In the United States, it’s become a tradition to accuse Republicans and their corporate media allies of voter suppression. The allegations, which are not always based on reality, continue to be made regularly. Before the 2022 midterm elections, Joe Biden claimed that Georgia Republicans were bringing back “Jim Crow 1.0”-style racism in voter suppression. This earned him four Pinocchios by the left-leaning Washington Post.
Similar accusations are made, despite the Washington Post fact check, whenever Republican state officials try to pass voter integrity laws to clean up voter lists, tighten voting procedures, or otherwise protect American citizens’ confidence in our electoral process.
The Left and Democrats were silent about the actual voter suppression in 2022 when Pennsylvanians from Luzerne County came to vote early in the morning only to find out that there were no paper ballots left.
State law requires that at least 40 polling stations have the minimum number of ballots. Shortly after voting started, election officials and poll workers told voters to return later when paper ballots were no longer available.
Some voters were incorrectly instructed to use provisional ballots, which can only be used when officials cannot verify an individual’s eligibility to vote.
The Court of Common Pleas, after finding out that “Voters from Luzerne County were denied their fundamental right to vote and disenfranchised through no fault of the voters themselves,” took the extraordinary step of keeping the polls opened until 10:00 pm.
William French, a disabled U.S. Army vet, attempted to vote twice at his polling station on Election Day. He was asked to return later both times because no ballots were available. French could not return to his voting place a third due to the dangers of navigating from his home to the polling station at night.
Melynda Reese, her husband’s primary caregiver, recently experienced serious health problems. Reese cannot leave her husband unattended for long periods of time. Reese tried to vote on Election Day three times. She was told each time to come back later as there weren’t enough ballots. Reese received a call at 9:15 pm to inform her that there were now enough ballots available. However, she couldn’t leave her husband alone to vote a fourth time.
It appears that the simple task of providing enough ballot paper was overlooked, leading to disenfranchised and frustrated voters in a swing county or state.
Where was Biden when he cried voter suppression? Marc Elias was not present to bring a lawsuit against the Democrats’ dark money consigliere Marc Elias. It is a fact that the Left and Democrats didn’t care because most of the Luzerne County voters affected were Republicans.
The Center for Election Confidence funded a lawsuit filed by French and Reese in Luzerne County for denying them the right to vote. This was done to ensure that such mistakes at the polling station are never repeated again, not even in 2024.
After 18 months, the County of Luzerne settled with French v. County. They agreed to pay $30,000.00 in legal fees and to set up detailed policies and procedures for proper procurement of materials and staff training before all future elections.
The lawsuit was needed because Luzerne County’s problems are not isolated to Election Day ballot shortages. Similar “voting anomalies” were reported during the governorship races in New Jersey in 2021 and Mississippi in 2023. In both cases, it was Republican voters that were affected.
Things are improving. Unlike Luzerne County on Election Day 2020, Republican National Lawyers Association leaders in Mississippi fought back on Election Day 2030 and got a partial resolution. This year, when more Republicans vote on Election Day, the problem is likely to occur elsewhere. It is for this reason that President Trump and other politicians urge voters to vote in person as early as possible.
The CEC’s victory in Luzerne County has put counties and election authorities on notice. They will pay a price if they suppress ballots. You can’t expect Democrats to care if it isn’t their voters being suppressed.
What are Democrats doing in the wake of errors made by election officials like those in Luzerne, Pennsylvania? A liberal group echoed the Democrats and Left the night after the Luzerne County Council accepted the settlement, admitting they suppressed ballots. They called for a local ordinance that would protect election officials against criticism.
Luzerne, a county located in the state most likely to be targeted in the election of 2024, serves as a microcosm of the entire country.
The Left uses “voter suppression” to gain political attention, but they ignore real voter suppression when that doesn’t serve their interests. Instead of trying to improve the transparency of the election process, they try to prevent anyone from criticizing the officials or improving the process. They are now paying a price for suppressing the vote, thanks to RNLA lawyers like Wally Zimolong of CEC.
