Republicans Are Taking Ex-Prisoners’ Rights to Vote

Obama’s November will not be easy: Besides his decreasing popularity he will also have to fight against a century-old election system that is being changed by the right wing to their favor wherever it is possible. Additionally, as a result of the 2010 census, the representation of each state in the elections has been altered — another factor that does not help the president’s chances at the elections.

It Is Not Cheating, Just Tricky

It is not a secret that the election system of the U.S. does not represent “the electors’ will” in the most accurate way: In most states, whoever wins the elections, even if that means winning by 1 percent, will take the votes for the whole of the state. This is what we call the “winner takes all” principle.

This system is what the Republicans wish to alter in Pennsylvania, which is typically a left-wing (“blue”) state, meaning that normally the Democrats would take all of the 21 electoral votes. According to a proposal by the right wing, the votes would be counted by districts — something that was unheard of before. Logically, the Republicans would majorly benefit from the changes. Additionally, Pennsylvanian regulation is currently in their hands and thus, referring to the census, they could “redraw” the districts as they wish, giving themselves about a 12-vote advantage that could be crucial in case of a tight result.

Banning the Right to Vote

While the above-mentioned suggestions are still waiting on formal approval, many states have already taken measures to restrict votes — maybe not surprisingly, mostly at the expense of the Democrats. Five places have shortened the time period of early voting (which was normally used by those who could not vote on the day of the elections) and in Florida and Iowa the voting rights of current and ex-prisoners have been taken away. Additionally, in another five states, as opposed to previous regulations, voters have to prove their identity with a photo ID. According to Bill Clinton, this will mostly impair the rights of liberals, university students, and African-American and Hispanic populations.

Six-Point Advantage for the Republicans

The 2010 census has slightly altered the election map: Some states received more votes, some received less. This change also hurt the Democrats: six typically Democrat-leaning each had one electoral vote taken away. While it might not seem like a lot, a competitive race is developing if taken together with the above-mentioned points.