Opinion: Republicans Claim Allowing All Eligible Americans To Vote Is An Assault On Democracy

After the 2020 general election it became glaringly apparent that Republicans are even more vehemently opposed to democracy than they were in the past.

Now, besides GOP-controlled states working feverishly to enact new voter suppression laws, Republicans claim House bill H.R. 1 is an assault on democracy because it allows all eligible Americans to cast a ballot.

If Republicans were prevented from disenfranchising myriad groups from having a voice in choosing the government, America would experience real representative democracy; something Republicans will not tolerate. A democratic-sponsored bill, H.R. 1 is a comprehensive overhaul of American elections to make it easier for all eligible Americans to vote, as well as put a stop to Republican efforts at creating a fascist state.

Any American interested in promoting democracy who takes just a minute to peruse the highlights of H.R.1 will agree that it will create a fair and equal environment for all Americans to participate in the electoral process. For Republicans though, the overhaul is a death knell to their voter suppression crusade which is why they take the bizarre stance that getting more Americans involved in the electoral process is “a leftist scam” and a “partisan assault on democracy.”

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Republicans complain that H.R.1 restricts states from automatically removing American voters from the rolls because they did not vote in the last election, whether it was from disinterest or illness. Republicans have made purging voter rolls a mainstay in GOP-controlled states and the action inordinately affects Americans who are already disenfranchised by Republicans’ unrelenting “partisan assault on democracy.”

As if right out of Trump’s playbook, Republicans also vehemently complain that the bill only allows election officials to challenge a voter’s eligibility to vote. Republicans, like Trump, believe any MAGA wearing sycophant should be allowed to challenge (read purge) people they believe are not part of the MAGA demographic – mostly people with dark skin.

In what is one of the biggest complaints from Republicans is banning Red States from outlawing any kind of automatic voter registration of people who apply for unemployment, Medicaid, Obamacare, and college. Conservatives are certain that the only reason for implementing automatic voter registration measures is to register non-citizens. It is a typical, and false, assertion because  Republicans want nothing whatsoever to do with making it easier for all eligible Americans to vote. They consider doing so “a partisan attack on democracy.”

Republicans also object to states providing a ballot to everyone without requiring official notarization or an official witness to signatures on mail-in ballots. This, claim Republicans, constitutes a “scam and partisan assault on democracy.” Sane individuals claim it is making it easier for all Americans to participate in the democratic process.

In what conservatives consider one of the biggest scams, and an attack on democracy, Republicans oppose allowing curbside voting, ballot drop boxes, and 15 days of early voting. They also claim that designating official locations and hours of polling stations, early voting locations, and drop boxes is tantamount to a “partisan scam” and another “leftist assault on democracy.”

As one might expect, H.R. 1 is considered “an attack on democracy” because it contains a provision allowing schools to teach twelfth graders how to register, create a “Campus Vote Coordinator” position on college campuses, and award grants to colleges for “demonstrated excellence in registering students to vote.” Where advocates for every American participating in the electoral process support every American participating in the electoral process, Republicans believe helping more Americans vote is … you guessed it: “a leftist partisan attack on democracy.” They even object to college campuses aiding students without cars provide transportation to aid students who want to vote get to the polls. An even bigger outrage, according to Republicans, is anyone encouraging both students and the communities to get “mobilized to vote.”

This legislation, H.R.1, is in response to dozens of Republican-controlled state legislatures’ crusade to “roll back voting access in reaction to Trump’s loss and his subsequent campaign to question the election results.” Representative Terri A. Sewell (D-AL) put it bluntly saying:

“The right to vote is under attack. Voter suppression is alive and well. Old battles have become new again. The legacy of the foot soldiers like John Lewis requires that we pick up that baton — the baton of voter access, the baton of voter equality — and we continue the next leg. Their cause is now our cause, too.”

That concept of voter equality is anathema to Republicans who would not control large areas of the country without voter suppression in all its variations. H.R. 1 is a necessity to advance access to the electoral process for every eligible America – a necessity Republicans consider “a partisan attack on democracy” and a “leftist scam.”

Rmuse

Audio engineer and instructor for SAE. Writes op/ed commentary supporting Secular Humanist causes, and exposing suppression of women, the poor, and minorities. An advocate for freedom of religion and particularly, freedom of NO religion.

Born in the South, raised in the Mid-West and California for a well-rounded view of America; it doesn’t look good.

Former minister, lifelong musician, Mahayana Zen-Buddhist.