With
little notice or discussion, Senator Christopher Bond of Missouri
allowed a provision into a Senate appropriations bill that could ban
even nonpartisan voter registration efforts in public housing
developments all over the country.
This is an example of the
unfortunate impulse now afflicting some parts of the Republican Party:
a desire to suppress voting in poor and minority neighborhoods.
Mr.
Bond's proposal runs contrary to both the spirit of democracy and
federal law, which in recent years has moved increasingly toward
broadening ballot access. The National Voter Registration Act -
commonly known as the Motor Voter Act - actually requires state
agencies, including those that issue welfare benefits and drivers'
licenses, to offer voter registration materials to the people they serve.
The
proposed Senate legislation comes on top of recent G.O.P. maneuvers in
Ohio, where Republicans challenged the registrations of more than
30,000 voters, many of them impoverished. Federal courts have stepped
in to halt such challenges for now, but more are expected at the polls.
The same impulse to discourage voters was on display over the
last several months in New Mexico, where the Indian Health Service of
the Health and Human Services Department suspended voter registration
efforts for several months at some medical centers and clinics serving
Native Americans. Earlier this month, the Indian Health Service issued
a memorandum effectively ending the ban, but only after untold numbers
of Native Americans had missed the opportunity to register to vote in
the coming election.
Mr. Bond's argument - that housing
built with public money should be used only for housing, not voter
registration - makes no sense on its face. It is even more ridiculous
given the universal support for voter registration on military bases
around the world. Military voters tend to favor Republicans, and public
housing residents tend to favor Democrats.
It would be nice if everyone could agree that both groups should be encouraged to vote.
