“If the purges [of potential voters], challenges and ballot rejections were random, it wouldn’t matter. It’s anything but random. For example, an audit by the State of Washington found that a Black voter was 400% more likely than a white voter to have their mail-in ballot rejected. Rejection of Black in-person votes, according to a US Civil Rights Commission study in Florida, ran 14.3% or one in seven ballots cast.”

"[…] Democracy can win* despite the 2.3% suppression headwind.

And that’s our job as Americans: to end the purges, the vigilante challenges, the ballot rejections and the attitude that this is all somehow OK."

  • Floon@lemmy.ml
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    15 days ago

    Dem pols are always too afraid to exercise the power they have when they win. Always. When Biden won, DC and Puerto Rican statehood should have been the first things on the agenda.

    The GOP is never afraid to exercise as much power as they can get away with.

    • BluescreenOfDeath@lemmy.world
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      15 days ago

      Biden never had enough control of the whole government to get those things done without Republican buy-in.

      A Republican controlled house won’t send a bill like that to the Senate. A Republican controlled Senate won’t send it to the President.

      You can be upset at Biden, but we’ve rarely ever given a Democratic president a Democratic Congress to help him get anything done.

      • Floon@lemmy.ml
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        15 days ago

        Uh, no. He had a Democratic congress the first half of his term. Part of why he lost them is Dems are so tepid with exercising the power the voters give them.

        Nothing the Dems do, or even try to do, gin the base up into excitement. The base never feels inspired that the Dems are striving for the goals they claim to represent and want.

      • doingthestuff@lemy.lol
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        15 days ago

        Biden never had the power. But Obama did. He squandered it imo but you’re welcome to disagree.