After Biden’s inauguration, there was hope that the United States could go back to some sense of normalcy and focus on healing a divided nation. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. Instead, we are now reckoning with attempts to dismantle democracy by restricting voting and providing tools to overturn election results—and what’s worse is that these efforts are going largely ignored.
In the wake of some Republican losses last November and the continuous discussion about “massive voter fraud,” several conservative groups have scrambled to enact voter suppression laws across the country. It may sound alarmist to call them “voter suppression laws,” but the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law counts 22 new laws—either restricting absentee, early, and mail-in voting, purging voter rolls, weakening voter registration efforts, or limiting valid forms of voter ID—across 14 states, with an additional 61 bills taking shape in 18 states. Overall, the only states where lawmakers haven’t yet introduced a restrictive voting bill are Delaware and Vermont.
These measures have been or are being introduced purely by Republican lawmakers. The states being hit the hardest are Arizona, Georgia, and Texas, all of which are traditionally-red states in which a surge of largely-minority voters help defeat (or came close to defeating) entrenched conservative interests in 2020. Thus, it is neither partisan nor derogatory to say that the new “Trump era” GOP is currently focused on voter suppression. It’s simply fact.
Thus, it is neither partisan nor derogatory to say that the new “Trump era” GOP is currently focused on voter suppression. It’s simply fact.
Earlier this month, a group of academics that included Ivy League political science and government professors wrote an open letter calling for increased federal voting protections to combat GOP efforts, which they characterized as “transforming several states into political systems that no longer meet the minimum conditions for free and fair elections.”
For their part, the federal government response has been underwhelming. Attorney General Merrick Garland laid out the DOJ plan to protect voting rights: publishing new guides on early voting, mail-in voting, and redistricting, as well as doubling the lawyers on staff at the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice in order to aid enforcement of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the National Voter Registration Act, and the Help America Vote Act. But the fact of the matter is that, following the 2013 Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder, the Department of Justice doesn’t have the authority it used to, and several states have carte blanche to make any changes they want without preclearance.
On the legislative side, the For the People Act is dead in the water since the U.S. is nowhere near liberal enough to support automatic voter registration, and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act will be subject to the filibuster, which means its chances in the Senate are only slightly above nil.
Where does that leave us?
Firstly, it leaves us with the grim knowledge that living in a democracy is not a spectator sport. The slow erosion of checks and balances, as well as the constant attacks on electoral integrity, are made possible by the fact that the majority of the American public treat politics as something to pay attention to once every four years—or at best, once every two years. During the Trump administration, constant high-stakes and high-coverage issues such as the so-called Muslim ban and attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act resulted in a constant state of public awareness and engagement. But with the expected return to the status quo under Biden, we risk slipping back into apathy and skimming headlines. If we are to build a truly democratic nation, participation must be constant, and so must the flow of information.
Firstly, it leaves us with the grim knowledge that living in a democracy is not a spectator sport.
Secondly, this ongoing movement to silence voters also leaves our country vulnerable to unrest. Realistically speaking, you cannot silence a population. You can disenfranchise them. You can even take away peaceful protest as an option, as various laws are already doing. But they won’t just sit there and watch their rights being taken away. Our own Founders argued that “whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it.”
And when that happens, it happens by any means necessary.
Seth Jacobson is the founder and principal of JCI Worldwide, a Los Angeles-based communications and research firm. He spent several years in the Carter and Clinton administrations in positions focused on economic development, foreign policy, and media relations. He is a frequent lecturer on policy and public affairs at Pepperdine University and UCLA.
Voter Suppression Ends Where Civic Participation Begins
Seth Jacobson
After Biden’s inauguration, there was hope that the United States could go back to some sense of normalcy and focus on healing a divided nation. Unfortunately, that has not been the case. Instead, we are now reckoning with attempts to dismantle democracy by restricting voting and providing tools to overturn election results—and what’s worse is that these efforts are going largely ignored.
In the wake of some Republican losses last November and the continuous discussion about “massive voter fraud,” several conservative groups have scrambled to enact voter suppression laws across the country. It may sound alarmist to call them “voter suppression laws,” but the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law counts 22 new laws—either restricting absentee, early, and mail-in voting, purging voter rolls, weakening voter registration efforts, or limiting valid forms of voter ID—across 14 states, with an additional 61 bills taking shape in 18 states. Overall, the only states where lawmakers haven’t yet introduced a restrictive voting bill are Delaware and Vermont.
These measures have been or are being introduced purely by Republican lawmakers. The states being hit the hardest are Arizona, Georgia, and Texas, all of which are traditionally-red states in which a surge of largely-minority voters help defeat (or came close to defeating) entrenched conservative interests in 2020. Thus, it is neither partisan nor derogatory to say that the new “Trump era” GOP is currently focused on voter suppression. It’s simply fact.
