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The current assault on voting is a backlash, in part, to the greater access that marked the 2020 presidential election. More mail-in and greater early voting helped push turnout to modern highs. In the same way, the turn against universal manhood suffrage came after its expansion in the wake of the Civil War.

A growing number of voters were foreign-born, the result of mass immigration and the rapid growth of an immigrant working class in the industrial centers of the North. Between 1865 and World War I, wrote the historian Alexander Keyssar in The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States, nearly 25 million immigrants journeyed to the United States, accounting for a large proportion of the nations World War I population of roughly 100 million.

A vast majority arrived without property or the means to acquire it. Some were the Irish and Germans of previous waves of immigration, but many more were Eastern and Southern Europeans, with alien languages, exotic customs and unfamiliar faiths.

By 1910, noted Keyssar, most urban residents were immigrants or the children of immigrants, and the nations huge working class was predominantly foreign-born, native-born of foreign parents or Black.

To Americans of older stock, this was a disaster in waiting. And it fueled among them a backlash to the democratic expansion that followed the Civil War.

A New England village of the olden time that is to say, of some 40 years ago would have been safely and well governed by the votes of every man in it, Francis Parkman, a prominent historian and a member in good standing of the Boston elite, wrote in an 1878 essay called The Failure of Universal Suffrage.

Parkman went on:

but, now that the village has grown into a populous city, with its factories and workshops, its acres of tenement-houses and thousands and ten thousands of restless workmen, foreigners for the most part, to whom liberty means license and politics means plunder, to whom the public good is nothing and their own most trivial interests everything, who love the country for what they can get out of it and whose ears are open to the promptings of every rascally agitator, the case is completely changed, and universal suffrage becomes a questionable blessing.

In The Shaping of Southern Politics: Suffrage Restriction and the Establishment of the One-Party South, 1880-1910, the historian J. Morgan Kousser took note of William L. Scruggs, a turn-of-the-century scholar and diplomat who gave a similarly colorful assessment of universal suffrage in an 1884 article, Restriction of the Suffrage:

The idea of unqualified or tramp suffrage, like communism, with which it is closely allied, seems to be of modern origin; and, like that and kindred isms, it usually finds advocates and apologists in the ranks of the discontented, improvident, ignorant, vicious, depraved and dangerous classes of society. It is not indigenous to the soil of the United States. It originated in the slums of European cities, and, like the viper in the fable, has been nurtured into formidable activity in this country by misdirected kindness.

Beyond their presumed immorality and vice, the problem with new immigrant voters, from the perspective of these elites, was that they undermined so-called good government. There is not the slightest doubt in my own mind that our prodigality with the suffrage has been the chief source of the corruption of our elections, wrote the Progressive-era political scientist John W. Burgess in an 1895 article titled The Ideal of the American Commonwealth.

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Opinion | Republicans Now Have Two Ways to Threaten Elections - The New York Times

The front-page-picture of the July 19th issue of The Forum, about the recall effort relative to four members of the Fargo School Board, says it all. Not one non-white face in the room; par for the course, for those folks working the recall effort, in terms of their complaint about teaching critical race theory in Fargo school classes, a complaint for which solid reasoning would dictate has no bearing.

The reality, of course, is that this particular recall effort is part of a nation-wide school-board drive by Republicans to attempt to lay the groundwork for the 2022 election, and beyond. Despite being unable to factually-define just what CRT is, Republicans are on record as labeling it a dangerous ideology, anti-American, and a blatant attempt to change the foundational principles of our nation.

CRT came to national prominence on Sept. 2nd of 2020 when Christopher Rufo appeared on Tucker Carlson, and spouted a three-minute segment of innuendo, which Der Gropemfuhrer seized on the next day by inviting Rufo to DC to help him write an executive order limiting how contractors providing federal diversity seminars could talk about race. In March of this year, Rufo admitted that his goal is to have the public read something crazy in the newspaper and immediately think critical race theory. We have decodified the term and will recodify it to annex the entire range of cultural constructions that are unpopular with Americans. White Americans, that is.

Which mean Republicans are harnessing all the subtle signs of white angst over Black America that are all there for anyone to see. One year after the murder of George Floyd, The Nation magazine reports that now, Black demands for full citizenship and equality are being treated as entitlement, calls for white racial accountability redefined as white persecution, and anti-racism falsely construed as anti-whiteness.

