In Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has agreed to sign into law a voter suppression bill that has been passed by Republicans in the Florida State Legislature. Although the bill is designed to make it harder for Democrats to vote, some Republicans fear it could backfire and hurt older voters — who are more likely to vote GOP. As a result, they have floated the idea of an exception for older voters —which, liberal opinion writer Greg Sargent stresses in his Washington Post column, underscores the fact that the bill is designed to hurt Democrats regardless of GOP claims to the contrary.
On Monday morning, the Post published an article by journalist Amy Gardneraddressing the fears of Republicans who believe that Florida Senate Bill 90 may have unintended consequences if it discourages older Floridians from voting. Gardner did some stellar reporting, emphasizing that Florida Republicans have a long history of encouraging absentee voting — and that historically, African-Americans, a key part of the Democratic base, have preferred in-person voting. But in 2020, then-President Donald Trump baselessly claimed that voting by mail encouraged voter fraud. And SB 90 makes it harder to vote by mail, which according to Gardner, could hurt the GOP in Florida if older voters are confused or discouraged.
Commenting to Gardner’s reporting, Sargent explains, “Republicans are responding to their 2020 losses by doing everything they can to restrict the size of the electorate wherever possible, in ways they think will advantage them. To disguise this ugly game, they’ve rolled out all sorts of disingenuous talking points, claiming they want to restore ‘confidence’ in our elections — or, even more absurdly, to ensure ‘election integrity.’ But every now and then, the mask slips, making the truth about these efforts even harder to deny.” Continue reading.