This Vote Counts, That One Doesn't

Scott Hardie | October 27, 2020
I haven't been reading much lately about vote suppression, despite there being infuriatingly many examples like this and this and this, because the subject makes my blood boil.

But I'll say this much, and I'll put it as nicely as I can. If you argue in favor of vote suppression in any form -- not counting mailed-in votes that arrived late but were postmarked on time, not counting votes after midnight on election night that were made prior, not counting votes where the signature isn't a flawless match, not counting votes where there's a simple typographical error by the voter, not counting votes from someone who didn't register properly, not counting votes from criminals, not counting votes from non-citizen residents, not counting votes from non-taxpayers, et cetera, just about anything other than not counting true duplicate votes from a single person -- then you and I have a very serious fundamental difference in values. We can reasonably disagree on America's foreign policy or economic policy or plenty of other subjects and still have mutual respect, but on the subject of vote suppression, I cannot help but think very nasty things about you if I hear you saying that someone else's vote shouldn't count. How dare you!

I realize that it's easy for me to say because I'm liberal and it affects my preferred candidates right now. If I liked Donald Trump and fretted over his narrow re-election, I might find it silly that certain groups are allowed to vote, and I might be tempted to support arbitrary cutoffs for counting otherwise valid votes. But I cannot think of anything more appalling than stealing an election or more damaging to the democracy that we all share than denying someone else their equal say. I remember thinking after Election Day in 2016 that as much as I disagreed with people's choice to vote for Trump, I would fight to protect their right to do so, and I still feel the same way today, even after everything Trump has done.

Sadly, thanks to a long campaign to pack gerrymandered legislatures and state courts with those would would ensure minority rule, the problem is going to get worse; 2020 is a harbinger of much more to come. I understand politicians doing this, because it preserves their own power. I don't understand ordinary citizens supporting this, except through sheer party loyalty. If you favor vote suppression in any form, please either take some time to look in the mirror, or tell me how I'm wrong about this, or both.