Republicans around the country are celebrating Black History Month by proposing a raft of new laws that would restrict voting rights in their states with a particular emphasis on curtailing the votes of African Americans.
In Georgia for instance, House Bill 531 would eliminate early voting on Sundays, which have been used in the “Souls to the Polls” Democratic effort to bring black voters to the polls directly from their churches and would restrict it to weekdays and one Saturday. Another provision would outlaw so-called “line-warming” activities by non-partisan groups that offer water to voters waiting in long lines in the heat or blankets in the cold.
While some African Americans and voting rights advocates have decried the cruelty of such a provision given that black voters were forced to endure lengthy waits to vote during the June primary fiasco in the Peach State, Republicans have touted it as an invigorating outdoor period of self-reflection in which voters can ponder the issues at hand unhindered by any relief from their thirst or cold.
“It’s not like we’re making them pay poll taxes or take literacy tests,” Georgia Republican Representative Slade Greenwall said regarding the proposed legislation. “Nobody’s burning crosses on anybody’s lawns anymore. We just have to reassure the white people who were told for months that black people stole their votes with absolutely no evidence that everything’s on the up and up now. And the best way to do that is by making it a little bit tougher for them to get to the polls or to vote by mail. Now you can call that racism if you want, but I call it Making America Great Again.”