The Republican mantra really is, “It only counts if you vote for us.” If one votes in any other way, for any other candidate, then it automatically means it is a fraudulent vote. Reality is non-existent in the Republican Party as a whole right now.
What I mean by reality is non-existent is Republicans just can’t seem to accept people are voting for other candidates. They can’t face they have no message that resonates with most Americans. They can’t admit they were wrong on anything. And, they don’t seem to want to change, shift, or evolve in any way.
Because of this, they would rather pass laws to suppress, hinder, or disenfranchise voters who have seen the light, or had enough of their lies, and are choosing to vote against them. Republicans would rather undermine the greatness of our country, end an experiment that has been working, albeit with flaws, for over 200 years. They would rather be led by an autocrat who is only out for himself (or herself), rather than for all Americans.
Unfortunately, there seem to be a couple of Democrats who also believe this to be okay. That it is okay to suppress votes, or to want to keep our country from moving forward in providing equality of people and of votes.
There are at least two voter rights bills being debated right now. One would more fully overhaul our broken voting system in terms of when one can register, when one can vote, how districts boundaries are set, and when one can actually vote. The other essentially just reinstates the Voters Right Act struck down by the Supreme Court which seemed to think voter suppression was a thing of the past.
The Republicans seem to have some issues with same day voter registration, not having to show an ID to vote, and early voting.
My advice to the Democrats, and maybe these are deep somewhere in the one of the two bills, is to relent on a few things, and to offer other items as non-negotiable.
The things to give on are these items:
- Make voters have to show a government issued ID
- Limit the number of days one can vote early
- Cut voter registration off seven days prior to an election
- Early voting must end seven days prior to an election
The non-negotiable items are:
- State issued IDs are to include college/university IDs from state colleges; and all states must offer home visits to issue a government ID
- States must offer a minimum of seven early voting days to include at least one Sunday within three weeks prior to an election to allow for early voting
- Allow no-reason mail in ballots for all federal elections
- Redistricting must be done by an outside independent non-partisan organization
- Election Day becomes a Federal holiday, and all essential businesses open that day must provide a minimum of four hours off during the duty day to allow workers to vote during the work day
- Must be a reasonable number of precincts with a reasonable number of voting machines offered in each state
- All votes must have a paper ballot receipt to allow for recounts
These are points which Republicans have wanted, and some points Democrats have wanted. Some things are items one or the other of the parties have argued against so that everybody wins, everybody loses, but the American people and our voting system survives and is stronger thereafter.
Everyone then comes away with some wins, and some loses, which is the basis of most decisions in the end. These also provide talking points for candidates to use when they run for reelection. All politicians can save face in one way or another.
In the greater scheme of things, the give and take help save one of the central tenants of a democracy and representative republic, the right to vote in a free and fair election.
Shouldn’t this be what we all want in the end?
Personal Reflections of a Middle-Aged Man 