The Republican Party’s national push to enact hundreds of new electoral restrictions could test all available voting methods for tens of millions of Americans , which could represent the largest contraction in access to ballots in the United States since the end of Reconstruction, when southern states cut voting rights of formerly enslaved black men, according to an analysis by The Washington Post.
In 43 states across the country, Republican lawmakers have proposed at least 250 laws that would limit voting by mail, in person and on Election Day with such restrictions such as stricter identification requirements, limited hours, or more limited eligibility to vote absentee, based on data compiled on 19 February by the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice .
Since then they have submitted even more Republican proposals to restrict the right to vote.
By 24 March, legislators have presented 361 bills. ” of law with restrictive provisions in 47 states. That is 108 more than 253 restrictive bills posted as of 24 February 2021, an increase of 43% in just over a month, according to Brenan Center for Justice .
In order not to lose the elections in 2022
After the defeat of Donald Trump in the last elections , the Republicans are promoting legislative changes that have put in place of war against democrats, activists and the business sector as an attempt to limit the right to vote of minorities.
With their sights set on the mid-term elections of 2022 , conservative legislators have presented bills with the argument that they want to protect “the integrity” of the vote, after Trump assured, without proof, that there was fraud in the November elections , a message that has penetrated the Republican electorate .
If these initiatives go ahead they could restrict voting by mail and face-to-face in advance, in addition to demanding more stringent identification requirements in order to vote.
These measures have begun to be enacted
Five restrictive voting bills have already been enacted in Georgia, Iowa, Arkansas with 2 bills and Utah.
What’s more, at least 47 restrictive bills on states are going through legislatures: 29 have approved at least one camera, while others 26 have had some type of committee action (for example, a hearing, amendment, or committee vote), according to the March report of the Brenan Center for Justice.
The co-founder of the group Black Voters Matter (black voters matter ) LaTosha Brown explained to Efe that these practices of suppressing the vote of minorities are not new in the US , although he acknowledged that “The attack on democracy has intensified”, as a result of Trump’s “big lie” that there was electoral fraud.
To avoid the wave that swept the polls in November
USA lived in the elections of 2020 a historical influx to the polls, with 116 millions of people who came to vote, that is, the % of the electorate, according to The Washington Post newspaper.
The most notorious recent case regarding voting restrictions has been that of Georgia, where Republicans approved an electoral reform that, according to its detractors, limits the right to vote because it adds new requirements in case of wanting to do so by mail and because prohibits giving food and drink to voters who wait to cast their ballot , among other provisions .
Voting by mail, precisely, was essential in the last general elections due to the pandemic, and it was also the favorite target of Trump, who did not stop criticizing and considering it a source of electoral fraud.
The rejection of the big s companies
Georgia’s electoral reform has not only triggered criticism from activists and Democrats, to the point that the country’s president himself, Joe Biden, has spoken out to reject it , but large companies such as Coca Cola, Apple and Delta have expressed their rejection.
Mike Ward, co-founder and vice president of the Civic Alliance, a non-partisan business coalition that fights to defend democracy, explained that the corporate world is becoming more and more involved in these types of battles.
“A healthy democracy is good for business in America,” summarized Ward.
In Georgia, Civic Alliance promoted a statement signed by more than 170 firms, including Paypal, Uber, Twitter and H&M, which asked policy makers to protect access to suffrage.
The battle for the right to vote
Given the response of the business sector to voting restrictions, Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warned companies of “serious consequences” after many condemned electoral reform in Georgia.
Similar battles are looming after Georgia in several states, among which Latosha Brown highlights Texas, one of the Republican strongholds, where demographic dynamics can change the direction of the vote . “It is a state that is changing, most of the population under 18 years are communities of color ”, indicated the activist.
Ultimately, the fight for the right to vote will intensify as the calendar progresses towards the elections of half term at 2022.
With information from The Washington Post, Brennan Center for Justice and EFE Agency