Protecting the Vote: The Republican Effort To Undermine Your Democracy
In 2008, more Americans cast ballots than ever before, part of a trend that reflected years of electoral reform, significant expansions of access to the ballot box, and increased political participation by voters who were traditionally underrepresented in American elections. In 2011, however, our democratic system is enduring an extraordinary national movement to restrict voting rights. Led by Republican governors, conservative strategists, and state legislators, this effort is unprecedented in its breadth and the depth of its partisan purpose.
While the marches of suffragists, student demonstrators, and religious leaders once drove electoral reform in the United States, this new movement is based in statehouses across the country. In this year’s legislative session, lawmakers in at least 40 states have proposed new laws that make voter registration more difficult, cut the availability of early voting, and require voters to present current government- issued photo identification as a prerequisite to casting a ballot. In 17 states, legislators have passed these retrogressive bills.
This movement has been advanced with hollow cries of voter fraud and supported with baseless allegations and misleading anecdotes. But existing laws already deter and punish voter fraud with serious criminal penalties, ensuring the integrity of our voting process.
Threats to the integrity of our democratic system have rarely come from voters; more often, they emanate directly from elected officials. All too often, public officials have shaped the conduct of elections to determine their outcome—even in electoral contests with the highest consequences. In the 2000 presidential election, thousands of eligible Floridians were improperly removed from the voter rolls, were sent away from the ballot box, or never had their votes counted because of unprecedented judicial action.
The new effort to restrict voting calls to mind these regrettable moments from the past and turns the future of our democracy in the wrong direction. Although a wide range of legislation was introduced, the partisan impact of each measure is the same: The new restrictions on voting would disproportionately burden African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, young voters, and Americans new to the political process—all groups that substantially favor Democratic candidates. In a cynical attempt to defeat President Obama and Democrats in 2012, Republicans have sacrificed the sanctity of the fundamental right to vote and committed their party to constricting the American electorate.
Earlier this month, the Democratic National Committee launched a new initiative to bring attention to the continuing efforts by Republicans to turn back the clock on voting rights in our country. Please visit http://www.protectingthevote.org/ or see the report below to find out more about Republican efforts to limit voting rights for North Carolinians.
Reversal in Progress North Carolina
A REVERSAL IN PROGRESS: RESTRICTING VOTING RIGHTS FOR ELECTORAL GAIN
