509
This is obviously part of a much broader, Republican-led nationwide effort to restrict and suppress voting, disenfranchise Americans, sow distrust, and grant Republicans more control over our election system, all in the name of "election integrity."
By leveraging Trump's "big lie" and the stream of election fraud propaganda, conspiracies, and misinformation that followed to promote unnecessary solutions to fabricated problems. They've convinced millions of disgruntled supporters that Democrats have compromised our election system.
This is the claim now: undocumented immigrants are voting, and that Democrats, particularly Biden, are encouraging it, even though some of these places are VA centers.
There's a narrative in conservative circles that immigrants are being pushed to register to vote when they sign up for any benefits. Trump's allies allege this is happening.
The reality is, anyone applying for benefits is asked if they want to register to vote. However, if you are not a citizen, you cannot use that application to register, because you have to prove U.S. citizenship.
It's election fraud, interference, and subversion to combat conspiracies of election fraud... period.
There's a pattern where Republicans jump to conclusions about a stolen election, and when facts contradict these conclusions, they create conspiracies and rationalizations to double down. This is the conservative modus operandi.
Facts don't matter to them; their prejudices and delusions guide their thinking. In their minds, anything is justified because they believe the election was stolen. They won't be convinced otherwise, so it's up to Republicans, who have been pandering to these grievances, to act. Unfortunately, this action often results in widespread voter suppression under the guise of protecting elections from fabricated threats.
Aaand moreover, propaganda and rhetoric from Trump and prominent Republicans who have embraced the stolen election conspiracy are empowering right-wing zealots to intimidate voters at polling places. Some even consider becoming election or poll workers to "stop the steal."
This is happening nationwide, particularly in densely populated, Democrat-leaning areas.
This effort gained momentum after the election and has continued, with few Republicans or conservatives acknowledging it. Most believe that these Trump loyalists are justified in passing sweeping "election integrity" laws that undermine, rather than uphold, the integrity of our elections.
History will compare this era in American politics to the years before Nazi Germany.
To be frank, this is the best takeaway from the article.
They said the quiet part out loud... again.
edit: spelling