To the Editor:
Re “Georgia Republicans Pass Broad Curbs on Ballot Access” (front page, March 26):
A critical pillar of democracy is rule by the majority, which is determined by elections. Republicans have declared war on this aspect of our political system. The Jan. 6 insurrection was a battle in this war, and they lost it. That evening the second battle occurred when the great majority of Republican legislators in Congress voted to not accept the valid results of the presidential election. They lost this battle, too.
They have now initiated a third battle by attempting to pass voting procedures that would disenfranchise certain voters in order to enshrine Republican minority rule. This is clearly a continuation of their insurrection to destroy our democracy and presents an existential threat to it.
Democrats must use every available tool they can muster to win this third battle by passing a strong voting rights bill if our democracy is to survive.
Bruce Shames
New York
To the Editor:
There are indelible images out of my state of Georgia — Gov. Brian Kemp, under a painting of an old Georgia plantation, surrounded by six white men, signing a massive voter suppression bill behind closed doors, while a Black female state representative knocking peacefully on the door is handcuffed and carried away. Wow.
Before signing the bill, Mr. Kemp pathetically pandered to Donald Trump’s lies by recounting how he had called for the “investigation of any and all fraud.” Notably, he did not cite the findings of these searches for fraud, because there was no fraud to be found.
Governor Kemp, I have bad news for you: Mr. Trump is never going to love you, and your cowardly action is going to backfire on you and your party. Last year showed us what the Democratic Party of Georgia can do when it is fired up.
Pam Woodley
Atlanta
To the Editor:
Republicans whine that liberalizing voting procedures nationwide would relegate them to perpetual minority status. Here’s a thought: Rather than suppressing the right to vote, why don’t they adopt policies that are popular among the majority of Americans instead of catering to the uber-wealthy with needless tax cuts and to the N.R.A. by opposing meaningful gun control?
Bill Gottdenker
Mountainside, N.J.
To the Editor:
Buried in the Republican voter suppression bill in Georgia is one particularly inhumane provision. The law, which will cause people to stand in even longer lines to vote, possibly in the hot sun for hours, now criminalizes giving them food or water. So now it’s a crime in America to give someone a bottle of water? How low can these Republicans go? What is going on in their dark souls?
John Mason
Santa Rosa, Calif.
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