The war in the political trenches can be so discouraging, based on this report from the IndyStar:
State and local Republicans have expanded early voting in GOP-dominated areas and restricted it in Democratic areas, an IndyStar investigation has found, prompting a significant change in Central Indiana voting patterns.
From 2008 to 2016, GOP officials expanded early voting stations in Republican dominated Hamilton County, IndyStar’s analysis found, and decreased them in the state’s biggest Democratic hotbed, Marion County.
That made voting more convenient in GOP areas for people with transportation issues or busy schedules. And the results were immediate.
Most telling, Hamilton County saw a 63 percent increase in absentee voting from 2008 to 2016, while Marion County saw a 26 percent decline. Absentee ballots are used at early voting stations.
The dishonesty inherent in this sort of activity, regardless of Party affiliation, reminds me of how the more abstract & diffuse the entity, the more difficult it is to put the loyalty to that entity first.
This is a somewhat incomplete report in that it’s not clear if the position responsible for this activity is a partisan or non-partisan position; the latter sounds far more appropriate. But one would hope that party affiliation would play no role in the fulfilling of the responsibilities.
So what’s happening?
Democrats are challenging the state’s early voting system in a lawsuit alleging the secretary of state and legislative supermajority have launched a concerted effort to suppress the Democratic vote, a debate that is also playing out on the national front.
Addendum: I suppose the GOP will whine about naturalized immigrants and how they always vote Democrat. Try supporting better policies, boys.
