US midterm elections are tomorrow (Tuesday, November 4). Midterms, so say the Pundits, lack the sex appeal of presidential elections, but that doesn’t make them any less important. Look at what happened in 2010. In a wave of indignation, Republicans took over the House of Representatives and a great many of the state houses across the country. The state legislature takeovers were particularly opportune. Occurring as it did right after the 2010 census, the newly Republican-controlled state houses redrew legislative district boundaries to their liking, fixing things so that Republicans could potentially control the lower house of the Congress for many years to come.
The other thing they did, of course, was to pass a bunch of voter ID laws aimed at curbing voter fraud. But we don’t have a voter fraud problem. Instances of voter fraud generally make up way less than 1% of votes cast in a given state — the article I cite above claims “31 credible incidents out of one BILLION ballots cast” (emphasis mine). Only one possible conclusion explains the true purpose of these laws: To a Republican, voter fraud is when anyone but a Republican casts a ballot.
Don’t stay home. Don’t sit this one out. If you are registered to vote, then go vote. This experiment we call American democracy will only work when everyone does her or his part and votes. Don’t believe the nonsense about votes not counting or it doesn’t matter. It does matter. Don’t let others speak for you. Speak your own voice with your vote.
Please go vote.
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