Ask A Genius 603: An Ominous Situation in a Spectacle of a “What Next?”
Author(s): Rick Rosner and Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Ask A Genius
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2021/07/11
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Rick Rosner: Just before we started recording in the previous session, you asked if I feel relieved now that things are better. I responded by saying that I’m not relieved because the situation is not clearly better. Allow me to elaborate on that. It’s true that we have a president who is competent, morally sound, intelligent, and sane. However, what remains uncertain is the relentless push for voter suppression by the Republicans. It’s unclear whether we can effectively counter their efforts.
This push for voter suppression is grounded in the minds of most Republicans who support it, both sincerely and cynically. They subscribe to the big lie that Biden didn’t win the election and that there was widespread fraud. Consequently, they argue that strict voter security laws are necessary. However, it’s evident to anyone who isn’t a Republican that the level of fraud in the election was no different from previous ones, with only minor irregularities that didn’t significantly impact the outcomes. For example, in Florida, they discovered instances where Republicans strategically ran candidates with similar names to draw votes away from the genuine Democratic candidates. While this affected a few state races, it didn’t influence national elections.
Despite the lack of substantial evidence, Republicans insist that they will uncover enough fraud to overturn the election results. However, it has been eight months since the election, and there is no provision in the U.S. Constitution or laws to overturn an election, even if fraud were proven. Yet, they continue to propagate this notion, and more than 50 percent of self-identified Republicans believe that Trump was the real winner.
Reality seems to have had no impact on a significant portion of the electorate, although this group is gradually shrinking due to the Republican party’s incompetence. Unfortunately, elected Republicans, who are pushing for voter suppression, remain unaffected by facts. Historically, the Democrats narrowly hold the House, and typically, the party in power loses the House during midterm elections. With voter suppression tactics and the historical trend of people voting against the party in power, it is highly likely that Republicans will gain control of the House. This could lead to even more voter suppression measures. The laws they are attempting to pass are unlike any seen before in the history of the U.S. For instance, these laws grant state legislatures the power to overturn election results in their state if they deem them suspicious. This means that even if a Democrat were to win the popular vote in a state with a Republican-controlled legislature, they could overturn the results and assign electors to vote for the Republican candidate in the Electoral College. If enough states pass these laws, we may never have a non-Republican president in the near future, despite Republicans rarely winning the popular vote. It’s a dire situation.
While we have bought some time, approximately 18 months, to pass legislation, the Supreme Court’s overturning of the Voting Rights Act adds to the urgency. Previously, states with a history of suppressing votes, especially from minority and low-income communities, were required to have their laws reviewed and approved by a national legislative body or the courts. However, five years ago, the Roberts court ruled that the Voting Rights Act no longer applies, claiming that voting issues in the Civil War states had been resolved. This has turned out to be far from true. The problems persist, and the U.S. urgently needs to pass new voting rights legislation. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee that this will happen. If it fails, our situation may be even worse than when Trump was president. The end.
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