When the voting deck is stacked against Democrats, it's time to fight back.
I'm not talking about bringing in high-profile speakers like President Obama to rally the base at candidate rallies, although that certainly helps. I'm talking about taking concrete actions to help people whose votes are being suppressed or voters whose access to the polls is being severely limited.
Donald Trump and Republicans keep harping on the "problem" of nonexistent voter fraud. It's the scare tactic the GOP keeps using to make it harder to cast a ballot. Voter suppression can mean the difference between victory and defeat. It's why the Georgia Republican candidate for governor, Brian Kemp (also coincidentally the guy in charge of voting rules as secretary of state), is frightened of Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams' voter turnout operation, "especially if everybody uses and exercises their right to vote," as he was recorded saying at a fundraiser.
There are groups across the country going above and beyond the usual efforts to challenge voter suppression in the courts, to help voters get the needed IDs, and to aid voters in actually getting to the polls on Election Day. Many groups have always helped in those efforts, but as Republican-controlled legislatures pass more draconian voter ID laws, voter suppression efforts, and voter access hardships, more and more have stepped up to try to ensure that every voter has a chance to have his or her voice heard. These are just a few of those efforts.
Let's call them the voting heroes.
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