Thursday, May 23, 2019

Rethugs Again Pushing Voter Suppression



They never quit. In their latest attempt to have Rethug politicians select their voters, rather than the other way around, Texas Rethuglican legislators have passed a bill to prohibit mobile voting stations. The bill is clearly aimed at Dem-leaning voters like college students, the elderly and the poor who don't have easy access to transportation, making it harder to cast a vote and easier for Rethug candidates to win. Rethug Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to sign the suppression bill into law.

Mobile voting stations were utilized during the state's two-week early voting window, but that now appears to be ending:
".....getting to the polls can be difficult for people with mobility challenges, including the elderly and disabled, or those who might have limited access to transportation, such as college students and people living in remote areas.

During the two-week early voting period, counties throughout Texas have been allowed to use mobile polling locations at college campuses, nursing homes, food banks, public office buildings and other locations, making it easier for people from underrepresented voting blocs to cast a ballot."
(our emphasis)
Texas Rethuglicans have been seeking to suppress Dem-leaning votes for some time now, as they watch the state's demographics turn more to the Dems and away from them.
"The measure is the latest voter suppression bill introduced by Texas Republicans, who have rolled out a number of such schemes since the tightly-contested 2018 midterm elections.

Over the past decade, GOP-controlled states have attempted to retain power by passing a number of laws that make it more difficult for minority voters to cast ballots, including new voter ID laws, restrictions on early voting, and imposing new barriers to registering to vote.

In February, a federal judge stopped Secretary of State David Whitley from purging Texas’ voter rolls by questioning the citizenship of 100,000 voters. Only a fraction of those questioned were found ineligible to vote."
(our emphasis)
Let that last part sink in: they were willing to deny citizens the right to vote by saying that they didn't exist. Think of how many veterans, for example, were in the group they targeted. They are ruthless and completely without shame or patriotism.

(photo illustration: Stockbyte)