The Crackdown on Voting

300 dpi Fred Matamoros color illustration of paper vote in ballot box on American flag. The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) 2007

america votes illustration ballot box democracy voting latch hinge krtgovernment gover... 300 dpi Fred Matamoros color illustration of paper vote in ballot box on American flag. The News Tribune (Tacoma, Wash.) 2007

america votes illustration ballot box democracy voting latch hinge krtgovernment government, krtnational national, krtpolitics politics, krteln election, krtuspolitics, u.s. us united states, krt, mctillustration, elecciones eleccion americano votacion urna bandera aspecto aspectos negocios ilustracion grabado tc contributor coddington matamoros mct mct2007, 2007, krt2007 MORE LESS

Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

As we gear up for our 2012 election season coverage and the redesigned TPM website, due later this year, I wanted to let you know that we’re going to have a special section on what I believe is one of the most important — though still pretty undercovered — stories of this election cycle: the crackdown on voting.

Largely, but not entirely, because of the big Republican wins in the 2010 midterms, states around the country have been passing laws to make it more difficult to vote: voter ID laws, end of same day registration, more aggressive efforts to cull voting lists, various pieces of legislation aimed at cutting down on the number of people who are able to cast ballots. As always the purported aim is to eliminate voter impersonation fraud — people trying to show up and vote as people they’re not. That despite the almost total lack of any evidence that’s actually happening. These laws have the biggest effect on blacks, hispanics, the poor and the young. And that, my friends, is the idea.

Those ballots that never get cast will likely make the difference in many close elections next year. It’s a big, big story. But it’s still far under the radar.

Latest Editors' Blog
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: