The brazen political calculus distorting our election policy debates
Voting rights vs. voting integrity has become one of the great debates dividing Washington and the country.
Both President Biden and Vice President Harris made pitches this week for Democrats' federal election overhaul bills during their speeches commemorating last year's attack on the Capitol, presenting the legislation as part of the same fight for democracy as ensuring the Electoral College certification proceeded undeterred by a riotous mob. Many Republicans, meanwhile, see these bills as part of a broader strategy to make permanent some of the changes to voting that took place amid the pandemic and to prevent state legislatures under GOP control from revisiting practices like mass mail-in voting or ballot collection by third parties.
There's an inherent tension between ballot access and ballot security. Even simple things like requiring a voter to show ID or occasionally purging voter rolls of people who have died or moved out of state illustrate this: These policies make it more likely that only lawful voters will cast ballots, but some people who should be able to vote won't have the required identification or may be purged in error.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
We don't debate this real conflict between two important goods because each party has concluded it derives an electoral advantage from choosing just one side. Democrats believe liberalizing voting laws will help them win more close elections, while Republicans believe the same about tightening these rules.
Neither party usually wants to be so crass as to say this outright, so they speak of these practical considerations in sweeping moral terms. Republicans are trying to curb voting access to keep Democratic constituencies, especially communities of color, from voting, Democrats charge. Democrats want to facilitate the commission of voter fraud, helping the dead cast ballots for their candidates in places like Chicago, Republicans counter.
There are real-world examples of Republicans and Democrats who play to type in this morality play. And it's also the case that some voter legislation can be misguided or go too far in one direction or the other. But the argument is made uglier and less informative by one side asserting that any attempt to improve voting security is the equivalent of Jim Crow while the other maintains that the absence of such laws or enactment of any new ones expanding access will lead to Tammany Hall-level voter fraud.
Thankfully, neither argument is true. But as the midterms approach, that won't stop partisans from making them.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
W. James Antle III is the politics editor of the Washington Examiner, the former editor of The American Conservative, and author of Devouring Freedom: Can Big Government Ever Be Stopped?.
-
'Republicans want to silence Israel's opponents'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spies
Speed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 19, 2024
Cartoons Friday's cartoons - priority delivery, USPS on fire, and more
By The Week US Published
-
'A speaker courageous enough to stand up to the extremists in his own party'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
'Good riddance to the televised presidential debate'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Making sense of FISA's strange bedfellows in Congress
The Explainer How a controversial intelligence gathering law is bringing progressive Democrats and privacy hawk Republicans together
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'This isn't judicial restraint — it's judicial activism'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
India elections 2024: the logistics of world's biggest vote
The Explainer More than 10% of the world's population is registered for a historic democratic exercise, with PM Modi likely to dominate again
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Young kids simply shouldn't be on social media'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
'A golden opportunity to uphold true patriotism'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published