Republicans from all levels of government in this country have made little secret in recent years of the fact that their political power derives almost exclusively from a longstanding, and largely successful, effort to manipulate the electoral process to their exclusive benefit. Extreme partisan gerrymandering, voter suppression, allegations of electoral fraud — they’re all tools the GOP and its conservative allies use to maximize the “right” kind of votes (that is: people who vote for them) at the expense of, y’know, actual democracy.
But if the GOP’s semi-whispered reverence for restricted voting was a poorly kept secret before, the past few days have been like turning a dog whistle into a full blown bullhorn. We’ve gone from subliminal, to liminal, to super-liminal in record time.
Speaking with WLOX last month, Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson, a Republican, claimed without evidence that the Biden administration is “basically employing all the federal agencies, universities, and colleges to register as many folks as they can via this automatic voter registration.” It’s possible Watson was talking about the Democrats’ For The People Act, which, while not a Biden administration bill, does indeed tackle automatic voter registration. Continue reading.