Voter suppression is real; voter fraud is not

A letter writer on Jan. 31 believes Republican-led states' election suppression laws somehow protect election integrity. Although correct in blaming Dixiecrats (they were Democrats only because Lincoln was a Republican) for the voting restrictions of 60 years ago, they ended with LBJ's (Democrat) Voting Rights Act of 1965. This law was in turn gutted by the Republican-controlled Supreme Court in 2013. The writer feels "federalizing" voting rights is restrictive. Without the John Lewis bill, thousands upon thousands of elderly, minorities and urbanites will be unable to exercise their right to vote.

Republican-led states such as Georgia, Iowa, Kansas and Texas enacted criminal penalties for election officials who assist voters. Georgia outlawed handing out water and/or snacks to voters waiting in line (and through voting machine distribution, they will ensure there are massive lines in minority and urban districts). In Iowa and Kansas, people could be prosecuted for returning ballots for others, such as those in need of assistance. Texas election officials could face criminal charges for encouraging voters to request mail-in ballots or trying to regulate poll watchers' behavior. Red states have also cut voting hours/days, curtailed use of mail-in ballots and limited the number of drop boxes - all in order to make voting harder.

Repeated studies (one study of over a billion ballots cast from 2000 through 2014 in general, primary, special and municipal elections found only 31 incidents of malfeasance) have proven the voter fraud these suppression laws claim to prevent is nonexistent and that federal voting right laws are again needed.

This behavior has been seen before in places like Italy and Germany in 1930s and by despots worldwide intent on overthrowing democracy.

Patrick Lynn

Lake Zurich