Voting is fundamental to our democracy. The Declaration of Independence states: “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Yet, Republican-controlled legislatures across the country are voting along party lines to suppress voting, especially of people of color. The Brennan Center for Justice reported on May 28, 2021: “Overall, lawmakers have introduced at least 389 restrictive bills in 48 states in the 2021 legislative sessions.” Voting Rights Lab, a nonpartisan organization, stated: “18 states have put in place more than 30 laws restricting access to the ballot. These laws will affect around 36 million people, or about 15% of all eligible voters.” Georgia is replacing bipartisan county election boards with Republican appointees. In some states like Texas, the legislatures are considering provisions that would allow Republican partisans to disregard votes they think are fraudulent. That would include airplanes secretly flying in bamboo-laced ballots from Asia, or Italian satellites changing votes, or any other crazy notion; without evidence. On Tuesday, June 22, Republican Senators voted against debating the issue of voter rights. Think about that. Republicans are passing laws to suppress voting, and they don’t want to explain the reasons for their actions. If there were reasons for these laws, they should welcome debate. I would argue that Republicans want to govern WITHOUT the consent of the governed.
