by Guy Page
Yesterday the Supreme Court decided a state – in this case, Arizona – may toss out ballots cast in the wrong precinct. And if a state wants to make it a crime for anyone other than an authorized proxy to possess an early ballot, that’s fine with the court. And oh, by the way, the Court also affirmed in Brnovich Vs. Democratic National Committee that the Arizona Legislature isn’t racist.
So, to sum up: states don’t need the federal government or a national political party to tell them how to run their own elections. This Court has little patience for ballot harvesting. And you can’t score points with this Court’s majority merely by crying ‘RACIST!’
All of which made Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy go all Elmer Fudd yesterday: “Oh, this is tewwible! Tewwible!”
Perhaps not in so many words. But the lifelong fan of cartoon character Batman has certainly got the Fuddian tone down cold. Our senior senator claims the court has allowed states to “suppress the vote with impunity….the Court today has cast its vote against millions of American voters who simply want the chance to participate in their democracy.”
Oh, Senator. I think you know better. Winking at fraud robs democracy of its wondrous power. But you ARE our elected representative in Washington. The people who voted for you (and those who didn’t) deserve to know exactly what you said, unfiltered by this nattering nabob of negativity. Here it is (and the link too):
“I am deeply disappointed by this decision which is a body blow to yet another critical pillar of the Voting Rights Act – our nation’s marquee law protecting Americans’ precious and foundational right to vote. By overriding Congress’s clear intent in crafting Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act – affirmed over and over again with overwhelming bipartisan support – a partisan majority on the Court has yet again made it easier for states to suppress the vote with impunity and harder to protect it.
“Despite the growing wave of voter suppression tactics that we are witnessing, the Court seems intent on gutting the key instruments we possess to ensure that all our voices are represented in our elections. Along with its previous partisan decision in Shelby County v. Holder, the majority on the Court today has cast its vote against millions of American voters who simply want the chance to participate in their democracy. Now, more than ever, Congress must come together across party lines and pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act which I intend to reintroduce in the next several weeks.”
Suddenly the future of federal usurpation of Constitutionally-guaranteed states’ rights looks dim. The federal government’s power to squash voter recounts in battleground states looks even less likely. Far from crushing all opposition beneath them, the wheels of the One-Party Wagon are coming off.
In October, a bluer-than-blue study group appointed by Pres. Biden is scheduled to announce whether Congress should expand the Supreme Court and impose term limits. I’m sure Sen. Leahy can’t wait.