The magazine continues: In 1961, as white parents raged against integration, James Baldwin addressed what motivated their anger: They do not really know what it is they are afraid of, but they know they are afraid of something, and they are so frightened that they are nearly out of their minds . . . We would never, never allow Negroes to starve, to grow bitter, and to die in ghettos all over the country if we were not driven by some nameless fear that has nothing to do with Negroes.

So, white America, and the white people of the Fargo School Board recall effort, what nameless fear is driving you?

Stash Hempeck lives in Hendrum, Minn.

This letter does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Forum's editorial board nor Forum ownership.

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Letter: What nameless fear is driving Republicans? - INFORUM

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After House Democrats left the state Monday in an attempt to block passage of a GOP election bill during the special legislative session, attention turned to the Republicans and what they can do to get the priority legislation passed.

House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, said in a statement that afternoon that the chamber would use every available resource under the Texas Constitution and the unanimously-passed House rules to secure a quorum to pass items on the special session agenda, which was set by Gov. Greg Abbott. And a number of House Republicans indicated that they would support whats known as a call of the House, a procedural move that would allow law enforcement to track down lawmakers who have already fled the chamber.

Its unclear though what impact such an order could have, given that Democrats have flown to Washington, D.C. where Texas law enforcement does not have jurisdiction. Republicans are also keeping their cards close to the vest as to whether there are other tactics they plan to employ to compel members from the states minority party to return to Austin before the special session ends in 26 days.

Abbott, who has also tasked the Legislature with working on a host of other conservative priorities such as border security funding and abortion-related legislation, said later Monday that he can and will call as many special sessions as needed until they do their job.

They will be corralled and cabined in the Capitol, he told KVUE.

The election legislation at hand, House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 1, would make a number of changes, such as banning drive-thru and 24 hour voting options and further restricting the states voting-by-mail rules. Both House and Senate committees advanced the legislation over the weekend after marathon hearings.

Two-thirds of the 150-member House must be present for the chamber to conduct business. And according to House rules, which were adopted unanimously by members at the beginning of the regular legislative session in January, any member can move to make a call of the House to secure and maintain a quorum for legislation. That motion must be seconded by 15 members, one of which can be the speaker, and ordered by a majority vote. The move also allows the speaker to lock the chamber doors to prevent members from leaving the chamber.

Until a quorum appears, should the roll call fail to show one present, no business shall be transacted, except to compel the attendance of absent members or to adjourn, the House rules state.

At least two House Republican chairmen Briscoe Cain of Deer Park and Jeff Leach of Plano have said they will support such a motion when the lower chamber gavels in Tuesday morning. And others, including state Rep. Dustin Burrows, a Lubbock Republican who chairs the powerful House Calendars Committee, have indicated support for the procedural move.

Its a sad commentary that we may have to utilize a procedural rule to try and force most of the Democrats to show up to do the job they were elected to do, Burrows said in a statement to The Texas Tribune, adding that unfortunately, the siren call of social media fame and fundraising had lured Democrats to D.C.

The last time the Democrats broke quorum and fled the state in 2003, Texas Republicans asked the attorneys general in Oklahoma and New Mexico if Texas troopers could arrest the lawmakers in their states without a warrant and bring them back to Texas. Both states said no.

Republican leaders at the time also asked whether federal authorities could bring the Democrats back, but the FBI and Justice Department said at the time that they had no justification for intervening.

As news of Democrats dramatic departure spread across Texas on Monday, a number of statewide Republican officeholders and lawmakers panned their colleagues as attention seekers who were neglecting their legislative duties and abandoning constituents who had elected them to work on issues facing the state.

In a statement, Abbott said the Democrats move to abandon the Texas State Capitol inflicts harm on the very Texans who elected them to serve and said they left on the table important issues like property tax relief and funding the states foster care system to fly across the country on cushy private planes.

Republicans also have another pressure point: funding for the legislative branch, including legislative staffers, will run out on Aug. 31 after Abbott vetoed its funding following the failure of two of his priority bills during the Democratic walkout in the regular session.

Democrats have challenged in court Abbotts decision, which puts in jeopardy the livelihood of about 2,100 legislative staffers. But if they do not return to Austin to reinstate funding during the special session, Republicans could blame them for not paying those staffers.

[The Democrats are] walking out the door right when they have an opportunity to get their staff paid when they've been complaining about it, said Corbin Casteel, a GOP strategist. It's a double-edged sword. They may be able to hold off on the voter integrity bill but theyre also screwing their own staff.

Other House Republicans reacted Monday by filing legislation that would penalize lawmakers in the future for attempting to break quorum.

