Dangers to democracy

The New York Times today offers a compelling editorial on the legal assaults being waged against voting in the United States.

Many states, as the editorial points out, are erecting hoops and barriers to voting that go against the rhetoric we are peddling to the rest of the world. These include “rules that make it hard, and financially perilous, for nonpartisan groups to register new voters,” “rules for maintaining voter rolls that are likely to throw off many eligible voters” and “unnecessarily tough ID requirements,” the Times writes.

The upshot is a widespread denial of the vote — and significant damage to the democratic process.

As the Times points out:

Protecting the integrity of voting is important, but many of these rules seem motivated by a partisan desire to suppress the vote, and particular kinds of voters, rather than to make sure that those who are entitled to vote — and only those who are entitled — do so. The right to vote is fundamental, and Congress and state legislatures should not pass laws that put an unnecessary burden on it. If they do, courts should strike them down.

Channel Surfing, The South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press

Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet