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Our Most Precious Right
Author: BobR    Date: 03/10/2021 14:15:25

Ask any person if they believe our rights are under attack. The gun-lover will say "yes", the 2nd Amendment is always under attack. The firebrand will say freedom of speech is under attack. The reporter arrested trying to cover a political demonstration will say freedom of the press is under attack. These rights were enumerated in the Bill of Rights, but the most precious right, the one that guarantees all of these other rights is the one most vulnerable to malfeasance:

the Right to Vote.

Voting wasn't put in the Bill of Rights because it's baked right into the body of the Constitution. For Congress, it's Article I, Section 4:
The times, places and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators.

The presidential election procedures have gone through a lot of changes, starting with Article II, Section 1, and updated in various amendments, including the 12th, 14th, 20th, 22nd, 23rd, and 25th. Even the election of congresspeople was affected by the 14th and 17th amendments.

The Original Sin of slavery, and the second-class citizenship of non-whites has been at the heart of bad acting at the state level. A certain (if not sizeable) subset of white people have been raised to believe that being the ruling class is their birthright. This attitude of superiority was at the root of the infamous "Jim Crow" laws, and every law since then that aims to limit the participation of non-whites. Knowing that younger and poorer white people may be more inclined to not care about the race of their representatives in government (or may desire more equity), AND considering the outcome of the most recent election, the Old White Guard is going into overdrive setting up targeted roadblocks to voting that they know will most adversely affect those who won't be voting for them.

This is especially concerning to Republicans who have lost power in the Federal government (and look to lose more as a wave of retiring GOP senators will create a bigger vacuum). They know they can't count on stacking the courts, because the SCOTUS just refused to hear the last lawsuit from the Big Loss of 2020.

(in a bit of irony, the Former Resident just requested an absentee ballot for an upcoming FL election.

So what's the solution? The Republicans would have you believe that "states rights" allows them to do whatever they please, with regard to how they conduct elections. However, "states rights" (per the 10th amendment) only applies to "powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution". If we take a look at Article I, Section 4 (quoted above in this post), it reads "the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such regulations". This means it is very much within the rights of Congress to enact laws regarding how states conduct their elections. This was done in 1964 by the Voting Rights Act.

That law was based on historic voter disenfranchisement based on race, especially by those states which were part of the Confederacy. These newer laws proposed by various states are based on the fiction of voter fraud, but targeted to make it harder for Democrats to get elected. Republicans know their chances of winning are reduced if everyone can vote.

Enter HR-1, House bill #1 for this new Congress. This bill spells out specific remedies to and preventions against voter disenfranchisement, including:

  • A set of national voter registration and mail-in voting standards

  • Guarantee voters same-day registration

  • Each state would be required to allow at least 15 days of early voting for federal elections,
    for at least 10 hours a day with at least some time before 9 a.m. and after 5 p.m.

  • The law would limit how states can purge voter rolls.

  • Nonpartisan redistricting commissions

  • Big changes in campaign finance law

  • New ethics rules for public servants

  • A requirement that presidential candidates disclose their tax returns

You could consider it a voter's bill of rights, as well as a bulwark against shady dealings when it comes to public office. Republicans call it a "power grab". How is it a power grab to ensure people can vote? I suppose it's grabbing power away from Republicans and returning that power to the people where it belongs. That would return us to the concept that those in federal government are not "our leaders", and instead are our "representatives".

We all deserve that right.
 
 

4 comments (Latest Comment: 03/10/2021 15:45:55 by wickedpam)
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Comment by Raine on 03/10/2021 14:31:38
Amen!

Good morning!

Comment by Raine on 03/10/2021 14:52:39
Comment by BobR on 03/10/2021 15:13:51
Comment by wickedpam on 03/10/2021 15:45:55
Morning