In states across the country, Republicans who fear losing big in 2020 have worked to suppress the voter turnout, goaded along and supported by their party leader, Donald Trump. From limiting the number of drop boxes to more nefarious methods, such as placing fake drop boxes around their cities, the GOP has done everything in their considerable power to ensure that as few voters as possible have their votes counted.
The California Republican Party admitted responsibility for placing more than 50 deceptively labeled “official” drop boxes for mail-in ballots in Los Angeles, Fresno and Orange Counties — which is ILLEGAL. https://t.co/V3NsXXBDtI
— Tim O'Brien (@TimOBrien) October 13, 2020
To help combat this, President Barack Obama filmed a set of 15 videos, state-specific to Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin explaining the most important information on how to vote in those states.
In the video, Obama says that:
‘So much is at stake in this election, from getting the pandemic under control to building a fairer economy to taking on climate change to protecting our healthcare. You can change our direction on every issue. That’s the power of your vote.’
Trump has lost lawsuits challenging pandemic-related mail-in voting plans in Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, and, most recently, Pennsylvania.
Fight Trump's voter suppression efforts with votes – visit https://t.co/IeeKm4ySlq and make a plan now!https://t.co/tOQMhE2sNu
— Democratic Coalition (@TheDemCoalition) October 12, 2020
The effort follows the repeated attempts to suppress the vote, an issue that Obama takes very seriously. Since the Republican Party relies on low turnout to win, it is more important than ever for Democrats to get their votes cast.
According to The Hill:
‘During the 2020 campaigns, Democrats have routinely accused the GOP of engaging in voter suppression while Republicans have in turn claimed the existence of widespread voter fraud, despite almost no evidence to suggest that major voter fraud occurs in the U.S.’
This is what voter suppression looks like. In the year 2020, people shouldn't have to wait in line for 5 hours to exercise a constitutional right to vote. We need federal law which respects democracy and makes it easy to vote in every state and end all forms of voter suppression. https://t.co/07ReQPK5kH
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) October 13, 2020
The efforts are working, too. Record turnout in early voting numbers in states like Georgia, Kentucky, Texas, and South Carolina have shocked observers and threaten the GOP’s strongholds in those states.
‘Michael McDonald of the University of Florida, which runs the United States Election Project, predicts that up to 150 million people could vote this year, 65% of eligible voters. This would be the highest percentage of voter turnout since 1908.
‘In 2016, about 58 percent of eligible voters turned out to vote, a similar rate seen in the 2012 presidential election.’
To watch one of Obama’s new videos, see below:
Featured image screenshot via YouTube
