States need to stop trying to suppress the vote

Voting should be a right, not a fight. Yet in the United States today, we are watching actions that make our democratic republic appear more like a banana republic than a place that conducts free and fair elections. It is shameful.

In North Dakota, the Supreme Court has upheld a law that requires voters to bring proof of residential address to the polls. Sounds logical — who doesn’t have proof of residency? Many rural voters on tribal lands, that’s who, people who happen to vote overwhelmingly Democratic.

Rural residents in North Dakota (and New Mexico, for that matter) often receive mail at a post office box. They don’t live on roads featuring neat street signs and names. Because of this law and its endorsement by the Supreme Court, tribal citizens could be unable to vote, something that matters in a state where Democratic U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp is seeking re-election. Remember, she won election in 2012 by a few thousand votes, in large part thanks to Native support.

Almost worse in terms of out-and-out disenfranchisement is what is happening in Georgia. GOP Secretary of State Brian Kemp — and candidate for governor — is attempting to block some 53,000 voter registrations, 70 percent of which happen to be AfricanAmericans.

As secretary of state, the New York Times reported, Kemp also oversaw the mass cancellation of 1.4 million voter registrations. What’s more, a Georgia law backed by Kemp requires an “exact” match between the name on a voter registration and government documents — an extra middle initial or misplaced hyphen and there goes a person’s opportunity to vote.

It’s no coincidence that Kemp’s opponent is Stacey Abrams, who could become the first black female governor in U.S. history. The “strict” rules in Georgia are supposedly designed to root out fraud. The reality is that such rules reduce participation by young people, women and minority groups, people who often lean Democratic.

In New Mexico, thankfully, obvious efforts at voter suppression are uncommon. We also have many safety features to guard our election results not found elsewhere. The state has a system of paper ballots and audits of all findings to ensure trust in results. In-person absentee balloting started last week, with actual early voting beginning Saturday, Oct. 20. On Nov. 6, voters can go to the polls at voter convenience centers designed to make voting accessible to all.

Bottom line: When more people vote, we all win. The elected can govern knowing they have earned the backing of the majority, rather than simply a majority of the few people who bothered and were allowed by voting laws to turn out to the polls. That leads to bolder and smarter decision-making, as well as a desire of the electorate to hold politicians to their promises.

Suppressing votes might ensure a victory now, but it over the long term, it is a losing proposition for our nation.