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Voting Rights in a Pandemic

April 24, 2020 by Kyle Garner

The right to vote is fundamental to any free democracy. The right to vote, however, ceases to be a right when the ability to cast a vote is lost. In this global pandemic, unprecedented in our lifetimes, we must make sure that the right to vote exists beyond words in our Constitution. Our local, state, and federal governments must make all efforts to ensure that every voter can cast a ballot without jeopardizing their health and the health of those around them.

Our local officials here in St. Charles County and St. Louis have stepped up to protect our voters. In St. Charles, Director of Elections Kurt Bahr has instructed his staff that the risk of contracting COVID-19 falls under the illness option for an absentee ballot. He’s also moved to reinstate the barcodes on the voter notifications sent out prior to elections, speeding up the voting process and minimizing the contact between voters and poll workers.

The St. Louis County Board of Elections has gone a step further, proactively mailing absentee ballot applications for all elections this year to all voters age 60 and above, as they are most at risk of serious illness.

Unfortunately, there is a failure to take our right to vote seriously from our state officials. Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, never a friend of voting rights, and our fill-in Governor Mike Parson came out against doing anything. Parson, who clearly didn’t want this job and isn’t up to the task, said it’s too early to even think about doing anything. This is his approach to anything that isn’t a kickback to his donors, to sit and do nothing. His mindset is perfectly suited for the powerless position he wanted as Lieutenant Governor, but as the state’s chief executive his inability to make a decision without there being a check coming to him puts Missourians in harm’s way.

Parson is right on one thing, this should not be a partisan issue. Infection doesn’t check to see how a person votes before striking. However, in practice this has become a partisan issue at the state level. House and Senate Democrats have repeatedly called for no-excuse absentee voting along with vote-by-mail allowing ballots to be sent to every voter. State level Republicans are opposed any action to protect Missourians and our right to vote without risking health.

Missouri Republicans seem to be hoping for a Wisconsin-style election, where the heavily Democratic city of Milwaukee moved from 180 polling locations to 5. They seem to think decreasing turnout as much as possible is their best election strategy, and they are willing to expose Missourians to infection to reach that goal. It must be asked why a Party claiming support enough to justify their supermajority is so set on limiting the ability of voters to express that support.

In a free democracy, the legitimacy of the government is derived from the consent of the governed. We cannot give our consent if we can’t safely cast a ballot. We must also question the intentions of anyone who seeks to gain or maintain power through silencing the voice of the people. Making it easier for every Missourian to vote does not serve one Party over the other. It only gives us a result that more accurately reflects the will of the voters.

The solution to this ongoing crisis is simple. Parson and Ashcroft must immediately clarify that a global pandemic is a valid excuse for all voters to cast an absentee ballot. The legislature must fix our outdated election law to allow no-excuse absentee ballots. The legislature must also move to copy the successful vote-by-mail systems that have been securely in place for many years in states such as Washington, Oregon, and Colorado. There is no valid reason not to take these steps.

The time to act is now. Parson’s refusal to lead, wanting to take a wait and see approach, will only cost us money and security. Kicking the can down the road as the legislature has on so many other issues doesn’t make the problem disappear. It isn’t going to magically fix itself. We know the risk of large gatherings in small spaces like polling locations. We know the high risk to older folks, who make up the large majority of election workers. We also know the politics driving this is the fear among many Republicans that the higher the turnout, the worse their chances of winning. We cannot let this desire to hold onto power strip us of our ability to vote.

– KG

Filed Under: Community Involvement, Media Center, Press Releases, Uncategorized, Voter Registration

The Politics of a Pandemic

March 18, 2020 by Kyle Garner

The coronavirus isn’t political. It’s a virus that will impact us all without bias. The response, however, has most certainly been political. It’s been political because like so many issues that should have been non-partisan before it, like Starbucks cups or the weather, Republicans chose to make it political.

Trump refused to allow tests to be developed by states or private US groups. He didn’t want existing tests from the WHO. He did that because he wanted to keep the official numbers down to make his insane claims of it being “a Democratic hoax” or “under control” look better. He ran away from questions and stated bluntly “I don’t take responsibility at all” when pushed on the abject failure of his administration’s response, instead trying to blame Obama more than 3 years after he left office.

The undeniable truth is that Republicans did not act. They chose to sit by and do nothing. They did that because of politics. The harsh reality they faced was that to act would be to admit Democrats have been right about every policy we’ve been proposing.

Look to every idea now being put forth as the best ways to alleviate the damage of this crisis and who has been proposing them for decades. Expanding health care: Democrats. Paid sick leave: Democrats. Ensuring childcare for workers: Democrats. Listening to scientists: Democrats. Unemployment protections: Democrats. Now even sending $1000 out to adults to aid in basic necessities like food and rent: Democrats. Democrats. Democrats.

Here’s what Republicans offered in the face of a global health crisis: Tax cuts to businesses, an oil bailout, and a bank bailout. That’s it. End of list. The only response to a pandemic from Republicans was to do everything they could to prop up the market based on the single idea they have left, that being giving handouts to those that need it the least. And then Mitch McConnell took a 3-day weekend.

To call this a failure in leadership doesn’t do the calamity justice. Trump has made things worse every time he’s opened his mouth. After reading from a teleprompter in a prepared address to the nation his team had to scramble to correct 3 massive falsehoods he told and in doing so tanked the stock market he values above all else. He only just now, in mid-March, tiptoed up to the truth that this is a rolling disaster and it isn’t going away. He held an infomercial in the Rose Garden where all we learned is which companies Trump’s friends and family were investing in and that Trump and his sycophants don’t get what social distancing means.

Our fill-in governor here in Missouri, Mike Parson, could have been quarantined in total isolation for the last month and no one would have known the difference. His response has ranged from “there’s nothing we can do.” To “local government should do whatever they want.” He declared a state of emergency but didn’t bother to elaborate on what to do about it.

All of us now must act to do what we can to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and help our communities and nation get through this. That means making personal sacrifices in the immediate like canceling trips and avoiding social events. It means checking on each other as many cope with a sudden new reality of necessary isolation. It means looking out for our neighbors who may be at higher risk of severe cases of the virus.

What we must do after is also clear: In November, in every race for every office in every district across the nation, we must elect Democrats. We have seen the immense danger of perpetuating the lie that there is any merit to Republican ideology. We must work to make sure this is the last time we allow them to fail us. The stakes are undeniable, with our very lives depending on it.

– KG

Filed Under: Central Committee, Press Releases

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  • Missouri Democratic State Committee Approves Emergency Measures to Protect Against Coronavirus
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Recent Posts

  • Voting Rights in a Pandemic
  • The Politics of a Pandemic
  • Missouri Democratic State Committee Approves Emergency Measures to Protect Against Coronavirus

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