Attempts by Rethuglican politicians to restrict access to the ballot box by likely Democratic constituencies are longstanding, but have accelerated since the 2010 takeover of numerous state legislatures and Governorships by the Rethugs. The bogus "voter fraud" claim by Rethugs is a solution in search of a non-existent problem: one 2007 study demonstrated that someone is as likely to be struck by lightning as they are to impersonate someone else at the polls.
It's good to see that civil rights organizations and the Justice Department are intervening to prevent Rethuglican politicians from stacking the deck, with the Justice Department blocking the implementation of new voter ID laws in South Carolina, Florida, and Texas. The voter ID laws are specifically intended to suppress low income, minority, and student voting. More suits are pending in several other Rethuglican-controlled states.
The next time you hear a Rethuglican candidate waxing eloquent about "freedom" and "liberty," remember that their party is doing everything it can to deny the right to vote to other American citizens simply on the basis of party preference.
