Opinion: GOP voting rights laws filled with hypocrisy

Okay, let me talk to you about voting rights in the United States of America, because there’s a great hypocrisy surrounding this whole conversation. 

As you know, Republican governors, all across the country, they have been signing into law, anti voting or voter restriction bills because of the big lie. What’s the big lie.

The big lie is that the election was stolen from Donald Trump. That’s the big lie. No evidence, no proof is contrary to legal statute is contrary to even judges who Donald Trump appointed himself. Okay. 

No evidence that says the election was stolen, but because of this lie laws have been changed all across the United States of America in order to limit certain people’s access to vote. Here’s what we know that is a social fact. 

The easier you make it for people to vote, the more people will participate.

Republicans are afraid of mass participation. Here’s what else is ironic about all of these voting laws to restrict access.

They literally create a campaign on the other side to excite the base of those who lean to the left. That is the impact of these anti voter access laws.

Let me give an example, Senate bill 202 out of the state of Georgia literally said that if you hand someone water, not electioneering, not campaigning, but if you hand someone water, that would be a misdemeanor offense in the state of Georgia. 

Now, why would Republicans pass such a ridiculous law? Even Republican Lindsey Graham said he didn’t understand that law whatsoever. Well, here’s why they did it. 

Because various nonprofits and churches, especially black churches, they ran campaigns during the last election season.

And they said, listen, if you have to stand outside in a long line, our church, our ministry, our nonprofit, non-partisan, by the way, will bring you water. We’ll bring you snacks. We will make it comfortable for you to vote.

And remember they targeted precincts that historically have long lines.

90% of those precincts are in black communities. That’s why they made it a misdemeanor for nonprofit organizations and churches to give water to people who are standing in line. 

Let’s go even deeper than that. 

Many of these bills actually aim to take over a local board of elections.

Literally we’re in a place now where democracy should be about the voters picking the politicians, but they want the politicians to pick the voters. That’s what’s happening all throughout this country. 

And here’s another great hypocrisy from the right. 

There’s a concept called constitutional carry. You can find this in Texas and other Republican states where they’re saying that you should be able to bear arms because it is your constitutional right. And you should not go through the prerequisite of a license or permit or any bureaucracy from the government because it is your right to bear arms.

And they called that constitutional carry. No prerequisite. You can simply carry a weapon, it is your right to bear arms. Well, let me ask you this. If you believe that you have the right to bear arms and you believe in constitutional carry, do you also believe in constitutional voting, meaning that you don’t need a prerequisite in order to vote? 

It is your right to exercise this freedom, this privilege based on the law, based on the constitution, based on your right, you get to constitutionally vote. 

If it works for bearing arms, why does it not work for voting? If there’s something called constitutional carry, why is there nothing called constitutional voting?