Republicans know the only way they can continue to hold onto national power — and even keep their control over states like Texas, Georgia, and Florida — is by making it difficult to register and vote…
I love the ideas in the Freedom to Vote Act. I especially want to get rid of partisan gerrymandering! I love living in Oregon and voting at the kitchen table. When we first went to vote-by-mail, I missed going to the polls. I would take my ballot to the county election office on election day, just to have a voting ritual. Now I just enjoy drinking my tea and filling out my ballot and I drop it off at the library or post office. There's no reason why we couldn't go to vote-by-mail across the country.
bold , aggressive and bigoted ways and rules that the GOP has woven into our system to crush Democracy.
It seems Democrats are going to have to counter this travesty by spending the time and creativity to undermine these GOP attacks on Democracy. Let them go and join the governments of their new authoritarian heroes. You know the people they invite as keynote speakers to their Maga events.
It is so very disturbing anytime that I see the result of the Republicans criminal destruction of the voting process.
This should be made public at every level of the media . ( Should) but wont because of all these vicious partisans in their evil belief that they should be in charge of all the rules re voting.
There are so many avenues blocked by these same criminally intent Magas.
1. Eliminate the fillibuster.
2. Neither party should be in charge of creating voting districts
From the Aug 24, 2021 USA Today, "House Democrats approve voting-rights bill named after John Lewis as GOP calls it 'partisan power grab'" Well, of course, what else WOULD they call it??
Thank you Thom. Leading by example, you and Louise take time to know who you’re voting for and what their stance is on matters of state.
By doing just a bit of research on each candidate I feel confident my vote is not wasted.
Pointing out the NC state rep former Democrat Patricia Cotham who had flipped to Republican giving the house a supermajority and removed the veto power of the Democrat Governor Ray Cooper. A horrible disappointment for Democrats who believed her campaign promises. That’s a scenario we all want to avoid.
I don’t know how much longer Republicans will control the house, in the event they lose members by just a few and Democrats take over, this bill should be fast tracked to the first of bills to be passed.
Texas is just one big crime scene. Between, Abbott, Cruz, Paxton (now indicted, thank goodness) and a host of white supremacist toadies doing the dirty work of voter suppression, boasting about it has brought national attention to these reprehensible actions. Voter turnout would surely hand Democrats easy wins. Republicans are furiously pushing their agenda to cancel every vote that doesn’t favor them. This bill would put an end to cheating voters out of their voice.
My essay is on one facet of our voting systems, I hope this is at least some good food for thought:
A great benefit of Mail in Voting is that it fits perfectly to advance us all to 'Verified Voting'. Adding that hugely important feature in states that use mail in ballots will make this voting process more popular, and likely promote demands by other states where people want to know that their vote was counted.
As things stand right now, there is no way anyone can know for sure that their vote was counted correctly in any election. That in itself allows for demagoguery to stir up distrust in vote results. But if everyone could verify their own vote was counted correctly, the conspiracy nuts ranting about flipped, stolen, and fake votes is mitigated.
Voter verification is already possible, as we are using existing technology for it - wherever Money is exchanged:
A.) Check/Debit Banking does this for millions of transactions daily. You can verify all your check transactions from your home, accurate to the penny, maintaining secrecy and privacy, you see your signature on every check, and it’s very secure.
B.) The same happens with your lottery tickets. Plus lotteries use serialized tickets, which should be added to all ballots so each is unique, states know exactly how many are distributed, and prevents counterfeits.
C.) No one is hacking either system & stealing your money, or forging winning lottery tickets. It is too easy to get caught, and penalties are enforced.
D.) So think of your ballot as a check - unique, private, and verifiable.
Plus take note! - Corporations have already been using “Vote by Mail” (and even “Internet voting”) for decades to elect their boards of directors. There is NO voter suppression, voter fraud, registration purges, or voter intimidation. It is private and secure too.
