This Facebook post this week from Democratic state Rep. Andrew Collins says a lot about the modern Republican Party.
I took my mom to vote today. She left without getting to cast her ballot. I’m sad and frustrated for her. And mad at the persistent attacks on our democracy.
I’d describe my mom as a normal person when it comes to elections. She’ll vote when she can, she’ll look into candidates, but she isn’t overly familiar with the rules and details around elections. Also, she had a hip replacement a few weeks ago, so it’s hard for her to get around. She’s walking with a cane. But I had come by for lunch and volunteered to drive her over. I told her it would be quick and easy.
She was properly registered. She had her driver’s license. But poll workers noticed an old registration, at an old address, associated with her name. They were also confused by my sister, who lives in the same building and has the same first and last name. After an hour of way too much confusion and several phone conversations, everyone finally agreed that my mom could vote on her correct registration and the old one would be deactivated.
Just then, my mom’s neighbor, who we had been talking to earlier, came up to us. She spoke past us and told a poll worker she was challenging my mom’s vote. Apparently, my mom’s neighbor was a poll watcher representing a fringe right-wing congressional candidate. She knew full well that my mom wasn’t trying to pull anything, although she also knew I was a Democratic state representative. But any challenge, even a baseless and politically motivated one like this, automatically meant my mom couldn’t vote that day. She could fill out some additional paperwork for a provisional ballot that might or might not count. It was embarrassing and frustrating. I’m sure her hip was hurting. We left. After that experience, I’m not sure whether she’ll try again. I can’t blame her.
Did my mom do everything perfectly? Probably not. Ideally, she would have visited the Secretary of State’s website before the election, ascertained that there was an old registration out there, and gotten it addressed before coming to vote. But she’s a normal person, not a perfect person. People shouldn’t have to be perfect to get to vote. She is a citizen who meets the requirements to vote, wanted to vote, and didn’t get to. That’s not right.
Our elections have historically worked. But after the “stolen election” power grab of 2020, the Arkansas legislature passed a raft of laws designed to make it harder to vote. And apparently the “stolen election” crowd is now sending overzealous poll watchers, fueled by misinformation and incendiary rhetoric, to further chill voting rights in person. It’s a potent recipe for voter suppression. If they’re stopping my mom from voting, I can only imagine how many others are in the same boat.
People who have the right to vote should be able to vote. It shouldn’t be hard. If that’s not the outcome our system is producing, our system is broken.
A fitting coda for this story would be a challenge of the vote of the spiteful POS that stood in the way of Mrs. Collins.
The example bears watching now but particularly come November. Vigilantism is the flavor of the day in the Republican Party.