Republicans ramp up efforts to suppers voting rights across US

Republicans across the United States are responding to their losses in the 2020 election by introducing a plethora of legislation that would make it harder for eligible American voters to cast a ballot.

Today, there are approximately about 360 pieces of legislation introduced across 47 states to make it harder for low-income and minority communities – who traditionally vote Democrat, to register to vote.

In Arizona, Texas and Iowa, measures with far-reaching implications for voting rights have steadily been gaining traction in statehouses.

The most contentious and desperate piece of legislation was recently introduced in Georgia, where, among other things, the simple act of giving a bottle of water to voters standing in long lines to cast their ballots has become a misdemeanor.

The law, S.B. 202, was passed by the Georgia House of Representatives and Senate and signed by Governor Brian Kemp in under seven hours on March 25.

The sweeping law practically makes it harder for all Georgians to cast a ballot-- especially voters of color, new citizens and religious communities-- by imposing identification requirements for absentee ballots, limiting ballot drop boxes and shortening runoff elections.

In Montana, Republicans have been relentless in their attacks on voting rights. They are pushing a radical agenda to cherry-pick their voters, instead of letting voters choose whoever they would like to represent them.

Democratic State Senator Bryce Bennett ripped the state GOP for attempting to suppress voting rights and restrict access to the ballot, which he said was “un-American.”

“Montanans were loud and clear six years ago when they voted to preserve the right to register and vote on Election Day (LR-126). That hasn't stopped Republicans from ignoring the people of Montana and bringing a bill to end Election Day voter registration, which has ensured over 60,000 Montanans could cast their ballots,” Bennett wrote in the Great Falls Tribune.

“Republican bills are also targeting students and low-income communities with arbitrary and burdensome voter ID rules and forcing people to register with their county to do something as simple as dropping off a ballot for a friend or neighbor,” he added.

“The malicious efforts by Republicans in Montana and statehouses across the nation to push voters out of their democracy is simply un-American, and we must all do our part to fight back,” the state senator noted.

Efforts to suppress voting rights have been more intense in the South and the Sun Belt, which have witnessed rapid demographic changes in their electorates to the detriment of the Republican Party.

Republicans across the South have entrenched political interests to try to stop the trend. They are using allegations of widespread voter fraud to suppress the right to vote.

Like Georgia, the once-reliably red strongholds of Arizona and Texas have been dramatically reshaped in recent years and are likely to keep trending further away from Republicans.

In 2020, Democrats clinched major victories in Georgia and Arizona, though Texas has been slipping away from Republicans at a slower pace.

As efforts to suppress voting rights gain momentum, concerned advocacy groups have also ramped up their efforts at state legislatures to fight the GOP measures.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other rights groups have filed a federal lawsuit against Georgia’s sweeping voter suppression law.

“I think this is very much directed at making it more difficult for Black voters to influence the outcome of the 2022 election,” said Andrea Young, the executive director of ACLU Georgia.

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