State Rep. Mayes Middleton, R-Wallisville, who chairs the hardline conservative House Freedom Caucus, said he had filed a constitutional amendment proposal that would remove protections for a lawmakers salary if that legislator has an unexcused absence when a quorum is not present. He also filed legislation that would prevent lawmakers from campaign fundraising during a special session.

Middletons move came on the heels of state Rep. Tony Tinderholt, a fellow Freedom Caucus member from Arlington, filing a House resolution that would allow the chamber to strip lawmakers who leave of their chairmanships and committee assignments as well as open the door for revoking perks like large offices and coveted parking spots that are typically doled out based on member seniority.

State Rep. Andrew Murr, a Junction Republican who is spearheading the Houses election bill, said in a statement to the Tribune that it would be extremely disheartening to see Democrats make efforts to avoid debate on this topic. He also said hes been as transparent as possible to help create the smartest and most effective policies.

I know both myself and other representatives would welcome the opportunity to continue the debate and work together to pass a strong election integrity bill, Murr said.

Casteel said the states minority party could be trading a short-term gain for a long-term loss with their latest walkout.

This is one of those kinds of deals where you're looking at the battle versus the war, he said. They won the first battle during the regular [session], they're trying the same thing here, but eventually their time is gonna run out and they're gonna have to come vote.

In 2003, House Democrats left the state during the regular session to prevent a redistricting plan by Republicans who had just taken both chambers of the Legislature. Senate Democrats stalled for two special legislative sessions, until the redrawn maps were finally passed during the third special session called by then-Gov. Rick Perry.

Jon Taylor, a political scientist at the University of Texas at San Antonio, said Abbott could do the same thing if Democrats do not return before the end of the special session.

It's the old adage of elections have consequences, Taylor said. When you're not in the majority, they still at this point can't stop this stuff.

But Taylor said even if Democrats cant stop the elections bill, they can still bring attention to their cause.

The point is to get it across to voters, to Congress, to the nation because this is not just something happening in Texas, it's happening in other red states, he said. We see it in Georgia, Florida, we've seen it in Oklahoma and we'll probably see it in other states.

Still, the maneuver is a calculated risk.

Youre already seeing it, Taylor said. [Democrats are] viewed as heroes on the Democrat side and the focus of all evil on Republican side.

Disclosure: University of Texas at San Antonio has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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Deploy law enforcement? Call another special session? Texas GOP mulls options for elections bill after Democrats leave the state - The Texas Tribune

In a push designed to treat unvaccinated Americans like an oppressed group, Republicans are reportedly pursuing a series of bills that would make it illegal to discriminate against those who choose not to get the COVID-19 vaccine. At least one stateMontanahas already signed such a bill into law, and according to Axios, others around the country are following suit.

Montanas law prevents businesses such as grocery stores and restaurants from refusing customers based on their vaccination status. And employers in the state cannot consider an applicants vaccination status when making hiring decisions. In a similar move, Alabama passed a law prohibiting schools and universities from mandating COVID vaccine requirements for students, faculty, and staff, while other government institutions and private companies are also barred from stopping service to unvaccinated patrons. In essence, these types of laws give the same protection to unvaccinated Americans as those who face discrimination based on their race, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity. When we think about the normaldiscrimination statuteswe have protected classes based on something that is sort of inherent to you, Lowell Pearson, a managing partner at Husch Blackwell, told Axios. But vaccination status you certainly can control.

In several states, Republican governors have passed mandates banning the use of vaccine passports, meaning businesses and venues cannot ask for proof that their customers are vaccinated.Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Idaho, Iowa, Montana, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming all have vaccine-passport bans.

Ironically, many of these efforts are taking place as the more contagious delta variant continues to spread, in states where vaccination rates are already at rock bottom. In Montana, approximately 43% of the states population is fully vaccinated. Around one third of Alabama residents have been fully vaccinated, and the state is currently experiencing an increase in COVID cases, according to The New York Times. Last week, CDC director Rochelle Walensky made it clear that those Americans who have recently died after contracting COVID-19 were unvaccinated. Preliminary data from several states over the last few months suggest that 99.5% of deaths from COVID-19 in the United States were in unvaccinated people, she said in a press briefing.

