Historian Heather Cox Richardson has pointed out the close similarity between statements made by US Senators just last month and also from 160 years ago. Stephen Douglas, opponent of Abraham Lincoln, declared that the federal government mustn’t dictate voting standards. Douglas insisted Illinois had the prerogative to determine how “The Negro” (in terminology of the time) would be treated: Although Illinois was a free state, “We have decided that… he shall not vote, hold office, or exercise any political rights. Illinois, as a sovereign State, has a right thus to fix her policy….”
In 2021, states’ rights are again touted as grounds to reject federal standards. Justifying his refusal to so much as open debate on the For The People Act, our own Rob Portman declared that the bill “strips away control from people in Ohio … to write election laws for our own states.”
One might think reasoned debate offers the perfect forum for considering voting regulations. Instead, every Republican Senator embraced the confederate era canard that states can rightfully impose limits on electoral access — end of discussion! In statehouses across the country, Republicans have already done this, passing dozens of new restrictive laws without the nicety of bipartisan support. Here in Ohio, while our redistricting process struggles to get off the ground, Republicans have tried, through delays and budget amendments, to hold onto partisan advantage even as the process aims to remove it.
Did the federal government violate states’ rights with enactment of the Thirteenth Amendment that gave freed slaves the vote? Or by passing civil rights legislation of the 1960s, removing Jim Crow obstacles to the ballot?
Republicans say their intent is simply to bolster integrity, granting the losers in election contests a right to claim “lack of confidence,” and demand expensive audits, restrictions, and even quasi-legal avenues to overturn legitimate vote counts. Spreading the Big Lie of voter fraud, these officials invent a reason to boost the very confidence they undermine. Now, many have seized a new wedge issue to shut down any discussion of race-based motives. The Boogeyman of “critical race theory” is trotted out to promote claims that White people are the real victims when anyone dares to mention racism.
Loud complaints can discourage confrontation of historic injustice, but Americans should be on guard. Efforts to undermine democracy lie below the surface of states’ rights and so-called colorblindness.
Anesa Miller
Bowling Green
