Stop time warp

Anti-voter bills take state backward

So much of what’s happening in the Arkansas state Legislature right now is taking our state backward. That’s especially true for our election and voter laws. Know that when this session is done, voters will have fewer rights, freedoms, and choices when you go to the polls in 2022.

Here’s the key question to ask yourself: What did your legislators do this year to make your life better?

I’ll give you a sec. Google it, if you need to.

Or, to save time, think back on the kinds of Arkansas bills that have been garnering national media attention over the past few months

… Right.

Legislators’ jobs are to make laws that grow our state, advance education, improve our health care, better people’s lives, and generally make Arkansas a place where families want to move to and businesses want to bring new jobs. That’s what we’re voting for when we go to the polls.

So how did the Arkansas legislative session move our state forward in 2021?

This week in Little Rock, we see a group of lawmakers taking Arkansas backward by passing bills that chip away at your right to vote. Anti-voter bills sail through the Legislature, while tax credits for working families and safe housing bills are stuck.

This 2021 anti-voter bill package is going to make it harder for you to fire your legislators for not passing laws that actually make your life better.

Senate Bill 485, for example, would shorten the early voting period. SB643 would move up the deadlines to apply for and to return absentee ballots. SB486 prevents volunteers from handing out food or water to people in line at polls.

Other bills are part of a power grab away from local officials, shifting control to partisan state-level appointees or partisan election commissioners. This will give incumbents more influence to police ballot-counting in elections in which they have a personal stake.

House Joint Resolution 1005 and SB614 would make it much harder for citizens to create laws directly at election time through voter initiatives. That’s how we voted to raise the minimum wage in 2018 and to legalize medical marijuana in 2016.

SB684 would tell political parties that they have to charge their candidates minimum filing fees to run— because why let political parties set their own internal rules, when you can discourage people from running against you?

You get the idea.

These bills are straight out of a book on big government, piling laws on top of laws and stripping power from local communities. You can check out a list with more info at tinyurl.com/electionlaws.

One representative called them an “election integrity” package. They’re similar to what Georgia legislators recently enacted. And, like in Georgia, they do indeed weaken election integrity in Arkansas.

The only reason you’re not hearing about the public outrage here is because the Republicans responsible are attempting to dodge public outrage by passing anti-voter bills piecemeal.

Idon’t believe all Republicans think these anti-voter bills are good for our state or their constituents, who, after all, are voters too. I do think they fear going against their party.

But someday this strategy of excluding voters in order to maintain power is going to buckle under the growing swell of citizens who show up at the polls, demanding that their interests be included.

How much it would be better for Arkansas overall if all political parties prioritized policies that appealed to broad and growing groups of voters. Policies that could garner bipartisan support and give diverse communities of voters lots of good reasons to vote incumbents back in.

Winning elections because you rigged the rules in your favor is a pretty lousy way to win. It shouldn’t be the Arkansas way. We don’t need our reps passing laws that invite corporations and sports organizations to boycott our state too.

Voters have tremendous collective power. The more people who vote, the more power we have. Don’t let state legislators weaken your power.

Tell your representative and senator to oppose these anti-voter bills. Demand that they instead work together to move Arkansas forward.