GOP criticizes student get-out-the-vote campaign
Republicans are criticizing a Wisconsin get-out-the-vote campaign involving public school students, saying Democrats are exploiting the students for political gain.Charming: disparaging a voluntary and entirely non-partisan program to encourage citizens of a democratic republic to exercise their right to vote.
Young people in the program organized by the Wisconsin Citizen Action Fund take time from regular classes to go door to door in minority neighborhoods and areas with historically low voter turnout, urging people to cast ballots.
The students, ranging in age from 11 to 18, also use phone banks to call homes and urge people to vote.
Chris Lato, spokesman for the state Republican Party, called the program "a disgraceful use of taxpayer money."
It's come to this: Republicans outright stating that they do not want citizens encouraged to vote. That illuminates Nick Confessore's point, which he amplified today. One side wants more eligible voters to actually vote, and the other side wants fewer voters.
There is no doubt: Republicans are going to try and gum up the works at the polls in Democratic precincts. Even if they don't win that many challenges but just make the lines unbearably long, the long waits and the hassles will supress the vote.
That's their plan, anyway. Will people stand for it?
1 comment:
What seems especially unfair is that the tactic is targeted to specific groups. (I think complaints about election technology, while obviously going for the same effect, are less patently unfair.)I think this strategy will blow back on the Republicans in a major way. The Post already has articles about Floridans, feeling gypped in 2000, ramping up their efforts to get counted this year. And if there's the feeling that eligible people got turned away this time, then next time it will be stronger.
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