Earlier this month, a group of academics that included Ivy League political science and government professors wrote an open letter calling for increased federal voting protections to combat GOP efforts, which they characterized as “transforming several states into political systems that no longer meet the minimum conditions for free and fair elections.”
For their part, the federal government response has been underwhelming. Attorney General Merrick Garland laid out the DOJ plan to protect voting rights: publishing new guides on early voting, mail-in voting, and redistricting, as well as doubling the lawyers on staff at the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice in order to aid enforcement of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the National Voter Registration Act, and the Help America Vote Act. But the fact of the matter is that, following the 2013 Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder, the Department of Justice doesn’t have the authority it used to, and several states have carte blanche to make any changes they want without preclearance.
On the legislative side, the For the People Act is dead in the water since the U.S. is nowhere near liberal enough to support automatic voter registration, and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act will be subject to the filibuster, which means its chances in the Senate are only slightly above nil.
Where does that leave us?
Firstly, it leaves us with the grim knowledge that living in a democracy is not a spectator sport. The slow erosion of checks and balances, as well as the constant attacks on electoral integrity, are made possible by the fact that the majority of the American public treat politics as something to pay attention to once every four years—or at best, once every two years. During the Trump administration, constant high-stakes and high-coverage issues such as the so-called Muslim ban and attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act resulted in a constant state of public awareness and engagement. But with the expected return to the status quo under Biden, we risk slipping back into apathy and skimming headlines. If we are to build a truly democratic nation, participation must be constant, and so must the flow of information.
Secondly, this ongoing movement to silence voters also leaves our country vulnerable to unrest. Realistically speaking, you cannot silence a population. You can disenfranchise them. You can even take away peaceful protest as an option, as various laws are already doing. But they won’t just sit there and watch their rights being taken away. Our own Founders argued that “whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it.”
And when that happens, it happens by any means necessary.
Seth Jacobson is the founder and principal of JCI Worldwide, a Los Angeles-based communications and research firm. He spent several years in the Carter and Clinton administrations in positions focused on economic development, foreign policy, and media relations. He is a frequent lecturer on policy and public affairs at Pepperdine University and UCLA.
Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.
Editor's Picks
Israel and the Internet Wars – A Professional Social Media Review
The Invisible Student: A Tale of Homelessness at UCLA and USC
What Ever Happened to the LA Times?
Who Are the Jews On Joe Biden’s Cabinet?
You’re Not a Bad Jewish Mom If Your Kid Wants Santa Claus to Come to Your House
No Labels: The Group Fighting for the Political Center
Latest Articles
John Ondrasik, Jonah Platt Highlight AJC, ADL Press Briefing at UCLA Hillel
Shabbat Prayer for Our College Students and Ourselves
1,400 Yizkors
Being Good is Easier to Resist than Sweezy vs New Hampshire
A Bisl Torah – Souls Connected
All the Fish in the Sea – A poem for Parsha Acharei Mot
Culture
Welcome Back, Carbs!
A Perfect Pair of Confits
‘The Enemy Beside Me’: Can the Truth of Lithuania Holocaust History Be Told in Lithuania to Lithuanians and By Lithuanians?
A History of a Pivotal Era in Palestine Wins a Top Jewish Book Prize
State Legislator Demands Federal Probe into UCLA’s Failure to Protect Pupils
Assembly member Rick Chavez Zbur said UCLA’s inaction “likely violate” Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Chancellor Block Addresses Pro-Palestinian Encampment Removal: “It Needed to Come to an End”
Block said the encampment “became a focal point for serious violence.”
Police Clear Pro-Palestinian Encampment at UCLA
More than 200 protesters were arrested during the late night raid.
The Assault: A Coordinated Attack on America’s Jews and Israel
American Jews are awakening to a new political reality concerning our changing status and position in the United States.
We Need Tactical Training to Combat Campus Antisemitism
We need on-the-ground tactical training for Jewish student activists and leaders if the Jewish community is going to push back against this madness and protect college students.
Hollywood
Spielberg Says Antisemitism Is “No Longer Lurking, But Standing Proud” Like 1930s Germany
Young Actress Juju Brener on Her “Hocus Pocus 2” Role
Behind the Scenes of “Jeopardy!” with Mayim Bialik
Podcasts
Chico Menashe: Asif: Culinary Institute of Israel, Cooking with Chutzpah and The Open Kitchen Project
Beth Lee: OMG Yummy, Exciting Flavors and Preserved Lemons
More news and opinions than at a
Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.