the emptiness of "voting rights" (or "democracy") as a partisan issue
Aligning with the anniversary press coverage of the January 6th (2021) attack at the US Capitol, President Biden and Democrats are kicking off a nationwide tour that is meant to highlight the current partisan struggle over voting rights. Starting in Georgia, where Donald Trump is under criminal investigation for trying to change the outcome of the November 2020 presidential election after the votes were counted, and where Stacy Abrams also claims that her own gubernatorial loss in 2018 was the result of an unfair election.
As with most of Biden's other priorities, the President's legislation for enhancing voting rights is stuck in the US Senate.
Generally speaking, in states where Republicans control both the legislature and the executive, they've been making it somewhat more difficult to vote in a supposed attempt to reduce voter fraud, although there's no evidence of significant voter fraud in the US, and when voter fraud is found there is no clear bias for or against one major party or the other. The most common form of voter fraud in the US is people who fail to update their address after they move, and then continue voting in a district where they no longer live. There are also isolated instances of forged signatures on voter petitions (usually by lazy campaign workers) or stolen absentee ballots (by corrupt campaign workers).
And in states where Democrats control, they've been making it somewhat easier to vote, usually by adding extra times, places, and options for voting and by allowing same-day voter registration. [Sometimes Democrats even extend the vote to people who are not citizens.]
Academics who study these issues say that "voting rights" are generally not as significant as they look on paper, there's little hard evidence that making it somewhat easier or harder to vote changes the outcome in a reliably predictable way. Making it easier to vote makes it easier for both Republicans and Democrats to vote. And vice versa. But sometimes legislators try to target segments of the population to make it easier or harder for that segment to vote. If the segment they're targeting is based on race, sex, or another prohibited category, judges can and do block that legislation or give orders allowing polling places to remain open past statutory deadlines.
But even if you discount the question of whether these struggles over voting rights are effective or not, my problem with "voting rights" as a partisan issue is the ultimate emptiness of it all. It feels entirely circular to me. Democrats focus on making it easier to vote, and then expect voters to vote for Democrats out of gratitude for it being easier to vote.
Vote for me, because I made it easier for you to vote!
So, the 80-year-old POC grandma, who can now more easily request an absentee ballot from the local registrar, can comfortably vote from home two weekends before election day. Of course, as she's filling out her absentee ballot in her living room, she'll feel gratitude toward Democrats and will vote for them, solely because they've allowed her to vote from home. Really?
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I do think democracy is super important, without democracy there's no point in having political opinions or debates at all. But there should be no gratitude involved. We should all support democracy and voting rights, and then be content with voters voting for whomever voters want to vote for.
If a Republican needs a ride to the polls on Election Day because his car broke down, I should be willing to drive him to the polls regardless of his partisan lean. And I should be glad that he votes, regardless of who he votes for. His opinion is worth exactly as much as mine. Even if I don't understand his reasoning, or lack thereof. And his gratitude toward me for driving him to the polls, if any, should not change his vote. Democrats can be kind to Republicans, and vice versa. We all have a right to our opinions.
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There are two powerful veins of hypocrisy in efforts by Democrats to support "voting rights".
(1) Where Democrats are in charge, they often use gerrymandering to corral voters into districts to maximize the number of Democrats elected to the legislature. [This is horribly true in my own state of Maryland, where we have only one Republican congressman of our eight seats, while proportional representation would award three seats to Republicans. The state legislature is similarly biased against proportional representation and toward Democrats, 99-42 instead of a proportional 89-52.]
(2) Democrats often make it more difficult for "third party" and independent candidates to get onto the ballot. Ballot entry requirements are much higher in the US than in other modern multi-party democracies, and Democrats will often blatantly tell people that voting for a third-party candidate is a "wasted" vote.
When Democrats show concern for voting rights, they are actually concerned about making sure more Democrats can vote and more people vote for Democrats. It's entirely circular. They want to win more elections.
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I often feel Democrats use symbolic gestures toward identity politics to attract voters without owing them anything of substance in return. Voting rights definitely falls into this category. Instead of doing anything substantial to reduce economic inequality, for example, Democrats can claim "We Support Your Right to Vote!"
Meanwhile, the second impeachment of President Trump was an attempt to keep Trump off the ballot in future presidential elections. What about the rights of the 74 million people who voted for Trump in 2020? What about the rights of voters who tell opinion polls that they would prefer Trump over Biden if an election were held today?
As much as I dislike Trump, if he wins re-election in 2024 without changing the count after the fact, he'll be our President. How quickly would Democrats' respect for voting rights crumble if Trump won again fair-and-square? How quickly would the "Resist!" yard signs return to Democratic lawns? I bet we'd hear Democrats from blue states calling for secession from the Union.
The same President Biden who is touring the country demanding expanded voting rights is disapproved of by a majority of US residents. In a pure democracy, Biden would resign, out of respect for the will of the people. Perhaps he'd better spend his time listening to the people who disapprove of his performance, and trying to do more of what they'd like to see. According to Gallup, fewer than 1% of Americans think the most important problem in the US today is "election reform". The #1 most important problem listed by Americans is "poor leadership".
Interestingly, this was also the #1 most important problem when Trump was President, "poor leadership". Before the rise of Trump, people would pick more concrete problems, like the economy, Iraq, or terrorism.
