It’s Not Racist To Support Election Integrity Laws

The Heritage Foundation

KEY TAKEAWAYS

  1. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court had struck down a lawsuit claiming that Arizona’s election laws were a form of racist voter suppression.
  2. The left has tried to portray any legitimate attempt to pass election integrity reforms as the disenfranchisement of African Americans.
  3. Our sacred right to vote and the very future of our free republic depends on us making sure their attempts fail.

Earlier this month, when I heard that the Supreme Court had struck down a lawsuit claiming that Arizona’s election laws were a form of racist voter suppression, I happened to be standing where civil rights leaders had long ago gathered to talk about the very issue of fighting for the right to cast their vote without fear or intimidation.

These were the Black leaders who envisioned an America where people of all colors could live together as equals, in peace, and with mutual respect. They weren’t politicians who tried to foment racial discord to advance a political agenda, something we see all too often today.

In 2005, I worked with Democrats and Republicans on the bipartisan Commission on Federal Election Reform (the Carter-Baker Commission), which examined all the ways we could strengthen the integrity of American elections. Reforms such as requiring voter ID, verifying that only citizens voted, and sharing voter lists among the states to prevent people from voting twice were agreed to by both sides as good policy.

Yet today, the left is reneging on that agreement. Somehow, those were commonsense reforms in 2005. Now, the left calls many of them racist.

The left has tried to portray any legitimate attempt to pass election integrity reforms as the disenfranchisement of African Americans. They talk about Black folks as if we are incapable of obtaining a state ID, getting to the polls on our own, or following simple election rules. 

Now, as states try to pass laws to prevent fraud, increase the transparency of our elections, and ensure that every legitimate vote gets counted, the left is once again opposing many of these measures. It’s literally trying to stop states from removing dead people from the voter rolls, from preventing non-citizens from registering to vote, and from requiring people to prove they are who they say they are to vote (i.e., showing an ID)—which polling shows most Americans, including Black Americans, agree with. 

In the end, the left is attempting to make it easier for people to cheat, increasing the likelihood that more and more fraudulent votes will cancel out legitimate ones. 

The left claims that it’s opposing these reforms because it wants to help African Americans. But in reality, it’s creating a situation that dilutes their and everyone else’s legitimate vote. 

The fact is, the left’s real agenda isn’t about helping minority voters; it’s about helping themselves: They believe voter fraud favors their candidates, plain and simple.

Ultimately, the left wants to federalize elections, turning over the rulemaking from accountable state legislators to unelected federal bureaucrats. They are trying to pass bills like HR 1 and S1 (the For the People Act) and HR 4 (the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act) and put the federal government in charge of state elections so that many reforms become impossible.

It’s a recipe for corruption.

Certainly, there was a time in America when some states had laws that deliberately discriminated against minorities (and I know firsthand because I lived in one of those states during segregation). There was a need for the federal government to intervene. But that’s not what’s happening today. The left would have us believe that we are still living in the 1960s segregated South. 

Many politicians and many in the media continue to spread the lie that racism keeps people from voting, even though election results and census numbers clearly show that Blacks and other minorities are showing up to elections in increasingly record numbers. 

It would be a great irony and a great tragedy if the promise of the civil rights movement and the sacrifice of all those who fought and even died to protect our right to vote were undone because the left successfully cloaked its efforts in the name of civil rights.

Our sacred right to vote and the very future of our free republic depends on us making sure they fail. 

By Kay C. James
President of The Heritage Foundation

Read Original Article on Heritage.org

The Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundationhttps://www.heritage.org/
The Heritage Foundation formulates and promotes public policies based on free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional values, and strong national defense.

Columns

Why Fishermen Are Catching Fewer Lobsters in Maine

For veteran lobsterman Travis Dammier, it was the end of another trip at sea on a solo voyage to earn a living.

Viewers like you

There is no constitutional authority for any spending on public broadcasting – period. Any questions: See Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution.

Beyond the Trump-Musk fallout?

We are witnessing an unprecedented, unhinged Democrat effort to use lawfare, big Democrat donors, street theater, congressional disruptions, potty-mouth videos, the administrative state, the legacy media, and discredited pollsters to stop the Trump agenda.

Trans-wormal

No worm ever said "I am anthropomorphizing, I am a butterfly" to a toad or flock of geese and expected acknowledgement and support.

In Greenland’s Icy Capital, Past Troubles Haunt Hopes for the Future

As geopolitical realities and ongoing economic growth raise the stakes, U.S. interest in Greenland and the dream of independence may change things in a big way.

News

Why Drug Price Reform Alone Won’t Heal America

What happens when medications become too cheap, plentiful, and automatic and we don’t reform how drugs are used? We risk clinical harm.

Trump Says Musk Will Face ‘Very Serious Consequences’ If He Backs Democrats

President Trump warned that Musk could face “serious consequences” if he decides to back Democratic political candidates in upcoming elections.

Judge Declines to Block Trump Admin From Dismantling Library Services Agency

A federal judge cleared the way for the Trump admin to move forward with plan to dismantle the federal agency that funds libraries nationwide.

Supreme Court to Review Alabama’s Death Row Case Concerning IQ Test

The Supreme Court will consider how courts should weigh multiple IQ tests when assessing a death row defendant’s claim of intellectual disability.

US Travel Ban Will Not Hinder Los Angeles Olympics, LA28 CEO Says

Trump’s directive banning citizens from 12 countries from entering US exempts athletes. Officials confident Games have full backing of administration.

Musk Mulls New Political Party Amid Feud With Trump

Elon Musk is considering launching a new political party in wake of his public fallout with President Trump over a major Republican tax and spending bill.

Citigroup Reverses Course on Controversial Firearm Policies

Citigroup reversed its policy requiring retail business clients to refrain from selling firearms to those who haven’t passed background checks.

AI Is Taking Thousands of Jobs; Is Yours at Risk?

Just as the internet radically changed how America conducts business, AI is also making waves in the workplace by taking thousands of jobs.
spot_img

Related Articles