Democrats fear 'death by 1,000 cuts' in 2022 midterms
The 2022 midterms are right around the corner, and "Democratic elected officials, party operatives, and voting rights activists across the country" are increasingly concerned about the potential adverse effects of new Republican-passed voting laws, particularly in key battleground states like Georgia and Michigan, Politico reports.
"If there isn't a way for us to repeat what happened in November 2020, we're f---ed," said Nsé Ufot, CEO of Stacey Abrams' New Georgia Project. Added Nancy Wang, executive director of Michigan-based ballot initiative Voters Not Politicians: Republicans "are trying to peel away Democratic-leaning voters wherever they can. … It's sort of death by 1,000 cuts." Such GOP-led restrictions include voter I.D. requirements, fewer ballot drop boxes, and provisions that complicate early and absentee voting, reports Politico.
And although Democrats are bracing for impact, the party appears "largely splintered in their response," Politico writes, likely because it hopes "Washington or the courts will provide some remedy."
"I don't think the Democratic Party as a whole is prioritizing this issue and its potential damage in the way that they should," asserted Doug Herman, a strategist for former President Barack Obama's campaigns. "We just went through an insurrection that was stoked by voter fraud lies, and the reaction to that from the Republican Party is to restrict the voting process so severely that only their voters can participate. And I don't understand the lack of fierce resistance to that from Americans and Democrats."
Georgia representative Sam Park (D), however, believes there's still a chance the new voting laws "blowback" on Republicans in that they incentivize voters to "ensure that their ballot is cast." "When you see politicians coming after your ability to cast your vote, it's a reminder of how much power you really have, how powerful the vote really is," said Park. Read more at Politico.
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