LOD: Top-Down Voter Suppression

Editorial writers in Asheville, Wilmington, Raleigh, and other cities are rightly blasting the General Assembly’s leadership for eliminating $660,000 in the state funding that would have released $4.1 million in federal money for voting machines, poll workers, and Early Voting centers. Why give up a $7 return on a $1 investment? Word on the inside is that national Republican operatives told GOP leaders in NC to block any funds that might make Early Voting easier for more people. Apparently, they remember how EV helped Obama in 2008 rather than how it helped Republican turnout in 2010. This sort of extreme partisanship aims to suppress participation, and it has the longer-term impact of pushing away idealistic voters who decide politics is not for them – but as this radio debate between Civitas and Democracy NC emphasizes, we must continue to push back and develop a political culture that welcomes voters and moves us closer to a government of, by and for the people.