Breaking: Having Power Better than not Having Power

So, I see the following headline from the NYT: Democrats, Feeling New Strength, Plan to Go on Offense on Voting Rights, which I then click through to read. And while the article contains a useful and worthwhile run-down of various state-level possibilities as it pertains to voting access legislation, the headline and tone of the story is just off.

The story isn’t that the Democrats have some truly new strength and are going on some unified offensive. I always find stories that suggest significant national coordination of the parties to be misleading. The basis of the story is that these matters are being discussed at the Democratic Governor’s Association, so there is some patina of national focus here, but these remain state-by-state stories.

We find that where Democrats have full control of state government, like in Michigan, there will likely be initiatives to further voting access. Yet, in states like Arizona wherein the Republicans have substantial legislative power, not much of going to happen. In other words, the story is really: “Places Where Democrats Control State Government, They are Likely to Pursue Their Agenda; In Places They Don’t, Not so Much.”

Hence, it is not that the party is “feeling new strength,” per se, as it is simply electoral outcomes. If you control the governor’s office and the state legislature, you can can pass laws. If those conditions don’t exist, well, less laws tend to be passed, especially ones the other party opposes.

The real story, which is touched on but as background to the “reenergized Democrats” thesis, is that where you live will increasingly dictate how easy it is for you to vote.

I also would note that while I applaud any measure that makes it easier for citizens to access basic rights, most are not exactly major moves. For example, automatic voter registration and pre-registering 17 year-olds so that they can vote as soon as they turn 18 are laudable, but the degree to which they will have significant impacts is small. Most of these measures are small band-aids on much larger wounds.

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Steven L. Taylor
About Steven L. Taylor
Steven L. Taylor is a Professor of Political Science and a College of Arts and Sciences Dean. His main areas of expertise include parties, elections, and the institutional design of democracies. His most recent book is the co-authored A Different Democracy: American Government in a 31-Country Perspective. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Texas and his BA from the University of California, Irvine. He has been blogging since 2003 (originally at the now defunct Poliblog). Follow Steven on Twitter

Comments

  1. Scott F. says:

    The real story, which is touched on but as background to the “reenergized Democrats” thesis, is that where you live will increasingly dictate how easy it is for you to vote.

    I would argue that properly stated the storyline is “if you live where Democrats have enough power, it will be easier for everyone to vote.” And I would note that in a our current dysfunctional political moment, even incremental, modest strengthening of the franchise is newsworthy – so newsworthy it is worth reporting every day until the rise in authoritarianism in the GOP is quashed.

    I believe a relentless messaging is called for through 2024 at least: that Democrats are for democracy, while Republicans are not.

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  2. Mister Bluster says:

    Excuse my confusion. At first glance I thought this item was about the electric power that is down because of the winter storm or the terrorist attacks on the infrastructure in Washington State*. Maybe they are not terrorists. Maybe they are High School kids pranking us. Either way I think an appropriate punishment would be to see them get their tits caught in an electric socket.

    *I am compelled to note that the xfinity bucket truck in the photo belongs to a CATV franchise, not an electric utility. There are not even any electric power transmission lines in the picture. It’s a good bet those facilities are at the top of the pole.
    This is likely some stock photo an editor selected. Mistakes like this always make me wonder about how accurate any reporting is.
    ————————————
    Speaking to the true subject of the post I am glad that I live in Makanda Township, Jackson County*, Illinois where I have been registered to vote for many years and even on Presidential election years there is no more than a 5 minute wait to vote in my precinct. That’s if I have not obliged myself of one of several early voting options by the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
    Maybe the Illinois General Assembly will reinstate straight ticket voting.

    Democrats said the ban was pure revenge, but Republicans said the prohibition will force voters to be more thoughtful when they cast their votes.

    Makes me more thoughtful. All I think about is that this is yet another reason to never vote Republican again as I go down the ballot marking it for every Democrat running for office.

    *How Blue is Jackson County, Illinois? In the 1972 Nixon landslide vs. McGovern, Jackson County was the only county in Illinois that McGovern carried.

  3. Michael Cain says:

    I simply note that the Times, as usual, gets the situation in the western states largely wrong.

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  4. CSK says:

    Headlines frequently are off, in the sense that they’re not really about the story itself. That’s because an editor, not the article writer, makes up the headline.

  5. OzarkHillbilly says:

    @Mister Bluster: Democrats said the ban was pure revenge, but Republicans said the prohibition will force voters to be more thoughtful when they cast their votes.

    It’s true. Now every time I fill in the box for a DEM I am more thoughtful of how much a despise Repubs.

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  6. Mister Bluster says:

    @OzarkHillbilly:..more thoughtful

    Great minds think alike!

  7. Mister Bluster says:

    @Mister Bluster:..Excuse my confusion.

    The link in my earlier post of 14:03 (terrorist attacks…) no longer goes to a picture of an xfinity bucket truck. Maybe CNN saw my remarks above as the new photos are appropriate to electric utility infrastructure.
    Where else besides OTB would CNN get accurate information?

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  8. Gustopher says:

    @Mister Bluster: from the linked article:

    Anti-government groups over the past two years have used online forums to urge followers to attack critical infrastructure, including the power grid. They have posted documents and even instructions outlining vulnerabilities and suggesting the use of high-powered rifles.

    It’s right-wing terrorism. Same as in NC a month ago. There’s effectively a very low-level insurgency going on — nothing that poses a serious, immediate threat to our nation but it’s not just vandalism.

    We need to be hardening our infrastructure — at least enough to monitor it well and get camera footage of anyone going near it.

    And, of course, we need to get our Nazi and Nazi-Flavored Right-Wing Extremist* problem under control.

    ——
    *: say what you will about real Nazis, but they dressed better than our shitty knock-off variety.

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  9. Gustopher says:

    @Mister Bluster: Here in the People’s Democratic Republic of Seattle, the Republican brand has been so toxic for so long that there’s been a push from the right to make offices “non-partisan” so voters aren’t able to tell which candidate is the Republican at a quick glance.

    And we have enough idiot “both sides are the problem” folks that it has had enough support to get voters to approve the change in a few cases.

    I would love straight ticket voting.

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  10. Thomm says:

    @Gustopher: well, unlike ours, they could afford Hugo Boss.

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  11. Just nutha ignint cracker says:

    @OzarkHillbilly: @Mister Bluster: We’ve never had straight ticket voting anywhere where I lived. On the one hand, it’s boring going through all of those various items and thinking about each one. On the other hand, I’ve never had to complain about being disenfranchised because the name I expected to be on the line I punched wasn’t there because it had been moved.

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  12. @CSK:

    Headlines frequently are off, in the sense that they’re not really about the story itself. That’s because an editor, not the article writer, makes up the headline.

    Indeed. I have been victim of this fact myself when I had a foray into column writing.

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  13. Mister Bluster says:

    @Gustopher:..It’s right-wing terrorism.
    I was being facetious when I mentioned High School Hi Jinks. (I suspect that you figured that out.) However when I was in HS (class of 1966) the worst thing that I remember was Senior Ditch Day. Well, that and the guys that would drag race their cars on a two way, two lane street that ran next to the campus usually late at night.
    One of the more popular students was killed drag racing when he tried to avoid traffic as he was going the wrong way on the street. His car went in a ditch and rolled several times. At least he missed the other car and avoided a head on collision. Seat Belts! Hah! Those were available as an aftermarket accessory 56 years ago but really they were for pussies.

  14. Tony W says:

    @Gustopher: They are only Nazis if they come from the Nazi Region of Germany, otherwise they are just sparkling fascists.

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