Democrats' 'Voter Suppression' Narrative Returns as Midterms Near

Written by Hudson Crozier

Biden claims midterms could be illegitimate: After the 2020 election, several red states passed election integrity bills restricting voter ID, absentee ballots, mail-in voting, and more. The establishment left, including President Biden, responded with accusations of Jim Crow “voter suppression” that Upward News debunked. Biden claimed that without his federal reforms, the upcoming midterm elections might be “illegitimate.”

The Democrat solution: In January, Congressional Democrats attempted to pass sweeping voting rights bills that would have federalized policies like mail-in voting, drop boxes, and same-day voter registration while granting the Department of Justice oversight on state voting rules. Senate Republicans blocked the legislation, but Harris hopes to see it advance and ensure that the right to vote is “unobstructed.”

The return of the “voter suppression narrative: Harris has revived the narrative, arguing in her interview that “extremist” Republicans are lying about a supposed threat of voter fraud in order to “pass laws making it more difficult for people to vote.”

Big picture: In response to the irregularities and illegal voting procedures in the 2020 election, Republicans have been working on election integrity measures to prevent similar problems in following elections. Democrats have reframed these efforts as “voter suppression.”