Which explains why they've cut back on early and weekend voting.
WASHINGTON -- On the 50th anniversary of the landmark Voting Rights Act, Republicans suggested that the party supports the exact types of voting access its legislators have worked to curtail.
In a statement issued Thursday that acknowledges "those who stood up to discrimination, threats of violence and even death" to push for the VRA, the Republican National Committee implies that the party supports early and weekend voting, which have experienced cutbacks in states with GOP-controlled legislatures like Ohio and North Carolina.
Republican lawmakers in Florida, Georgia, Nebraska and Wisconsin have also limited or tried to limit early voting hours and days. In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie, who is seeking the GOP presidential nomination, has repeatedly expressed his dislike for a bill to enact in-person early voting.
The GOP's statement Thursday also says that "every citizen should have the chance to vote in our elections while we also work to ensure the integrity of the voting process by preventing things such as mistakes, fraud and confusion."
Republican lawmakers have used the specter of nearly non-existent in-person impersonation fraud as grounds to demand government-issued photo IDs at the polls. Democrats say such laws disproportionately disenfranchise racial minorities, students, seniors and low-income and disabled voters. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court ruled that Texas' voter ID law violates Section 2 of the VRA.
Democrats mocked the RNC statement in one of their own Thursday, calling it "absurd."
"If Republicans want to talk about the integrity of the voting process, they should start by taking a look in the mirror," said DNC Director of African American Media Michael Tyler. "While Democrats believe our nation and democracy are stronger when more people participate, Republicans continue to engage in a cynical ploy to restrict access to the ballot box. Since the Supreme Court gutted key provisions of the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder, Republicans have used every trick in the book to pass restrictive voting measures that disproportionately impact communities of color, women, and young people."
More: GOP Celebrates Advancement Of Voting Rights They ve Undermined
It's mind-boggling how Republicans can tout voting rights while at the same time restricting them. Do they think no one is watching or paying attention?
WASHINGTON -- On the 50th anniversary of the landmark Voting Rights Act, Republicans suggested that the party supports the exact types of voting access its legislators have worked to curtail.
In a statement issued Thursday that acknowledges "those who stood up to discrimination, threats of violence and even death" to push for the VRA, the Republican National Committee implies that the party supports early and weekend voting, which have experienced cutbacks in states with GOP-controlled legislatures like Ohio and North Carolina.
Republican lawmakers in Florida, Georgia, Nebraska and Wisconsin have also limited or tried to limit early voting hours and days. In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie, who is seeking the GOP presidential nomination, has repeatedly expressed his dislike for a bill to enact in-person early voting.
The GOP's statement Thursday also says that "every citizen should have the chance to vote in our elections while we also work to ensure the integrity of the voting process by preventing things such as mistakes, fraud and confusion."
Republican lawmakers have used the specter of nearly non-existent in-person impersonation fraud as grounds to demand government-issued photo IDs at the polls. Democrats say such laws disproportionately disenfranchise racial minorities, students, seniors and low-income and disabled voters. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court ruled that Texas' voter ID law violates Section 2 of the VRA.
Democrats mocked the RNC statement in one of their own Thursday, calling it "absurd."
"If Republicans want to talk about the integrity of the voting process, they should start by taking a look in the mirror," said DNC Director of African American Media Michael Tyler. "While Democrats believe our nation and democracy are stronger when more people participate, Republicans continue to engage in a cynical ploy to restrict access to the ballot box. Since the Supreme Court gutted key provisions of the Voting Rights Act in Shelby County v. Holder, Republicans have used every trick in the book to pass restrictive voting measures that disproportionately impact communities of color, women, and young people."
More: GOP Celebrates Advancement Of Voting Rights They ve Undermined
It's mind-boggling how Republicans can tout voting rights while at the same time restricting them. Do they think no one is watching or paying attention?
