GOP voter suppression proposals in his state. “If somebody is uninterested in voting, that probably means that they’re totally uninformed on the issues,” Mr. Kavanagh said on CNN last week. “Quantity is important, but we have to look at the quality of votes, as well.” In a follow-up interview with The Post, Mr. Kavanagh said that he does not favor an information test to vote, but that “I don’t think people who are disinterested should be forced to the polls in the interest of turnout.” Declining to purge people from voting lists is not “forcing” people to the polls. Neither is sending out absentee voting applications, keeping voting locations open, allowing ballot drop boxes or permitting drive-thru voting. The primary “quality” many Republican officials — not all, but a disturbingly large number — appear interested in cultivating is a preference for Republican candidates. This should only steel voter determination to navigate the obstacles and throw them out of office.

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[uponit7771]

1. K&R, but lets talk about Cuomo 2134 times before complete investigations and kGQP non border issue

... that Trump created by inhumanely keeping children in Mexico.

[machoneman]

2. Many of these new and onerous changes may backfire on the MAGAT/R crowd!

What makes them think that old R voters won't be deterred from voting?

In my mind, any moves that literally force older voters to stand up, take a ride, stand in line and essentially vote only on Election Day will hurt the R-Scums more than they think. Our blue voters are younger, can adjust schedules, stand in line, even long ones, and out-vote those now stay-at-home R voters who are too old and too set in their (voting) ways to bother.

[uponit7771]

3. +1, cause they'll make sure they can vote by other means at the last minute

[Lonestarblue]

4. Voting by mail in Texas is deliberately difficult for many people.

Years ago, I asked for an absentee ballot because I would be out of the country for the election, including all but the first day of early voting, the same day I was leaving. The requirement was to give the address where I would be staying, and they would send the ballot there. I would then mail it back from that same location. The problem, of course, was that I was staying only a couple of nights in one location before moving on to the next. I would never have received the ballot, so I opted to be at my closest early voting site at 6:30 to get in line and vote before I had to rush to the airport. A simpler solution would have been for me to vote the ballot while still at home and mail it in. While mine was a vacation, people who travel for business also run into roadblocks like this because any one trip might be to multiple destinations.

All Texas Democrats also have the frustration of voting in a US House district where their votes have absolutely no influence on who wins because our districts are gerrymandered to elect Republicans only. Roger Williams has had a stranglehold on my district because it includes just a slice of Austin and then lots of red, rural areas. I would like to see gerrymandering outlawed and redistricting required by nonpartisan means.

The other point to make about Texas is that the state has closed 720 polling sites since 2012,
mostly in minority areas with increasing population while white areas with decreasing population were not touched. Early voting helps, but if remaining sites are not on a bus line, then people have a difficult time getting to the polls. Voter suppression is not the only reason for lower turnout among minorities here, but it’s a factor, especially among older voters.

We really need the Senate to pass the new voting rights bill.

[Liberal In Texas]

6. Spot on. n/t

[Fiendish Thingy]

5. Any corporations headquartered in TX that can be pressured, like they are in GA? Nt

[Lonestarblue]

7. Someone like Elon Musk, who is moving a Tesla factory here might have an impact.

I don’t know what his politics are, though. He could well support Republicans. 3M has a big presence here. American Airlines and AT&T are headquartered in Dallas. Several of the too large corporations are in the fossil fuel industry, so they will definitely not do anything that might hurt Republican power.

What worked better when Republicans were trying to push a bathroom bill through was the organizations outside the state that promised they would hold no major events here if the bill passed. No big music concerts, no sports events, no major conventions. Much of the business community was also against the bill, and it died in the special session the idiot governor called, at taxpayer expense, just to try to pass it when it failed in the regular session. The issue really is getting organizations to pay attention to the bills before they become law and lodge complaints. If they become law, someone will sue to overturn them but that could take years and most likely have to go to the SC. Texas judges and the 5th circuit would just applaud all the restrictions.