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In many US states, Republicans are passing laws that could make voting more difficult. Democrats in Congress are trying to win a majority for a law prohibiting such restrictions.
The 2020 elections were one of the most contentious in the nearly 250-year history of the United States. Especially the time after the day of the elections stands out, with complaints of electoral fraud and trials. It all peaked on January 6, when a mob stormed Congress.
The conflicts do not seem to calm down. Now the battle is over electoral laws.
Donald Trump’s party has full control in major tip states like Arizona, Florida, Texas, and Georgia. Now they can change electoral laws and constituencies so that the chance of retaining a majority increases dramatically.
The Democrats’ response is a new federal law. It will provide a clearer framework of what states can do.
Ultimately, it will be up to the Supreme Court to decide whether the Constitution allows Congress in Washington to interfere with state electoral laws. The court has a solid conservative majority.
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Bitter deal in US states after 2020. Proposals for new electoral laws are now being welcomed.
Outside the voting station in Maryvale, Arizona, there were long lines at the beginning. The majority of voters in this district have a minority background. Photo: Edgard Garrido, Reuters / NTB
Prevent cheating or prevent minorities
Republicans say the laws they pass in the states should prevent voter fraud. Although Trump’s own attorney general said there was no evidence that voter fraud was a problem, his party colleagues would toughen the law.
In many states, strict requirements are set for identity documents. Experience shows that the poor tend to have greater problems meeting these requirements.
There are also several states that will limit the number of polling stations. Statistics show that poor people and people of color often have to queue much longer than whites. Fewer polling stations and shorter opening hours will make voting even more difficult.
New state laws, for example, could make it difficult to vote on Sundays. In Georgia, Democrats organized “souls for the polls,” or souls for the polling stations, after worship services. They installed buses from the church to the electoral college. The result is that blacks vote ten times more on Sundays than whites.
A law that stipulates that this is a violation of the Christmas peace can prevent blacks from voting.
Democrats want to annul
The fight for the right to vote has been going on for more than 200 years. When George Washington became president in 1789, only a minority of Americans could vote. Women and people of color were excluded. The same thing happened with many poor white men.
Formally, African American men were granted the right to vote after the Civil War. But especially in the southern states, laws were passed that made voting virtually impossible. At the time, the Democratic Party in the southern states was in favor of a policy of racial segregation that kept blacks at bay. It was not until 1965 that Congress passed the Voting Rights Act, which was to guarantee the electoral rights of blacks.
In 1965, John Lewis was beaten when he demonstrated for suffrage in Alabama. He fought for the right to vote until he died last year.
The law stipulated that federal authorities should monitor how suffrage was secured in the former southern states. But in 2013, the Supreme Court struck down this part of the law. Democrats believe that much of what Republicans are doing now would be prohibited if the law were followed.
One of the bills they are working on now is named after politician John Lewis. In 1965, the Alabama police nearly killed him. Until his death last year, he fought to secure the right to vote for blacks.
Will gag the states
Basically, every state adopts electoral laws. Politicians in Washington can adopt frameworks in which states must stand.
A week ago, the House of Representatives passed a new suffrage law. A common belief is that it is the most comprehensive suffrage law since 1965. It was quickly passed by the Senate.
Federal law will prevail over the decisions of the Länder if they restrict the right to vote. In the House of Representatives, not a single Republican voted for the law. They were joined by a Democrat. It is not very clear if the Democrats will approve it in the Senate. President Joe Biden has signaled that he will negotiate and likely compromise, if necessary.
The conservative magazine National Review believes the new law is “a long list of wishes from the radical left, tucked into a 791-page sausage skin.”
Conservatives accuse Democrats of wanting to overthrow 200 years of American history in which states have the power to organize elections and divide states into constituencies.
To the supreme court
If states feel that Washington is interfering with their autonomy, they can take the new law to the Supreme Court. There is a solid conservative majority.
The legal battle is already underway. On Tuesday, February 2, the Supreme Court heard arguments in a case in which Arizona must uphold two electoral rules. The counting of votes cast in a wrong constituency will be prohibited. The second rule states that only family members or caregivers can provide ballots for voters who cannot attend.
The verdict has not fallen. Various outlets believe the result will provide a clue as to how the country’s highest court will rule on subsequent cases.
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