Despite the obvious danger, right-wing pundits with vast megaphones have continued to discourage their audiences from getting vaccinated. Last week Charlie Kirk,the cofounder of pro-Trump youth group Turning Point USA, launched a No Forced Vax campaign on Tucker Carlson Tonight, promising to fight back against forced campus vaccinations and supposedly launching chapters on campuses across the country. Kirk has compared vaccine requirements to South African apartheid, and GOP Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has likened mask mandates and the treatment of unvaccinated Americans to that of Jews in prewar Nazi Germany. In condemning Joe Bidens door-knocking campaign to get more Americans vaccinated, Tucker Carlson called it the greatest scandal he has ever witnessed, and his colleague Laura Ingraham slammed it as creepy.

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The first day of the Texas Legislature's special session began last week at the Capitol in Austin. Republicans, who control the state, are attempting to pass new voting laws that will add penalties and make it more difficult to cast a ballot. Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images hide caption

The first day of the Texas Legislature's special session began last week at the Capitol in Austin. Republicans, who control the state, are attempting to pass new voting laws that will add penalties and make it more difficult to cast a ballot.

Texas Republicans introduced another set of sweeping bills that voting rights advocates say could make it harder to vote in a state that already has some of the most restrictive election laws in the country. Democrats left the state on Tuesday in a second effort to block the legislation from moving forward.

The bills House Bill 3 and Senate Bill 1 were filed during the special legislative session called by Gov. Greg Abbott, which started last week. Republican leaders vowed to take another pass at approving voting legislation after Texas House Democrats blocked a previous effort in May to pass more voting restrictions.

HB 3 and SB 1, however, do not include some of the more controversial measures that were added to that previous bill in the final hours of the legislative session in May. Those included a provision that would have restricted voting on Sundays as well as a measure that would have allowed election officials to overturn election results if there are voter fraud allegations.

The bills are part of a nationwide effort by state-level Republicans to enact more restrictive voting laws following former President Donald Trump's loss in the 2020 election. Trump and his allies have falsely claimed that the election was stolen. Twenty-eight restrictive voting laws in 17 states have been enacted since January, according to the nonprofit Brennan Center for Justice.

The latest bills in Texas include new identification requirements for people voting by mail and prohibit local election officials from sending a vote-by-mail application to someone who hasn't requested one.

They also ban drive-through voting and extended hours during early voting. Republicans in the state argue that these innovations which were mostly used by Houston officials during the pandemic opened the door to voter fraud.

James Slattery, a senior staff attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, said voters of color and shift workers benefited the most from these methods of voting last year.

"And so you can consider the bans on those forms of voting to be a direct attack on voters of color in particular," he said.

In addition, the bills expand what partisan poll watchers can observe during elections and prohibits poll watchers from being removed for violating election law. If passed, these bills would also create new criminal penalties for any election worker who "intentionally or knowingly refuses to accept a [poll] watcher."

Slattery said these bills basically give a host of new powers to partisan poll watchers.

"Both bills make it harder to control disruptive partisan poll watchers when they are acting aggressively or disrupting voting," he said.

The bills also create a slew of new criminal penalties and requirements for folks who assist voters at the polls, or people who assist others planning to vote by mail.

For example, they require that people fill out paperwork if they are taking someone who is not a relative to vote in person. And they require people to exit a car if there is someone voting curbside in that vehicle.

And while Republicans have backtracked on another provision that would have made it easier to overturn election results, Slattery said these bills kept other parts of that measure.

He said that includes a way for losing candidates to "harass winning candidates in court" through a new election contest process that allows the former to allege various kinds of voter fraud. Slattery said this process could mire the results of an election.

"When you think about it, what this is, this is part of the efforts that we have seen especially in other states after the 2020 election to undermine the legitimacy of election results," he said.

Republicans in Texas have argued that concerns about election integrity are serious and should be addressed, even though they haven't offered evidence of any widespread problem with voting in the state.

State Rep. Travis Clardy, a Republican from Nacogdoches who is a member of the Texas House Elections Committee, told NPR in June that he has "zero doubt about the legitimacy of elections" in the state.

"This is a preventative measure for us," he said. "We do have and heard testimony throughout our session of problems of voter irregularities, of voter fraud, of cases currently being investigated. It is an issue. It is a real thing. But I think it's our job to make sure that doesn't blossom into a problem."

Slattery said the provisions in these bills, however, do nothing to make elections more secure in Texas and would instead further the false claims Trump and his allies have made that the 2020 election was stolen.

"There isn't any election security benefit to nearly any of these provisions," he said. "It's all in service of the big lie and enshrining the big lie even further into the laws of this most restrictive state in the country."

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Texas Republicans Have A New Voting Bill. Here's What's In It - NPR