We are now living through a fully fledged
attack on nonwhite power in the US, as conservative white people assert
their authority. Until now, the effects of this crusade were somewhat unclear.
Data needed to be collected after new conservative laws and policies had gone
into effect.
اضافة اعلان
Well, we now have some of the first data, and
it is devastating.
According to The Texas Tribune, during the
primary elections in Texas this month, 18,742 mail-in ballots were rejected in
16 of the 20 counties with the most registered voters. It was there, too, that
the ruinous effects of Texas’ new voter ID requirements were particularly
obvious.
The paper pointed out that these counties
rejected from 6 percent to nearly 22 percent of the mail-in ballots cast in the
primaries, rates that could easily set a record, since fewer than 2 percent
were rejected statewide in the 2018 midterm elections.
It might be tempting to view each election
outrage as discrete or to focus on the specific rather than zoom out and see
the bigger picture. But when you do, you see that Republicans are following a
step-by-step plan to transform elections and the electorate.
1. First, undercount the number of black and
brown people who are in the country, in order to skew congressional districts
and the Electoral College.
Any attempt to prevent the Census Bureau from
fulfilling its duty can contribute to these efforts.
Last week, The New York Times reported that the
bureau had grossly undercounted people of color in this country in 2020.
Although the bureau did not say how many people
it missed entirely, they were mostly people of color, disproportionately young
ones. The census missed counting 4.99 of every 100 Hispanics, 5.64 of every 100
Native Americans and 3.3 of every 100 African Americans. In contrast, for every
100 residents counted, the census wrongly added 1.64 non-Hispanic whites and
2.62 ethnic Asians.
2. Use census data to racially gerrymander
states.
Pack as many black and brown voters into the
fewest districts so that no matter how high the voter turnout is, the number of
seats they can win in Congress or state legislatures is capped.
Take Texas again. The state experienced strong
population growth over the past 10 years, earning it two new congressional
seats. Ninety-five percent of that growth was among people of color. Even so,
as The Texas Tribune reported in December, Texas Republicans placed the two new
districts under white voters’ control, reduced the Hispanic-majority districts
from eight to seven and dropped the black-majority districts from one to none.
3. The next step is to erect barriers to when,
how and if people can cast a ballot.
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, 19
states passed at least 34 laws restricting access to voting in 2021 — the most
since the center started tracking these laws in 2011. And as of January, at
least 13 bills restricting access to voting had already been filed for 2022.
4. Allow big money to operate virtually
unchecked to influence the electorate.
The Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision
allowed unlimited corporate and anonymous dark money donations in our
elections. Money buys influence, and influence can translate into power. Now
the wealthy can press their thumbs more heavily on the scale, anonymously in
some cases.
5. Reject as many ballots as possible.
This is where the mail-in ballot data from
Texas comes in.
6. Change “the referees” of elections,
as States United Action put it.
By the nonpartisan group States United Action’s
accounting, as of March 1, more than 80 people who denied the results of the
2020 presidential election are now running for governor, attorney general or
secretary of state — the state officials who run, oversee and protect our
elections.
One of Georgia’s new election laws would even
let the state temporarily take over some election boards. (As you may recall,
Donald Trump said to Georgia state officials after the election, “I just want
to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have.”)
7. Finally, have a Supreme Court stacked in
such a way that it is hesitant to step in and beat back these
restrictions.
In January, three federal judges blocked an
Alabama redistricting map because they said it most likely discriminated
against Black people. But in February the conservative majority on the Supreme
Court stepped in and allowed Alabama to use the map anyway.
Chipping away at voter protections has become a
theme of the court. Ever since its 2013 decision gutting a key part of the
Voting Rights Act, which forced states with a history of racial discrimination
to seek federal approval before changing their voting laws, the court has made
it increasingly difficult for liberals to prove that state officials are
violating the law. Just last year, the conservative majority endorsed Arizona’s
highly restrictive voting laws, passed by the Republican-controlled state
legislature after the 2020 elections.
And just like that, in seven easy steps, a
democracy can be destroyed. In fact, it is being destroyed.
Read more Opinion and Analysis
.jpg)
.jpg)
