There's Only One Reason Trump and the GOP Don't Want Mail-in Voting

Thom plus logo Trump and Republicans don't want mail-in voting this November because it blows up a couple of their most effective voter suppression schemes.

In presidential elections dating back to 2000, there's been noticeable media coverage of long lines in majority-black precincts; commentators sometimes wonder out loud why people would have to wait in line 8 hours to vote in, for example, inner city Ohio in 2004 or Milwaukee in the 2020 primaries.

Leading up to Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp's contest with Stacey Abrams in 2018, the Atlanta Constitution-Journal documented how 8 percent of the state's polling places had been recently closed, hitting rural black areas particularly hard. The Washington Post chronicled how broken voting machines - and the long lines they create - were largely confined to downtown Atlanta and black suburbs and rural areas. The effect, of course, is to discourage voters from showing up or staying in line, particularly those people who are paid by the hour and have to take time off work to vote.

Read more here.

-Thom

Comments

Legend 2 years 42 weeks ago
#1

If Russians constantly attack this little site, imagine their influence on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc.

Trump has issued an Executive Order that seems to give the Russians Freedom of our Social Media. All because Twitter offered an optional fact check of one of Trumps lying Tweets. So question for Thom or whoever screens this site. Is it legal to delete the Russian posts? Coincidentally the Tweet that Twitter offered the optional fact check was on voting by mail.

What is good for the goose? We have voting by mail in Colorado. Makes a lot of sense.

SueN's picture
SueN 2 years 42 weeks ago
#2

I am not a lawyer. Is it illegal to take down flyers that have been fly posted in the street?

Legend 2 years 42 weeks ago
#3

Not sure. Is it silencing conservative voices? Trump claims that social media only silences Conservative Voices. So my voice must be safe. Checkout the source of this headline.

FYI https://lincolnproject.us/

Masks work.

China just passed strict laws in Hong Kong and the Trump Administration is outraged. I worked in China when the Berkley riots happened. I will guarantee that the Minneapolis riot is on every tv channel and front headline on every newspaper over there today.

deepspace's picture
deepspace 2 years 42 weeks ago
#4

Dang, lost the link to the maskless winger woman outside a Denver salon tearing down a flyer requiring customers to wear masks. Typing in different combinations of search parameters into the google machine nonetheless produced an avalanche of articles from around the world (one random example) that highlights the raw power of Trump's simplistic words and actions that can whip his army of wild-eyed Orcs into a frothing frenzy as they rampage across the Un-united States in defiance of all civil responsibility and moral sensibility. It's the rotten apples from a diseased tree -- a deliberate and deadly campaign of disinformation orchestrated by the right-wing, fascist death cult occupying the White House.

Anyway, quickly skimming the legalese of ordinances didn't uncover a specific citation, but the general sense is that, yes, it would seem to be against the law most everywhere to deface or remove any official city, county, state, or federal order or informational sign posted on a public street or building, and probably so for any private business voluntarily disseminating the same, under ordinances about defacing public or private property.

One thing is crystal clear: In typical fashion, from armed protests on capitol grounds threatening public officials to the wanton killing of blacks and other minorities by racist police thugs let loose in civilian streets, the so-called Party of "law and order" picks and chooses which laws should apply exclusively to Republicans, or not, as opposed to everyone else.

As a side adventure, this article about "wild posting" (flyposting), which discusses the legality of ordinary citizens posting flyers in the streets, is rather interesting on its own. It brings to mind the civil disobedience that led to the infamous Boston Tea Party. Thom's own research revealed the story of anonymous malcontents (patriots), under the pen name "Rusticus," who distributed subversive pamphlets and posted illegal fliers around town that ultimately led to revolution and independence. Is that what Wall Street reactionaries supporting King Trump's monarchy are afraid of these days?

SueN's picture
SueN 2 years 42 weeks ago
#5

Then there's Martin Luther, who is said to have posted his theses on a church door.

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