Suppression efforts

Across this country, wherever Republicans have the power, there has been a concerted effort to suppress voters inclined to vote Democrat. This state barely escaped some of these shenanigans with Gov. Beverly Purdue’s veto of a voter ID law that legislators have not yet been able to override. Thankfully, courts have blocked provisions of the laws in some other states, but the effort goes on.

In Florida, for example, Gov. Rick Scott has been working overtime to discourage voters from casting a nine-page ballot. People are waiting three and four hours to vote early, but he refuses to extend early voting. This is just the latest in a host of his moves to suppress voting in that state. And other states, blocked on one level, have come up with other ways to mislead and misdirect voters with misinformation, last-minute purges, billboards and bullying at the polls. And sadly, these efforts are not new; they have a rather nasty history.

This is a grievous crime against democracy. Whether voting Republican or Democrat in this election, we all should shout out against agendas designed to keep voters from the polls or their votes from counting. A party that can’t win honestly, doesn’t deserve to win.

Sharon Campbell

Chapel Hill