Voters have more to fear from GOP than Russia
I cast my first ballot in a presidential election in 1976. Every four years afterward, I have dutifully gone to the polls, knowing that my candidate might not win but savoring the victory of having fulfilled my civic duty.
For the first time in 44 years, I’m worried that my vote might not be counted.
Like many Americans, I have lost some confidence in the democratic process. The idea of fair elections now seems vague and distant. With each election, we have become less trusting, less willing to think that in the end, things will turn out the way the people intended.
Four years ago, the greatest threat to our democracy was Russia. U.S. intelligence officials have proved that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, and they have warned us the Russians are attempting to do it again this year.
I was born during the height of the Cold War, a period when Russia deemed it a travesty to allow the citizens to decide the direction of their country. Russia’s postCold War democratic order is a farce. Vladimir Putin wants to make a mockery of our democracy too.
The best way to accomplish that is to destroy Americans’ faith in free and open elections.
But it isn’t the Russians we should most fear this year. It’s America’s own Republican Party. The GOP has become the biggest threat to our elections, and thus democracy.
Everyone knows that Donald Trump is desperate to be reelected, but it’s his party of GOP operatives in the local trenches doing the dirty work to make sure it happens.
In their effort to put Trump in the White House four years ago, the Russians played on our naivete by spreading lies on social media and hacking into Hillary Clinton’s campaign emails. They accomplished their primary goal, but they lacked the political machinery necessary to control the outcome on a state-by-state level.
Someone on the ground has to do that. Without intentionally conspiring with
Russia, Republicans have eagerly extended a helping hand.
In a nation as divided as ours, no amount of illegally leaked campaign emails or misinformation spread on Facebook or Twitter could sway Joe Biden supporters to change their mind and vote for Trump. That technique had an impact in 2016, but this year, most voters made up their minds a long time ago.
This time around, the Republicans are doing what the Russians could never accomplish. The GOP is engaged in an outright campaign to deny Americans an opportunity to vote.
The biggest threats to Americans are the unfair restrictions and unnecessary requirements voters in Republican-controlled states are being forced to endure in the attempt to suppress their vote.
Strict voter-ID laws, cleansing state voter rolls, shortening early voting periods, inadequately staffing and equipping polling places, shutting down polling places
or moving them to inconvenient locations and voter intimidation have long been effective tools used by Republicans to stifle Democratic turnout.
This year, mail-in ballots have been added to the arsenal. Trump issued the call, and Republicans have heeded the challenge, to use mail-in ballots as a lethal weapon.
Trump revealed his game plan last week when he stressed the need to have a replacement for the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the bench prior to the Nov. 3 election.
“This scam that the Democrats are pulling — it’s a scam. The scam will be before the United States Supreme Court,” Trump said, referring to his planned challenge of mail-in ballots if he loses.
Some of the most egregious attempts to keep voters, particularly African Americans and other Democratic-leaning minorities, from voting are occurring in traditionally red states that appear on the cusp of turning blue.
The battleground state of North Carolina is a prime example. It is among a handful of states that require mail-in ballots to include the signature of a witness. Two witnesses’ signatures used to be required. Following complaints, the state legislature reduced it to one.
But the confusing step is causing problems. At least 1,700 of the ballots returned and processed thus far could not be counted because they were missing a witness name, signature or address, Associated Press reported. As of last week, Black voters represented 43% of those missing complete witness information.
Since the pandemic, four states dropped their requirement for a witness or a notary public, despite legal action by Republicans in some cases to keep them intact, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
In addition to North Carolina, seven states — Alabama, Alaska, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wisconsin — require the signature of a witness or notary public.
It would seem as though voters who live in solidly blue states controlled by Democrats would have little to worry about. But no one is safe. The Russians and the GOP have succeeded in convincing us that our electoral process is flawed. Our doubts about the sanctity of the upcoming election have escalated nearly to the point of panic.
We are so scared that our ballot will be challenged in court for some frivolous and arbitrary reason that we are unwilling to take any chances. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are too afraid to risk mailing our ballots in and are opting instead to brave potentially long lines to cast our vote in person.
To that extent, Putin has succeeded in chipping away at our democracy. But Americans are resilient. We will do whatever is necessary to preserve our elections.
We refuse to allow the Russians or the Republicans to deny us our vote.