11/21/23

Good morning! It’s Tuesday, November 21st.

National Gingerbread Cookie Day.

Hear my words – the carnation café at Disneyland has the best gingerbread cookies I’ve ever had. That’s just fact.

And now, the news.

Voting Rights Act

-via Politico, DOJ, The Guardian

So I had a little bit of show planned already before the news that I’m going to cover now broke. And so now I’m double annoyed because, as you’ll hear, the story in general is infuriating. Also, I get annoyed when I have to change my show all up.

But listen, I’m not going to take this out on you. It’s not your fault I’m annoyed.

It’s the 8th circuit court. That’s who were all mad at (yeah, you’re mad at them too. I’ve decided).

So I guess I should explain.

The Voting Rights Act (be honest… did you assume I’d be talking about voting? Or did that lead up make you think I’d be covering, like, Kelly Clarkson or Ted Lasso news?

So the Voting Rights Act is a landmark piece of legislation that opened up the right to vote for all Americans.

And when every American has a chance to participate in democracy, elected officials who aren’t spending their time, as an elected official, making the lives of those they represent better – well they might view greater participation in democracy as a threat.

And instead of adjusting their behavior, instead those people will just do what they can to limit who gets to vote.

Because of this, the Voting Rights Act has seen many a battle over its right to exist.

For example – there are 5 sections of the VRA. Section 5 says that states and counties who previously created and upheld laws specifically created to limit who could cast a ballot need to prove to the AG or a three-judge panel in DC that any future changes in voting law won’t have that same effect.

“Hey, your behavior was bad before. We’re not saying you can never change your laws, we just need to be able to take a closer look at those laws before you change them, to make sure your bad behavior doesn’t sneaky sneak its way back in.”

Section 4(b) defined which states and counties fell into that group.

In 2013, Shelby County v Holder saw the Court deciding hey – those states and counties haven’t done anything bad since we asked them not to. So we probably don’t need to continue to ask them not to do bad things. They didn’t do anything about Section 5, but the Court ruled that the math section, section 4(b) was unconstitutional.

We would have all lost our minds immediately over them saying Section 5 was unconstitutional. But the math? We’re just saying the math is outdated? Well that’s easier to explain away.

In the decade since that ruling, more then 20 laws that restrict eligible voter’s right to case a ballot have been passed in the 9 states, and dozens of counties, that needed permission to change their laws. Literally hours after the ruling, Texas’ then-AG Greg Abbott created the state’s voter ID law. There’s a great article from the Guardian, the link’s in show notes, that shows all the laws passed since then.

And I remind you of all that because it’s important to know that’s what people are doing to the Voting Rights Act: Not with a bang but a whimper.

On Monday, a federal appeals court ruled that only the federal government, not private citizens or civil rights groups, can sue under section 2.

Section 2 says: “No voting qualification or prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or procedure shall be imposed or applied by any State or political subdivision in a manner which results in a denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color, or in contravention of the guarantees set forth in section 10303(f)(2) of this title, as provided in subsection (b).”

Basically, hey you can’t create any voting practice or procedure that discriminates on the basis of race, color, or membership in a language minority.

But the 8th circuit ruled that hey – let’s keep that part in. Because otherwise people will immediately lose their minds. But the who can sue? We’re just saying who can sue is changing? Well, that’s easier to explain away.

This one is almost certainly headed to the Supreme Court. I don’t know how they would rule, but at least two Justices have said they’re open to the argument that non-governmental groups have no role in demanding the Voting Rights Act should be enforced.

Let me say that again.

At least two justices on the Supreme Court do not believe that private citizens, civil rights groups, and any other non-government group do not deserve a role or say in whether the Voting Rights Act should be enforced.

You hear that quote often: Not with a bang but a whimper.

It comes from T.S. Eliot’s The Hollow Men. The poem has five sections, with the last section containing that line. But it’s proceeded by him saying, at two different points, “for thine is the kingdom.” As if it’s a prayer. Or the beginning of one.

Then we says three times: This is the way the world ends. As if no one’s listening. As if this is the thing that we most need to hear, to be aware of, and no one’s paying attention.

“This is the way the world ends / This is the way the world ends / This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper.”

People died for the right to vote. People died for the Voting Rights Act.

We will not let them take it quietly.

And that’s it. That’s the news.

As a reminder, I don’t have many hobbies. But when I do… they’re all the Voting Rights Act and just voting in general.

You can go to www.raisingvoters.org to know more about that!

I’m proud of gingerbread cookies. Especially the one’s at Disneyland. I’m telling you – they are SO good!

But more than that… because you also have a little spice to ya, but it makes you sweeter for it… I’m proud of you.