A major victory for those fighting voter suppression laws was won this week in Pennsylvania, where the six member court of three Republicans and three Democrats sent the state legislature’s Republican sponsored voter ID law back to a lower court for reconsideration, meaning the likelihood that the law will not be able to be used for this fall’s election.
Two Democrats wanted the law declared unconstitutional, but one Democrat and the three Republicans decided instead to have it reconsidered by a lower court, a delaying tactic not as good as dismissing the law, but enough to make it ineffective for an election six weeks away!
This development, plus actions in courts in Ohio, Florida and Texas, make the ability of Republicans to prevent people from voting far less possible, and there has been a firing up of motivation by Democratic oriented voters to do everything they have to do to be able to vote, including spending the time to get necessary documentation, so that they cannot be denied the right to vote by any poll worker at voting sites.
But there is a conspiracy by the group called True The Vote to intimidate voters, particularly minority voters, by stalking them, making them feel they are being followed by police officers, making them afraid to vote, and challenging them at the polls as to their right to vote, even though they are not the poll workers!
The Tea Party Movement is promoting this, basically trying to bring back the Jim Crow segregation era, particularly in Southern states, but also in Republican governed states. If they cannot get the courts to back them up, they will do so by personal interference, and the promotion of fear among voters to prevent them from casting their vote.
So the battle for democracy, that everyone can vote without interference, has had some victories, but attention must be paid to the True The Vote and Tea Party activities, and everything must be done to expose and prevent any suppression efforts by this despicable group and their backers!