Hey everybody, I’m Eli Gerber from the policy
team here at Indivisible.
Thanks so much for tuning into the second
episode of our brand new series, COVID Corruption
— the only web series where I have to say
this to avoid getting yelled at in the comments:
my roommate cut my hair.
I did not go to a barber and violate social
distancing.
I promise.
We hope you enjoyed Episode 1 about how Big
Pharma is trying to cash in on the coronavirus
outbreak.
Today we’ll take a look at how our democracy
is under attack by Republican politicians
and their chosen judges, especially during
the pandemic.
So, let’s dive in.
On April 7, despite desperate warnings from
public health officials, and the state’s
Democratic
Governor Tony Evers, Wisconsin held its primary
elections.
In an attempt to protect themselves from coronavirus,
hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites requested
absentee mail-in ballots to prevent the need
for in-person voting.
But Republicans did everything they could
to suppress those mail-in votes, and denied
that there was even a risk to public health
from in-person voting in the first place.
Just look at Wisconsin Speaker Robin Vos on
election day: "You are incredibly safe to
go out."
Yeah.
I’m just going to take the guy wearing more
protective equipment than your average astronaut
at his word about the lack of risk involved
that day.
Vos was one of the key actors who tried to
create confusion and uncertainty leading up
to the election to depress turnout.
So how did this all go down?
First, Wisconsin’s gerrymandered state legislature,
which disproportionately favors Republicans
from low-population, rural areas, prevented
a move to postpone the election or send mail-in
ballots to all voters.
Then, the Wisconsin state Supreme Court, which
is controlled by Republican judges, declined
to postpone the election.
Finally, the five conservative justices on
the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that thousands
of mail-in ballots were ineligible to be counted,
forcing Wisconsinites to decide between their
health or their vote.
Now, why would the courts disenfranchise thousands
of voters and put lives in danger?
The answer is simple: for political gain.
The five conservative justices on the U.S.
Supreme Court aren’t just conservatives,
they’re Republicans.
Brett Kavanaugh got his start in the George
W. Bush administration, in fact.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is similarly controlled
by Republican judges who were hand-picked
by Wisconsin’s former terrible Governor,
Scott Walker.
There’s a reason these people were picked
to be judges and justices, and it’s because
they are true believers in GOP orthodoxy.
And guess what?
Those Republicans-in-robes issued these awful,
anti-democratic decisions in the hopes that
coronavirus fears would depress turnout and
deliver a victory for an important Wisconsin
Supreme Court seat.
While Republicans ultimately failed to capture
the seat, the damage was already done.
Hundreds of thousands of people waited in
hours long lines while trying to vote, and
put everyone in danger of catching the virus.
Republicans across the political sphere, from
state legislatures to the U.S. Supreme Court,
are trying to rig democracy for their benefit.
And because keeping their own power is more
important to them than protecting our democracy
and public health, dozens of people have been
diagnosed with coronavirus directly related
to the April primary.
And it's all part of a longer-term project
by Republicans to undermine long-standing
voter protections that were hard-won as part
of the Civil Rights movement back in the 1960s.
Whether it’s state-level Republicans enacting
strict voter I.D. laws and closing down polling
places in Black communities; Mitch McConnell
blocking funding for election security and
mail-in voting; Donald Trump spreading lies
about voter fraud even as he twists our democratic
institutions beyond recognition so that he,
personally, can profit; or the Supreme Court
issuing decisions that gut the Voting Rights
Act, the Republican Party is committed from
bottom to top to making sure that it is as
hard as possible to vote.
The Wisconsinites who risked their health
during a pandemic to stand in hours-long lines
in thunderstorms to cast their vote should
be celebrated for their commitment to upholding
our democracy.
But they never should have been put in those
risky conditions in the first place.
I mean, just look at this video from an Indivisible
Wisco member waiting in line at their polling
place in Milwaukee County on primary day.
We can’t risk anything like this happening
in November.
The federal government must step in to increase
funding for safe, secure elections by expanding
mail-in voting and providing expanded in-person
voting options.
And that’s it for our second episode of
COVID Corruption.
Don’t forget to like and subscribe, and
follow along as we continue to hold Republicans
and their corporate friends accountable during
this crisis.
Thanks everyone, and we’ll see you next
time.
