Photo by Stephen Melkisethian, Flickr CC
On Monday, a former aide to a Republican state senator said under oath what we’ve known all along: that GOP legislators were “giddy” and “frothing at the mouth” at the prospect of disenfranchising voters who traditionally vote for Democrats.
That bombshell claim came from Todd Allbaugh, an ex-staffer to former state Sen. Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center), who testified in a voting rights case brought by the One Wisconsin Institute and Citizen Action of Wisconsin Education Fund. According to Allbaugh’s testimony, Republican legislators were most concerned about keeping Democrats away from the polls to increase their own party’s fortunes.
In federal court, the groups argue that the many GOP-backed laws passed since 2011 deliberately make it more difficult for young people, minorities, students and Democrats to cast a ballot. The most notable law is the new voter ID requirement. But Wisconsin Republicans supported a slew of additional barriers to the polls, including shortening the timeframe for early voting, the elimination of straight-ticket voting, ending corroboration as a means to prove residency for voter registration, new requirements for voter registration and eliminating statewide special registration deputies.
While the Republicans claim that these new laws clamp down on “voter fraud,” we’ve long known that significant voter fraud doesn’t exist and the GOP is merely interested in hindering Democrats’ access to the polling place. When more people vote, Democrats tend to win. That’s why Republicans are trying to limit access to the polls—and it just might take a court order to put a stop to it. The trial is expected to last nine days, so stay tuned.