Meanwhile, every year ALL Americans have to file, usually by mail, their private income tax returns to the government. It must be accurate and verifiable.
We must demand that our government do the same for our votes.
Make Voting as sacred as Money.
No Taxation without Proof of Representation!
BTW, here’s a tactic to force this:
In our elections, if you doubt your vote was counted correctly, then SUE the government to prove it was counted!!! If you can show you voted, insist the government prove your vote was counted.
Mail in Voting is the way to go! Adding that feature of Verified Voting is a powerful benefit and would make it more appealing to voters across the nation.
A “Trifecta” is when there is a large enough majority in the Senate that cannot be filibustered.
Manchin (D-WV) and Sinema (I-AZ) both said they would NOT vote to give a filibuster carve out for voting rights; even though Manchin helped write the bill!! Schumer would have gone for that vote.
I was steaming MAD a Manchin and Sinema when they announced they would not eliminate the filibuster or at LEAST do a carve out for voting rights. I’m still pissed at those two.
RE: `The Freedom To Vote Act` ... How could the subject legislation "die in the Senate" from a `filibuster` when the #DEMs held the majority of votes in the Senate in 2022, including Vice-President Harris' tie-breaker vote? Don't tell me these `jackasses` are still using the archaic and non-binding 60/40 bull-#Sh't when they control the majority vote in the Senate! The #DEMs had an opportunity to drive a stake through the heart of the evil #MAGA-regime and they didn't do it when they held the majority of votes in the U.S. Senate! And, you wonder why #Joe's poll numbers are down going into the 2024 general election? Let me tell ya folks! It ain't #Joe that is at fault. It's the absolute bunch of `pin-headed jackasses` that he's got to work with in the Senate that are DRAGGING our country down with them. In my administration, we shall "weed out" these jokers and we shall seize the initiative. `Carpe diem`, everybody! "Vini, vidi, vici ...!" ~ Caesar Augustus
I love the ideas in the Freedom to Vote Act. I especially want to get rid of partisan gerrymandering! I love living in Oregon and voting at the kitchen table. When we first went to vote-by-mail, I missed going to the polls. I would take my ballot to the county election office on election day, just to have a voting ritual. Now I just enjoy drinking my tea and filling out my ballot and I drop it off at the library or post office. There's no reason why we couldn't go to vote-by-mail across the country.
There are so many more
bold , aggressive and bigoted ways and rules that the GOP has woven into our system to crush Democracy.
It seems Democrats are going to have to counter this travesty by spending the time and creativity to undermine these GOP attacks on Democracy. Let them go and join the governments of their new authoritarian heroes. You know the people they invite as keynote speakers to their Maga events.
It is so very disturbing anytime that I see the result of the Republicans criminal destruction of the voting process.
This should be made public at every level of the media . ( Should) but wont because of all these vicious partisans in their evil belief that they should be in charge of all the rules re voting.
There are so many avenues blocked by these same criminally intent Magas.
1. Eliminate the fillibuster.
2. Neither party should be in charge of creating voting districts
3. Get rid of the racist bigots who make up
The GOP ( sorry , they earned it)
All the more reason to vote out every Republican.
From the Aug 24, 2021 USA Today, "House Democrats approve voting-rights bill named after John Lewis as GOP calls it 'partisan power grab'" Well, of course, what else WOULD they call it??
Thank you Thom. Leading by example, you and Louise take time to know who you’re voting for and what their stance is on matters of state.
By doing just a bit of research on each candidate I feel confident my vote is not wasted.
Pointing out the NC state rep former Democrat Patricia Cotham who had flipped to Republican giving the house a supermajority and removed the veto power of the Democrat Governor Ray Cooper. A horrible disappointment for Democrats who believed her campaign promises. That’s a scenario we all want to avoid.
I don’t know how much longer Republicans will control the house, in the event they lose members by just a few and Democrats take over, this bill should be fast tracked to the first of bills to be passed.
