{"id":46452,"date":"2019-12-05T11:38:59","date_gmt":"2019-12-05T15:38:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/?p=46452"},"modified":"2019-12-06T16:49:50","modified_gmt":"2019-12-06T20:49:50","slug":"do-republicans-even-believe-in-voting-anymore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lovejoyfeminism\/2019\/12\/do-republicans-even-believe-in-voting-anymore.html","title":{"rendered":"Do Republicans Even Believe in Voting Anymore?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

When I saw the headline\u00a0Bevin Says He Lost Because Democrats \u2018Harvested Votes In Urban Communities\u2019<\/a> I knew I had to see what he actually said. Because surely, there must be more to the quote, right? Surely he was actually talking about voter fraud, not, well,\u00a0voting<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Um. Nope. It\u2019s actually worse.<\/p>\n

Bevin lost to Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear last month\u00a0by a little more than 5,000 votes.<\/a><\/p>\n

During an interview on 55KRC in Cincinnati, Bevin said that the election was a \u201csurprise\u201d that defies logic.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe left, those who think of a different ideological bent, they are getting so good at harvesting votes in the urban communities,\u201d Bevin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were able to go into urban communities where people are densely populated on college campuses and public housing projects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bevin has repeatedly questioned the outcome of the election, suggesting \u2014 without evidence \u2014 that voter fraud took place.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Um. What.<\/p>\n

How dare people on college campuses or in public housing projects vote! How dare they!<\/p>\n

What. The. Heck.<\/p>\n

Now, we do need to talk about \u201cvote harvesting,\u201d because it\u2019s an actual, very specific thing:<\/p>\n

Vote harvesting\u00a0refers to collecting absentee or mail-in ballots in order to sway an election. The practice is illegal in some states, but Kentucky is\u00a0one of 27 states<\/a>\u00a0that allows absentee ballots to be returned by a designated agents.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019m not happy with the term \u201cvote harvesting.\u201d It sounds sketchy<\/em>. Look, I grew up in a state that allowed this, and all it meant was that people would go to nursing homes, etc., and drop off and collect absentee ballots to turn in. Not an issue. Not weird at all.<\/p>\n

In theory,<\/em>\u00a0yes, someone could fill out a bunch of absentee ballots and submit them in other people\u2019s names, but that\u2019s not even what Bevin is alleging. That would mean doing things like forging people\u2019s signatures, and that\u2019s something that could be analyzed and identified. Bevin hasn\u2019t asked for\u2014or alleged\u2014anything like this. He\u2019s appears to be upset about \u201cvote harvesting\u201d period<\/em>.<\/p>\n

How dare anyone make it easier<\/em> for college students and people living in public housing complexes to vote. Seriously, do Republicans even believe<\/em> in voting anymore?<\/p>\n

\u2018You can\u2019t impeach the president now, it would deprive the people of the right to vote!\u2019 they insist. \u2018But don\u2019t put voting stations on college campuses or let people take absentee ballots to public housing complexes!\u2019 they go on. \u2018And definitely<\/em> don\u2019t let the 10% of American citizens who don\u2019t have a government-issued photo ID to vote, that would be a travesty!\u2019 Say what now? Which is it?<\/p>\n

Oh, but we\u2019re not done with Bevin yet:<\/p>\n

During the interview on 55KRC, Bevin said that he was encouraged by his supporters on Election Day, but that Democrats brought \u201cmore less-informed people\u201d to the polls.<\/p>\n

\u201cConservatives are going to have to find some counterpoint,\u201d Bevin said. \u201cThe harvesting of votes in urban cores in particular that is done by the left overwhelmed even that. And that\u2019s the difference, that\u2019s the tipping point.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cLess-informed people\u201d? What, does he want to require people to take a civics exam in order to vote? Hmm, when have I heard of that before. Oh wait. That\u2019s right. That\u2019s how white people kept black people in the South from voting\u00a0for\u00a0nearly a century.\u00a0<\/i>Trumped up ridiculous literacy tests.<\/p>\n

Fun.<\/em><\/p>\n

For the record, the U.S. Constitution does not say people have to be informed<\/em> to vote. Also for the record, watching Fox News and listening to Rush Limbaugh does not make one \u201cinformed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bevin says that \u201cconservatives are going to have to find some counterpoint\u201d to \u201cthe harvesting of votes in urban cores.\u201d You know what? I<\/em> have an idea. How about finding a way to make more people want to vote for you?<\/em>\u00a0Because that\u2019s the point of voting, right? If your agenda and your record is turning people off, fix that<\/em>. Maybe, I don\u2019t know, stop attacking teachers.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m looking at you,<\/em>\u00a0Bevin.<\/em><\/p>\n

This idea that the solution to losing at the polls isn\u2019t to adopt policies that appeal to more voters or take actions that demonstrate that you are a good person, but rather to\u00a0find ways to stop people who don\u2019t\u00a0like you from voting,\u00a0<\/i>flies in the face of the entire premise and purpose of our system.<\/p>\n

The whole point<\/em> is that people voters don\u2019t like don\u2019t get elected.<\/p>\n

Also, stop talking about people in \u201curban cores\u201d as though they\u2019re some sort of different species, or somehow not human. That\u2019s insulting<\/em>. Who came up with this idea that only small-town and rural residents are True Americans? I<\/em> live in a city, and my vote matters now just as much as it did when I lived in a town, and just as much as it did when I lived in an unincorporated area.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t change. I am still a human, a person, and a U.S. citizen. All that changed was my address. And somehow that means my vote should be discounted? God forbid people in cities vote!<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m not convinced Republicans even believe in voting anymore. They sure don\u2019t act<\/em> like they do.<\/p>\n

I have a <\/b>Patreon<\/b><\/a>! Please support my writing!\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I saw the headline\u00a0Bevin Says He Lost Because Democrats \u2018Harvested Votes In Urban Communities\u2019 I knew I had to see what he actually said. Because surely, there must be more to the quote, right? Surely he was actually talking about voter fraud, not, well,\u00a0voting. Um. Nope. It\u2019s actually worse. Bevin lost to Democratic Attorney […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":845,"featured_media":46461,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[777,795],"class_list":["post-46452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","category-uncategorized","tag-channel-politics-blue","tag-elections"],"yoast_head":"\nDo Republicans Even Believe in Voting Anymore?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When I saw the headline\u00a0Bevin Says He Lost Because Democrats \u2018Harvested Votes In Urban Communities\u2019 I knew I had to see what he actually said. 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