So by now you have probably figured out that I love to quote old movies, songs and cliches… Last time I talked about the famous movie scene where Jack Nicholson yells “YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!” Makes me smile just thinking about it. And it could be that I will need to simply rename this blog for that line. Because that sentiment keeps popping up – the notion that politicians and/or the media think we can’t handle, or don’t deserve, the whole truth.
This week we are going with the iconic Charlie Daniels song “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” So good. It seems like there is more than the devil in the details with the ferociously debated new election law in Georgia. I am loath to take on a topic that is so viscerally polarizing. But I feel like I have to because both sides are dancing with the devil – telling the version of the truth that is most convenient for them and their interests.
Several observers have made this point and done the analysis on the Georgia law. Here is an excellent piece by Nate Cohn in the New York Times that breaks it down in great detail. Also, a really good piece in Politico by Nolan McCaskill and Zach Montellaro who write that the new Georgia law is “either the epitome of voter suppression or the embodiment of election integrity — depending on whom you ask.” If Twitter is your medium of choice here is the feed of Will Saletan of Slate with a great breakdown of his opinion on the “good stuff,” the “bad stuff,” the “overhyped,” and the “debatable” in the new law.
The bottom line is that like with almost any law ever passed there is going to be stuff some people see as good, some that people see as bad, and some that is in between depending on your perspective. What’s new here is the level of “overhype” as Saletan names it. Both sides are living at the extremes and don’t want us to know that there are any other aspects of the law. And shockingly (sarcasm added), the media is complicit at best – willingly contributing, at worst — in the amplification of very narrow characterizations of the law.
Here are some facts about what the new law does:
- Expands days/hours for in-person voting;
- Requires polls with traditionally long wait times to add staff or add a new precincts
- Limits the window in which to request absentee ballots and establishes a later date for mailing absentee ballots;
- Limits drop boxes (placement and hours), but requires at least one per county;
- Shortens the timetable for runoffs;
- Gives the State legislature a greater role in election administration;
- Limits how, where and who can provide food and water to voters in line;
- Makes the election board chair a political appointee rather than the Secretary of State;
- Requires ID for requesting and returning a ballot.
How you see these aspects of the law depends a little on your general perspective on voting. Do you think we should be trying to make voting as easy as possible for as many people as possible? Or do you see it more as a privilege that requires a bit of reverence and the meeting of requirements that signify you’ve earned and respect the privilege? For example, in some states felons are barred from voting – having lost the privilege due to committing a serious crime. Other states have removed that restriction and restored voting rights for former felons who meet certain requirements.
Regarding the Georgia law this difference of perspective has been boiled down to, as the Politico authors say, the battle between voter suppression vs election integrity. And, like with most things, BOTH are important issues in our voting system. We must not create new, or perpetuate old, barriers to voting; AND we much have a fair and secure election process that we all have confidence in. We should not be doing one of these things at the cost of the other – yet that is how the debate on this law is framed – one OR the other.
The implications of how the Georgia election law has been characterized are real. Major League Baseball has pulled its All Start Game and its draft out of Georgia. Major corporations from Coca Cola to Delta are feeling pressure to respond in a way that may financially impact the state and the workers they employ. I watched in horror this past weekend as in the lead up to the PGA Master’s Tournament at Georgia’s Augusta National Golf Club, Rory McIlroy, who is from Ireland, was asked to comment on the law – what on earth was he supposed to say?!
The vast majority of us if asked if we support voter suppression, we would say NO! And if asked if we support election integrity, most of us would say YES! But the nuance doesn’t work for displays of outrage needed for Twitter, homemade signs or cable news shows (ICYMI reference the prior discussion of “You Are What You Eat”).
To be fair, there is history and context to consider – and a perception of intent. There is a clear history of horrific voter suppression efforts in the south – a problem Republicans have seemed indifferent to correcting. While any vagueness in election process and laws is seen to favor Democrats – a problem they simply dismiss as manufactured. This context is real and fuels the reactions on both sides.
I’m not going to get into the pros and cons of the various provisions of the law. There are much smarter people available to do that. My point here is that as a casual consumer of the news, you will have to work really hard to get the full story on this new law. And because the media generally favors the more liberal perspective, the progressive story line (i.e. voter suppression) is winning the day at the moment. There is a great piece out today by Gabriel Sterling the COO of the Georgia Office of the Secretary of State). Bottom line is that the full story is much more complex than the average media story is letting on.
Just remember the words to the song:
The Devil went down to Georgia
He was lookin’ for a soul to steal
He was in a bind ’cause he was way behind
And he was willin’ to make a deal
Some have said that this Georgia’s election law, and those that might follow in other states, are a “fight for the soul of America.” If that is true, then we need to be sure we are operating with ALL of the information – not just the information that satiates our political perspective. Otherwise, if we win the fight we may find out we simply made a deal with the devil.