Election expert says voter suppression isn't the biggest threat to democracy

[pecksniff]

Story.

On September 23, 2020, Slate published an article by law professor/election law expert Richard L. Hasen, who was worried about the type of "power grab" that then-President Donald Trump and his allies would try to pull off with the presidential election. Hasen, who teaches law at the University of California, Irvine, was right to be concerned: Trump lost the election, but falsely claimed that he didn't. And a year later, Hasen is even more "scared" about the state of U.S. democracy than he was when he wrote that Slate article a year ago.

During an interview with Politico published this week, Hasen explained, "I'm even more frightened now than in those past months because of the revelations that continue to come to light about the concerted effort of Trump to try to alter the election outcome: Over 30 contacts with governors, state legislative officials, those who canvass the votes; pressuring governors, pressuring secretaries of state; having his lawyer pass out talking points to have Mike Pence declare Trump the winner even though he lost the election. I mean, this is not what we expect in a democracy."

The 2020 election, Hasen warned, may be a "dress rehearsal" for an even more dangerous "power grab" in the 2024 presidential election. And he believes that Democrats are facing an even bigger problem than voter suppression: voter subversion.

The UC Irving law professor told Politico, "Georgia recently passed a new voting law. One of the things that law does is it makes it a crime to give water to people waiting in a long line to vote — unless you're an election official, in which case, you can direct people to water. That's voter suppression — that will deter some people who are stuck in a long line from voting. Election subversion is not about making it harder for people to vote, but about manipulating the outcome of the election so that the loser is declared the winner or put in power. It's the kind of thing that I never expected we would worry about in the United States."

With their false claims of widespread voter fraud, Hasen notes, MAGA Republicans are bringing about "a denigration in public confidence in the election process." Of course, some of the people who refused to go along with Trump's false claims of voter fraud following the 2020 election were right-wing Republicans — including Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, former U.S. Attorney General William Barr and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. The United States' system of checks and balances held up in 2020, but Hasen fears that it won't in 2024.

Hasen told Politico, "I don't think the same people are going to be in place — that's what makes me quite worried. I don't think the people that showed integrity would lose their integrity, but I'm worried that people who didn't show integrity might now be in positions of power. What would have happened if the election was exactly the same, except (House Minority Leader) Kevin McCarthy was speaker of the House? I don't know that we'd have a President Biden right now. I don't know what we would have."

Richard Hasen, BTW, is author of The Voting Wars, which is worth reading for anyone interested in these matters.

 

[pecksniff]

Though the article doesn't mention it, I have read something about proposals in Georgia to authorize state officials to override local election officials' certification of election results. That's worrying.

 

[CornusKousa]

What democracy???

LMFAO!!!! The one YOU personally hate and cheer seeing undermined???

So what?? It's being undermined because confidence is lost.... when "democracy" becomes one side or the other just getting totally fucked dry and beaten with a bully stick of government authority?

It's over, the USA is done, it's just going to take some more time for the people to catch up.

The USA has already started to balkanized to some degree and it will continue until someone tries to take/force it otherwise.

OR the "mostly peaceful" legal divorce happens and we have a "live and let live" arrangement.

That's they only real big question left, are we going to fight or just go our separate ways??

 

[ll74]

Though the article doesn't mention it, I have read something about proposals in Georgia to authorize state officials to override local election officials' certification of election results. That's worrying.

Proposed law would allow Arizona Legislature to overturn presidential election results

 

[CornusKousa]

Proposed law would allow Arizona Legislature to overturn presidential election results

Nice... how very republican.

Other red states should do the same.

 

[Paul_Chance]

"The 2020 election, Hasen warned, may be a "dress rehearsal" for an even more dangerous "power grab" in the 2024 presidential election. And he believes that Democrats are facing an even bigger problem than voter suppression: voter subversion.

The UC Irving law professor told Politico, "Georgia recently passed a new voting law. One of the things that law does is it makes it a crime to give water to people waiting in a long line to vote — unless you're an election official, in which case, you can direct people to water. That's voter suppression — that will deter some people who are stuck in a long line from voting. Election subversion is not about making it harder for people to vote, but about manipulating the outcome of the election so that the loser is declared the winner or put in power. It's the kind of thing that I never expected we would worry about in the United States."

Okay, I have to give this one a reality body check.

Really? Not having organizations give out water with 150 feet of the polling place is going to make people not vote? Uh, maybe bring a bottle of water? Maybe make sure you drank some water before you went to vote? Maybe bring an extra bottle of water so you can give share the person next to you if they get thirsty? Maybe say "Hey, hold my place for me buddy, I need a drink of water." Maybe set up your booth 151 feet away with a sign that says "Last chance to drink get a free bottle of water for 150 feet?"

"Georgia HB 531 has a section that prohibits “any money or gifts, including, but not limited to, food and drink, to an elector.” Such giveaways will be banned within 150 feet of a building where people are voting, within any polling place or within 25 feet of any voter standing in line."

 

[Dribble]

Why should anyone have to wait more than 10 minutes to vote IN THE MOST DEVELOPED AND ADVANCED COUNTRY IN THE WORLD? Or...maybe we really are a third world country? We know certain races are treated differently. Is it OK to have to wait hours if it only affects blacks? Or browns? We know this would be a big issue if it only affected suburban whites.

 

[Rightguide]

The biggest threat is the ignorance of the left when it comes to constitutional governance and the value of lawful elections...and the value of lawful process in general.

 

[ll74]

The biggest threat is the ignorance of the left when it comes to constitutional governance and the value of lawful elections...and the value of lawful process in general.

Man who doesn't understand election process bitches about other people who do.

Tell us more about rampant election fraud that you found on the internet......

 

[pecksniff]

So what?? It's being undermined because confidence is lost.... when "democracy" becomes one side or the other just getting totally fucked dry and beaten with a bully stick of government authority?

What on Earth are you talking about?

 

[pecksniff]

The biggest threat is the ignorance of the left when it comes to constitutional governance and the value of lawful elections...and the value of lawful process in general.

It's not the left that cheats.