Texas is just one big crime scene. Between, Abbott, Cruz, Paxton (now indicted, thank goodness) and a host of white supremacist toadies doing the dirty work of voter suppression, boasting about it has brought national attention to these reprehensible actions. Voter turnout would surely hand Democrats easy wins. Republicans are furiously pushing their agenda to cancel every vote that doesn’t favor them. This bill would put an end to cheating voters out of their voice.
My essay is on one facet of our voting systems, I hope this is at least some good food for thought:
A great benefit of Mail in Voting is that it fits perfectly to advance us all to 'Verified Voting'. Adding that hugely important feature in states that use mail in ballots will make this voting process more popular, and likely promote demands by other states where people want to know that their vote was counted.
As things stand right now, there is no way anyone can know for sure that their vote was counted correctly in any election. That in itself allows for demagoguery to stir up distrust in vote results. But if everyone could verify their own vote was counted correctly, the conspiracy nuts ranting about flipped, stolen, and fake votes is mitigated.
Voter verification is already possible, as we are using existing technology for it - wherever Money is exchanged:
A.) Check/Debit Banking does this for millions of transactions daily. You can verify all your check transactions from your home, accurate to the penny, maintaining secrecy and privacy, you see your signature on every check, and it’s very secure.
B.) The same happens with your lottery tickets. Plus lotteries use serialized tickets, which should be added to all ballots so each is unique, states know exactly how many are distributed, and prevents counterfeits.
C.) No one is hacking either system & stealing your money, or forging winning lottery tickets. It is too easy to get caught, and penalties are enforced.
D.) So think of your ballot as a check - unique, private, and verifiable.
Plus take note! - Corporations have already been using “Vote by Mail” (and even “Internet voting”) for decades to elect their boards of directors. There is NO voter suppression, voter fraud, registration purges, or voter intimidation. It is private and secure too.
Meanwhile, every year ALL Americans have to file, usually by mail, their private income tax returns to the government. It must be accurate and verifiable.
We must demand that our government do the same for our votes.
Make Voting as sacred as Money.
No Taxation without Proof of Representation!
BTW, here’s a tactic to force this:
In our elections, if you doubt your vote was counted correctly, then SUE the government to prove it was counted!!! If you can show you voted, insist the government prove your vote was counted.
Mail in Voting is the way to go! Adding that feature of Verified Voting is a powerful benefit and would make it more appealing to voters across the nation.
A “Trifecta” is when there is a large enough majority in the Senate that cannot be filibustered.
Manchin (D-WV) and Sinema (I-AZ) both said they would NOT vote to give a filibuster carve out for voting rights; even though Manchin helped write the bill!! Schumer would have gone for that vote.
I was steaming MAD a Manchin and Sinema when they announced they would not eliminate the filibuster or at LEAST do a carve out for voting rights. I’m still pissed at those two.
Very well written, presenting the issue clearly. I certainly hope this will come to pass, and soon. Thanks Thom! Too bad this isn't read everywhere.
RE: `The Freedom To Vote Act` ... How could the subject legislation "die in the Senate" from a `filibuster` when the #DEMs held the majority of votes in the Senate in 2022, including Vice-President Harris' tie-breaker vote? Don't tell me these `jackasses` are still using the archaic and non-binding 60/40 bull-#Sh't when they control the majority vote in the Senate! The #DEMs had an opportunity to drive a stake through the heart of the evil #MAGA-regime and they didn't do it when they held the majority of votes in the U.S. Senate! And, you wonder why #Joe's poll numbers are down going into the 2024 general election? Let me tell ya folks! It ain't #Joe that is at fault. It's the absolute bunch of `pin-headed jackasses` that he's got to work with in the Senate that are DRAGGING our country down with them. In my administration, we shall "weed out" these jokers and we shall seize the initiative. `Carpe diem`, everybody! "Vini, vidi, vici ...!" ~ Caesar Augustus