Dana Black: Whom do Republicans want elections safe for?

If you listen to Republicans talk, you will hear about the need for fair and secure elections. But as the saying goes, “It’s not what they say; it’s what they do.” The amount of effort Republicans put into restricting access to the ballot box and having a say in how states are governed leaves one questioning whom exactly they want to keep the elections fair and secure for. Based on recent actions, it doesn’t appear they want this for everyone, only for themselves.

In June, the Associated Press reported that “SCOTUS ruled in favor of Black voters in a congressional redistricting case from Alabama, with two conservative justices joining liberals in rejecting a Republican-led effort to weaken the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh aligned with the court’s liberals in affirming a lower-court ruling that found violations.”

I’m not sure what is going on with Alabama’s education system, but when lawmakers were ordered to redraw the maps with two majority Black districts, they weren’t able to count to two; there was still only one majority Black district. When they presented the new maps, they were rejected, and now they are ordered to redraw them again.

But why was it so hard for the Republican-led Alabama Legislature to understand the importance of making it fair for Black—and often mostly Democratic—voters? Why didn’t the legislators simply comply with SCOTUS? I don’t have the answer; I’m just asking questions.

Honestly, it isn’t only Republican-led states that have attempted to redistrict in their favor. Democrats in New York tried to do the same thing. As Politico reported, “The Democratic maps were tossed when the courts concluded lawmakers did not take proper steps before drawing the lines themselves.” The court ordered the Independent Redistricting Commission to draw new maps, and it did so. Things are not perfect in New York, but at least they followed the court’s ruling.

In Ohio, current law states that, in order for an initiative to make it to the ballot, petitioners need to collect signatures from 44 counties; for the initiative to pass, it requires a simple majority on Election Day. Reproductive rights advocates collected more than 700,000 signatures to ensure abortion rights would be on the November ballot. The anti-choice Republicans in the Ohio Legislature didn’t want the majority of Ohioans to have a say in their own civil rights, so instead of taking the “L” on abortion protections for women, they rushed through Issue 1 to change the rules to require signatures from 88 counties and 60% of voters to approve the measure. Additionally, after Republicans committed to no longer holding August elections in session this year, they pushed Issue 1 into a special election held on Aug. 8. Because, yes, that’s fair.

Fortunately, Ohioans did not sleep on the election and resoundingly voted down Issue 1, allowing abortion protections to remain on the November ballot. They stayed woke and would not allow the sneaky, underhanded political play to thwart the efforts of the people. I wonder if Republicans thought this move was fair.

America has always been about expanding rights, not restricting them, through our civic engagement in the political process by casting our votes. As America continues to change and evolve, Republicans continue to embrace policies and positions contrary to what the majority of Americans want—and they will continue to play political games to get their way.•

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Black is former deputy chairwoman for engagement for the Indiana Democratic Party and a former candidate for the Indiana House. Send comments to ibjedit@ibj.com.

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