Discussion: The Supreme Court's Last-Minute Voter Rulings Should Be About Access

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Discussion for article #228713

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I “should” be the next Emperor of the Lunar Sovereign State.

Let’s see which one happens first.

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Well stated, Professor.

Thank you.

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“The constitutional right to vote is the most fundamental, foundational
right in our democracy. Courts should not restrict that right,
especially just before Election Day. They should instead issue orders
that expand voter access for all members of our society.”

You’re preaching to the choir here professor.

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Lewis Black, as ambassador for voting rights for the ACLU, said it perfectly:

“Elected officials shouldn’t get to choose who gets to choose elected officials”

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It should be about “access”, but with Roberts, Scalia, Thomas, Alito, and Kennedy on the court chances are slim and none that it will be.

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Oh, please. You’re not really going to argue this based on common sense, the Constitution, or equal justice under the law, are you? Seriously? Who can presume the right wingers on the Supreme Court are concerned with such nonsense?

For those ideologues, this is all about concentrating wealth among those they deem worthy of making the decisions by virtue of that wealth, and vesting them with the power to make those decisions, from amplifying their influence with Citizens’ United to suppressing the vote of anyone who might oppose their intentions.

Moreover, increasingly the candidates selected by the party machines have already pledged their allegiance to their donors or they wouldn’t be in a position to win in the first place.

This prevailing belief that we have free and fair elections deserves some critical scrutiny. This farce is a multi-headed hydra of corruption and graft, and the stark reality is that it will never be fixed. Ever.

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This stuff should be even simpler: No changes that potentially restrict access within, say, 90 days of an election. Period. Because none of the states passing these restrictive laws are (as far as I can tell) publicizing the laws widely, training poll workers in exactly how the laws must be applied, training municipal officials and ID-issuing personnel in exactly how the new IDs should be issued and how to help people get them at no cost if needed (as required by federal law and the constitution), and so forth. So every first election with a new set of restrictive laws thus far has turned into a clown car of obvious screwups and finger-pointing.

If you thought you couldn’t vote quite as easily, and it turns out to have been easier than you thought, that’s not a big deal. But if it turns out to be harder, and the first time you have an opportunity to learn about the new rules and how to comply with them is after you’ve been turned away from the ballot box, that’s a travesty.