Today is election day in several states around our nation, and the danger of many new voting laws is apparent. This week in Texas, former democratic representative Jim Wright was almost denied the right to vote under the new voter ID law. That state's new voter-theft law also nearly blocked a Texas district judge, a state senator, Democratic candidate for governor Wendy Davis, and even Greg Abbott – the attorney general of that state who is pushing the new law. In Virginia, in one of the most high-profile races this year, 57,000 voters were purged from the rolls just days before the election. And, that state's attorney general, Ken Cuccinelli, has not recused himself from being involved in a challenge to today's election results. The very man behind the voter purge is on the ticket, and thinks there is no conflict of interest if his office needs to investigate election irregularities.
These scenarios are likely to become more common in the wake of the Supreme Court striking down a key provision of the Voting Rights Act. After the justices made their ruling, republican-led states around our nation enacted various laws to disenfranchise as many voters as possible. And, we're already seeing the results of that decision in an off-year election.
Republicans know that keeping people from the polls is the best chance they have at winning elections, and they're not afraid to go to any lengths to make that happen. Hopefully, enough voters are fed up with these tactics, and overwhelm these voter-theft efforts by flooding the polls. We need a huge turnout in these races, and we must be prepared to fight for our democracy in coming elections.
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