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When the question of fraud in the 2000 and 2004 elections comes up, people inevitably talk about whether the Republicans stole votes from the Democrats, and the myriad ways in which they did or did not do so. What irks me about this debate is that the issue of systematic disenfranchisement of African-Americans and other minorities is only discussed as evidence for the "larger issue" of lost Democratic votes. But shouldn't disenfranchisement of blacks
in itself
be headline news? (again?) The historic precedent for such behavior starts from the minute African Americans were granted the vote, into the Civil Rights era, when it was the Democrats preventing blacks from voting. With the Voting Rights Act up for renewal, we can't afford to gloss over the important fact that a historically oppressed minority is still being denied the right to vote. I just heard Brian Lehrer's radio show where he hosted both Kennedy and Manjoo, and Manjoo's explanation for his article was that he wants the country to focus on the larger issue of election reform, and not get hung up on whether Kerry really won, thus antagonizing Republicans from the cause (although this is not at all clear from the article). Perhaps highlighting race, rather than political affiliation, would make this less of a partisan issue, or at least a more embarrassing one in the eyes of the world. It might mobilize this group of voters to keep fighting for their long-trampled-upon rights, before they abstain from voting altogether out of rightful disgust at the state of our country.