Both major parties are offering the rest of us a choice between (A) poor leadership and (B) poor leadership. Meanwhile, these parties squabble over making it more or less difficult for us to vote, while herding us into uncompetitively gerrymandered districts, under an Electoral College that is mathematically biased toward rural states. The emptiness of it all.
As with most of Biden's other priorities, the President's legislation for enhancing voting rights is stuck in the US Senate.
Generally speaking, in states where Republicans control both the legislature and the executive, they've been making it somewhat more difficult to vote in a supposed attempt to reduce voter fraud, although there's no evidence of significant voter fraud in the US, and when voter fraud is found there is no clear bias for or against one major party or the other. The most common form of voter fraud in the US is people who fail to update their address after they move, and then continue voting in a district where they no longer live. There are also isolated instances of forged signatures on voter petitions (usually by lazy campaign workers) or stolen absentee ballots (by corrupt campaign workers).
And in states where Democrats control, they've been making it somewhat easier to vote, usually by adding extra times, places, and options for voting and by allowing same-day voter registration. [Sometimes Democrats even extend the vote to people who are not citizens.]
Academics who study these issues say that "voting rights" are generally not as significant as they look on paper, there's little hard evidence that making it somewhat easier or harder to vote changes the outcome in a reliably predictable way. Making it easier to vote makes it easier for both Republicans and Democrats to vote. And vice versa. But sometimes legislators try to target segments of the population to make it easier or harder for that segment to vote. If the segment they're targeting is based on race, sex, or another prohibited category, judges can and do block that legislation or give orders allowing polling places to remain open past statutory deadlines.
But even if you discount the question of whether these struggles over voting rights are effective or not, my problem with "voting rights" as a partisan issue is the ultimate emptiness of it all. It feels entirely circular to me. Democrats focus on making it easier to vote, and then expect voters to vote for Democrats out of gratitude for it being easier to vote.
Vote for me, because I made it easier for you to vote!
So, the 80-year-old POC grandma, who can now more easily request an absentee ballot from the local registrar, can comfortably vote from home two weekends before election day. Of course, as she's filling out her absentee ballot in her living room, she'll feel gratitude toward Democrats and will vote for them, solely because they've allowed her to vote from home. Really?
-----
I do think democracy is super important, without democracy there's no point in having political opinions or debates at all. But there should be no gratitude involved. We should all support democracy and voting rights, and then be content with voters voting for whomever voters want to vote for.
If a Republican needs a ride to the polls on Election Day because his car broke down, I should be willing to drive him to the polls regardless of his partisan lean. And I should be glad that he votes, regardless of who he votes for. His opinion is worth exactly as much as mine. Even if I don't understand his reasoning, or lack thereof. And his gratitude toward me for driving him to the polls, if any, should not change his vote. Democrats can be kind to Republicans, and vice versa. We all have a right to our opinions.
-----
There are two powerful veins of hypocrisy in efforts by Democrats to support "voting rights".
(1) Where Democrats are in charge, they often use gerrymandering to corral voters into districts to maximize the number of Democrats elected to the legislature. [This is horribly true in my own state of Maryland, where we have only one Republican congressman of our eight seats, while proportional representation would award three seats to Republicans. The state legislature is similarly biased against proportional representation and toward Democrats, 99-42 instead of a proportional 89-52.]
(2) Democrats often make it more difficult for "third party" and independent candidates to get onto the ballot. Ballot entry requirements are much higher in the US than in other modern multi-party democracies, and Democrats will often blatantly tell people that voting for a third-party candidate is a "wasted" vote.
When Democrats show concern for voting rights, they are actually concerned about making sure more Democrats can vote and more people vote for Democrats. It's entirely circular. They want to win more elections.
-----
I often feel Democrats use symbolic gestures toward identity politics to attract voters without owing them anything of substance in return. Voting rights definitely falls into this category. Instead of doing anything substantial to reduce economic inequality, for example, Democrats can claim "We Support Your Right to Vote!"
Meanwhile, the second impeachment of President Trump was an attempt to keep Trump off the ballot in future presidential elections. What about the rights of the 74 million people who voted for Trump in 2020? What about the rights of voters who tell opinion polls that they would prefer Trump over Biden if an election were held today?
As much as I dislike Trump, if he wins re-election in 2024 without changing the count after the fact, he'll be our President. How quickly would Democrats' respect for voting rights crumble if Trump won again fair-and-square? How quickly would the "Resist!" yard signs return to Democratic lawns? I bet we'd hear Democrats from blue states calling for secession from the Union.
The same President Biden who is touring the country demanding expanded voting rights is disapproved of by a majority of US residents. In a pure democracy, Biden would resign, out of respect for the will of the people. Perhaps he'd better spend his time listening to the people who disapprove of his performance, and trying to do more of what they'd like to see. According to Gallup, fewer than 1% of Americans think the most important problem in the US today is "election reform". The #1 most important problem listed by Americans is "poor leadership".
Interestingly, this was also the #1 most important problem when Trump was President, "poor leadership". Before the rise of Trump, people would pick more concrete problems, like the economy, Iraq, or terrorism.
Both major parties are offering the rest of us a choice between (A) poor leadership and (B) poor leadership. Meanwhile, these parties squabble over making it more or less difficult for us to vote, while herding us into uncompetitively gerrymandered districts, under an Electoral College that is mathematically biased toward rural states. The emptiness of it all.