Republican SCOTUS Abets Wisconsin Republican Voter Suppression

The back- and- forth over whether the Wisconsin primary should be held today in the midst of a pandemic is over.  Democratic Gov. Tony Evers wanted to postpone the primary, as every other state with an April primary has done;  the Republican legislature, backed by the Republican- majority State Supreme Court said no.  Yesterday, the bad guys won, abetted by the heavy hand of the five Republican vote suppressors on the Supreme Court.

Here's a brief background:

... Other states have postponed their primaries as the novel coronavirus made gathering with your neighbors in long lines in a middle school gym seem like a terrible idea.

Evers was willing to hold the election as scheduled until recently, but he tried to make the voting safer and easier amid the pandemic. Yet Republicans resisted.

Evers called for the state to simply send every voter an absentee ballot, but Republicans refused. Democrats filed lawsuits to remove certain absentee ballot requirements that will be impossible for some to follow during the lockdown. Republicans fought those, too, as well as a suit seeking to give the state more time to count the increased number of absentee ballots.

All this has led to reasonable speculation that Wisconsin Republicans are actively hoping to carry through this election with lower turnout, because they believe that will benefit them in a big race: one that pits conservative Justice Daniel Kelly against liberal challenger Jill Karofsky, competing for a 10-year term in a coveted state supreme court seat.  (our emphasis)

It's all quite simple in Wisconsin and elsewhere:  the more people vote, the more Republicans are going to lose.

Wisconsin Republicans took the matter to the Republican U.S. Supreme Court, the same outfit that gutted the Voting Rights Act and promoted unlimited dark money in politics (Citizens United).  The result was a 5- 4 foregone conclusion.  But leave it to our heroine, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to speak the truth in her dissent:

“The question here is whether tens of thousands of Wisconsin citizens can vote safely in the midst of a pandemic,” Ginsburg wrote on Monday. “With the majority’s stay in place, that will not be possible. Either they will have to brave the polls, endangering their own and others’ safety. Or they will lose their right to vote, through no fault of their own.”

She continued: “That is a matter of utmost importance — to the constitutional rights of Wisconsin’s citizens, the integrity of the State’s election process, and in this most extraordinary time, the health of the Nation.”

The Wisconsin Election Commission reported Monday that 43% of the absentee ballots already requested had not yet been returned.

“While I do not doubt the good faith of my colleagues, the Court’s order, I fear, will result in massive disenfranchisement,” Ginsburg wrote. “A voter cannot deliver for postmarking a ballot she has not received. Yet tens of thousands of voters who timely requested ballots are unlikely to receive them by April 7, the Court’s postmark deadline.” (our emphasis)

We're free to doubt the good faith of the Republican ideologues and water carriers currently representing the majority on the Court, even if Justice Ginsburg is loath to do so. This is all part and parcel of the Republican Party's rear guard action to hold onto power for as long as possible, by whatever means necessary as the ground shifts around them.

If justice (not the Supreme Court kind) were to prevail, Wisconsin voters would see through this naked power grab that endangers the lives of their fellow citizens and vote for the Democratic supreme court candidate.  We're not holding our breaths.

(Image:  Mike Luckovich, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

BONUS: Despite Republican efforts to disenfranchise them, Milwaukee voters gave them the finger and showed up in numbers, as National Guard members helped staff the limited polling places.  Masks and distancing were in practice.

Milwaukee, WI. 45 minutes after polls open. The line to vote goes on for a quarter mile at this station alone. Masks and social distancing abound. So proud and scared for my city. pic.twitter.com/5px2XZ6Ysn

— Patrick S. Tomlinson (@stealthygeek) April 7, 2020

But they made it as difficult as they could.

Milwaukee has just five voting locations open today, down from the usual 180 for a typical voting day. https://t.co/d6Q6zWTnfz

— Ed O'Keefe (@edokeefe) April 7, 2020

So,

If Democrats don't want November to look like Wisconsin's election, they have only one chance: demand its inclusion in the next coronavirus bill and be prepared to walk away https://t.co/5i5WS3qFhg

— Jonathan Chait (@jonathanchait) April 7, 2020