The bill Chris Fitzsimon is talking about in the tweet below is House Bill 451, introduced yesterday by Rep. Edgar Starnes, a Republican from Hickory. (Democracy NC calls it the “Screw the Voter Act of 2013” — like!) As brazen as so much of what the Republicans have been doing is, this legislation is quite possibly the worst example of their partisan hackery yet. That is, unlike their Voter ID stuff, they can’t even pretend that this bill has any public benefit. Its purpose is to reduce the number of Democratic voters — who’ve flocked to the early-voting sites and Sunday voting — while making it easier to vote by absentee ballot, a method more Republicans use.
Chris nails it:
Why would we want to shorten the length of time people have to vote or not allow people to cast their ballots on Sunday, unless we prefer fewer people show up at the polls?
When did that become a legitimate policy position, that we want fewer people to decide elections? The same question applies to Starnes’ plan to abolish straight-ticket voting. Some people prefer to support all the candidates of one party. Why should we make it more difficult for them to do that?
Couldn’t have said it better — so I suggest you read his full piece:
The Fitzsimon File: The most conspicuous partisan power play – ow.ly/jxMYw #ncga #ncpol #vote #ncgov
— NC Policy Watch (@NCPolicyWatch) March 28, 2013
