Despite unanimously supporting a bill in committee two weeks ago that would provide federal funds to local governments to pay for recounts and paper trails, House Republicans have reversed course and blocked the bill from receiving an up-or-down vote. This move ensures two things, and two things only: a) the accusations of fraud that marred the 2000 and 2004 elections will continue, and b) the GOP shows once and for all that they have nothing but contempt for our democracy and free and fair elections.
Voting rights activists who hoped the federal government would help local governments pay for paper trails and audits for electronic voting machines have gone from elation to frustration as they watched Republicans who supported such a proposal in committee vote against bringing it to the House floor.
When New Jersey Democratic Rep. Rush Holt’s Emergency Assistance for Secure Elections Act came up for a vote in the House Administration Committee on April 2, the Republicans on the committee gave it their unanimous support. But two weeks later, those same Republican members voted against moving the bill to the House floor. It would have taken a two-thirds vote to push the bill to the floor; with most House Republicans opposed, the bill didn’t make it that far.
Tin foil hats aside, what possible reason could the GOP have for opposing such a measure? 2000 and 2004 have left such a bitter taste in the electorate’s mouth that this seems like a no-brainer.
