Madeleine May Kunin is a former Democratic governor of Vermont. She is the author of “Coming of Age, My Journey to the Eighties.”
How many jelly beans are there in that jar?” That was one of the questions that could be asked when a Black citizen wanted to register to vote in the Jim Crow South.
“Polling places must be closed by 5 o’clock.” That is one of the voting restrictions passed into law in 2021, cited by President Biden.
There is not much difference between then and now. The purpose is the same: prevent African Americans from exercising their constitutional right to vote.
In fact, prevent as many people as possible from voting because they might — God forbid — vote Democratic.
Some 250 voter suppression bills have been introduced in 43 states because lawmakers are afraid of their constituents — young people, people of color, poor people, and people who speak a language other than English.
What are lawmakers afraid of? They are afraid they may be voted out of office. They are afraid that the era of dominant white male leadership is coming to an end.
Democracy was great for the country, they believe, as long as they were in power. Republicans waved flags and sang songs lauding patriotism. Sure, vote, come on into the voting booth. Celebrate democracy.
But when they saw their power begin to erode by a large voter turnout of people who didn’t look like them, or talk like them, they yelled “Fraud!’ in tune with former President Trump.
Even before this voter suppression campaign took hold, the United States had one of the lowest voter participation records of most developed countries.
Republican lawmakers want to eradicate the 2020 laws that elected Joe Biden and created a Democratic House and Senate. They want to go back to the jelly jar. The only remedy foreseen is S.1, a comprehensive voting rights bill passed in the House and pending in the Senate, where adoption is uncertain.
It is a sad day when the Republican Party has voter suppression at the top of its agenda. Despite their hysterical efforts, this mean anti-democratic strategy may backfire. While Republicans are busy fighting against the right to vote, they may be voted out of office because Democrats have a more meaningful agenda, passing laws that will make Americans’ lives better, like placing a check in their bank accounts and helping to pay for child care.
Correction: This column was corrected to clarify voter turnout last November.