Halloween is a time for goblins, ghosts, witches, wizards and other spooky creatures to come out. But still the scariest thing is voter suppression.
The Donald Trump campaign recently said it was going to use voter suppression efforts in order to win the election, according to the The New York Times. The senior official reported they would try to curb the voting of “idealistic white liberals, young women, and African-Americans.”
Instead of reaching out to these communities to win them over, the Trump campaign has decided that in order for Trump to win, these groups need to stay home Nov. 8. His supporters have even called for a repeal of the 19th Amendment, which would take away women’s rights to vote. It’s at least an acknowledgement that certain communities have historically not voted Republican — and for good reason.
Although voter suppression sounds like it’s an obvious thing to spot because it should be illegal, there are legal maneuvers that end up lowering the number of people who can vote. These regulations usually involve creating undue burden on people who just want their voices to be heard.
Florida recently experienced its own form of voter suppression: taking advantage of a natural disaster to lower the number of registered voters.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott was not willing to push back the voter registration deadline after Hurricane Matthew — even though it would only be beneficial for the democratic process if the deadline was extended. It took the action of a federal judge to give potential voters more time to register. Scott’s excuse for this was that “people have had time to register,” according to CNN. As many of the people who were in Florida during the hurricane might agree, it was a very hectic time, and voter registration may not have been a top priority for anyone.
The Trump campaign’s outright admission of voter suppression is new, but the techniques behind it are not. Requiring voter IDs, restricting early voting and not having Election Day as a national holiday all restrict people who might want to express their preferences from voting.
In many ways, Trump was a monster created by the Republican Party, and their inability to confront their party’s association with hatred and bigotry allowed him to succeed.
If racism isn’t a big deal and calling it out is too politically correct, then it’s no wonder Trump is the candidate. Trump is definitely more up-front about his racist tendencies than other Republicans, but he would not be where he is today
without the support of his enablers within the Republican Party.
Even though Republicans try to claim that voter-ID laws and other such restrictions are created to crack down on voter fraud, their own supporters commit voter fraud, too.
A Trump supporter was arrested in Polk County, Iowa, for voting twice. Even though Polk is the most populous county in Iowa, it was the first time in 12 years the county auditor could remember having to report voter fraud, according to The Washington Post.
So today, on Halloween, don’t let yourself be scared by the costumes people wear once a year. Think about the real threats that are faced in this election: the potential lost votes that could sway the election in a more progressive direction.
Nicole Dan is a UF political science junior. Her column appears on Mondays.
