Republican lawmakers across the country are asking: How can we keep people from voting?

[Demovictory9]

Republicans boldly explore new frontiers of voter suppression

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/04/17/republicans-boldly-explore-new-frontiers-voter-suppression/?utm_term=.23f6cb517f18

As we turn our attention toward the 2020 elections, Republican lawmakers across the country are asking: How can we keep people from voting? In Tennessee, which already has lower-than-average rates of turnout, the legislature is on the case:

Tennessee could penalize some paid voter registration groups with fines for too many faulty signups and criminal charges for violating new requirements under a proposal passed by the House on Monday.

The vote bucked some voting rights groups, who have voiced fear that the bill would create a chilling effect on Tennessee’s already-poor voter participation marks.

Republican Secretary of State Tre Hargett has made the legislation a top priority, deeming it important for election security after Shelby County, which includes Memphis, saw a flood of often-faulty registrations that came in on last year’s deadline.

But Tennessee Black Voter Project, which led the voter signup charge in Memphis and elsewhere across the state, has said the bill immediately followed the group’s efforts to register 86,000 black voters.

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The problem here is obviously not that erroneous registrations create some kind of unmanageable burden on state officials, because they've always existed and always will.

It’s that too many black people registered to vote in Tennessee, and something had to be done about it.

So in addition to using all the other tools in their voter-suppression drawer, Republicans in Tennessee decided to clamp down on registration, knowing full well that liberal groups are much more likely to mount registration drives than conservative groups.

[Ohiogal]

1. Appalling.

When did a conservative group ever hold a voter registration drive? None that I can think of.

[Desert grandma]

2. It is almost like the 60's all over again.

Voting is power, and those who attempt to prevent others from getting power will do whatever they can get away with to suppress the vote. We must not let them get away with it. As in 2018, we must overwhelm them at the ballot box.

[sacto95834]

4. they should fine someone who challenges a registration

and it turns out they were wrong. nobody ever talks about making that law.

[mitch96]

3. If you can't win on merit or popularity the old fall back is to cheat... nt