GOP war on mail ballots may backfire
If there’s one lesson the farce of conducting the April 7 Wisconsin elections in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic should have taught Republicans, it is that the voters you hurt may be your own. Rather than play games in an effort to depress turnout among likely Democratic voters, now is the time for all officials — both Democrat and Republican — to think about how to make voting safe, secure and easy in November.
There are signs from Wisconsin that Republican efforts to make it harder to vote in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic are backfiring in two ways. First, suppressive efforts are firing up Democrats to come out and vote. As the New York Times reported, Democrats voted in large numbers in a highly contested state Supreme Court race — and a less contested Democratic presidential primary.
Second, suppressive efforts are making it harder for some staunch Republican voters and Trump supporters, particularly in rural areas, to cast their ballots.
“While Republicans encouraged early and absentee voting, many elderly either did not have the wherewithal to request absentee ballots or the inclination to vote in person on April 7.” Doug Rogalla, the Republican Party chairman in Monroe County, told the Times. “They were confused, afraid and decided to stay home.”
https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-oped-how-to-vote-during-a-pandemic-20200420-spwxu5vkgngwfdwcvyw547zoy4-story.html
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