Let's talk about today's fears of "voter fraud"

by Heather Cox Richardson

Heather Cox Richardson is a professor of history at Boston College and co-host of NPR's politics and history podcast Freak Out and Carry On and co-editor of We're History.

But the Reagan Revolution already was unpopular. So, demanding "ballot integrity," GOP sent mail to voters in Democratic counties IN, LA, and MO. Undeliverable mail meant purging of those voters. A GOP leader from LA explained: 2/ pic.twitter.com/AmqLWzDBnm
— Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) (@HC_Richardson) October 21, 2018

But also all "Liberals." By 1990, GA Rep. Newt Gingrich was attacking even GOP President H.W. Bush as a "RINO-" Republican in Name Only- and Chamber of Commerce lawyer Grover Norquist got leaders to pledge that they would never, ever raise taxes. But it didn't work. /4
— Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) (@HC_Richardson) October 21, 2018

GOP leaders loathed Clinton, and argued that any voters who liked him must be fraudulent voters who didn't want what was best for America (if they did they would vote GOP). They were takers, not makers. They must be purged from the electoral process. /6
— Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) (@HC_Richardson) October 21, 2018

In 1996, the GOP Congress launched a year-long election into elections in LA and CA won by Ds. The investigations proved that the Ds actually won fair and square, but they kept the issue in front of the country for a solid year. Guess who those winning Ds were? Two women. /8
— Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) (@HC_Richardson) October 21, 2018

Led by Gingrich, GOP claimed it couldn't prove Sanchez had lost because it couldn't figure out voters' citizenship. As soon as the investigation ended, they introduced bill to prove voters were citizens. Not a real bill, an attempt to keep the issue in front of GOP voters. /10 pic.twitter.com/qMwifgdfcQ
— Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) (@HC_Richardson) October 21, 2018

In 1998, GOP-held FL legislature "reformed" "voter fraud" by outsourcing "list maintenance" to a private company. A later study by the US Commission on Civil Rights concluded "extraordinarily high and inexcusable level of disenfranchisement" of black voters in FL in 2000. /12
— Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) (@HC_Richardson) October 21, 2018

It appeared that Ed Rollins was right. Voter suppression worked. D Al Gore won the popular vote but, thanks to Florida's vote count, GOP George W. Bush was in the White House. /14
— Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) (@HC_Richardson) October 21, 2018

GOP likes suppression because it shrinks the electorate. Modern GOP has pushed "voter fraud" because they think anyone who believes the government should regulate business and promote social welfare (and infrastructure) is unAmerican. That means most voters. Cut them + win. /16
— Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) (@HC_Richardson) October 21, 2018

This is not democracy; this is oligarchy. Opponents of this reactionary coup are not radicals; we are conservatives. As Lincoln said, it is imperative that we "highly resolve... that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." /END pic.twitter.com/Nf88gHL6Uf
— Heather Cox Richardson (TDPR) (@HC_Richardson) October 21, 2018

Read entire article at Twitter