Concerns about worsening US presidential election "voting obstruction" October 18, 17:13

In this US presidential election, there are concerns that "voting obstruction" and "voting suppression" that prevent voting in various ways may become serious.

Virtually excluded from elections at the voter registration stage

While the law prohibits voting obstruction in the United States, for many years there has been a constant act of making it difficult to vote in various ways.



One of them is the issue of being effectively excluded from elections during the voter registration stage, which is essential for participating in elections in the United States.



In the United States, you need to register as a voter with the Election Commission in advance to vote in elections, but there have been a number of states over the last few years that have tightened their identity verification.



Regarding identification, some blacks and Hispanics cannot meet the requirements because they cannot obtain a government-issued ID such as a driver's license for financial reasons, and some people cannot vote even if they want to vote. about it.



A study by the American Civil Liberties Union investigating this issue found that 8% of whites do not have photo IDs in their voting age, compared to 25% of blacks. ..



For this reason, it has been pointed out that minority groups will be greatly affected by changes that tighten the system.

Decrease in polling stations in areas with many minorities Remarkable in Republican-dominated areas

It has also been pointed out that polling stations are being reduced in areas where many minorities live.



According to a survey by a private sector, many of the approximately 1,700 polling stations that have been reduced nationwide since 2013 were in high-minority areas.



In recent years, the number of polling stations in Georgia has been reduced, and as a result, some districts had to wait eight hours to vote in the 2018 midterm elections two years ago.



These cases are prominent in areas where the Republican Party is dominant, especially in the southern United States, and experts say that the minority group is more likely to vote for the Democratic Party, so the Republican Party's side to lose ground due to this increase in the group. He points out that there is a sense of crisis in the background.

Cases of obstruction even in mail voting

In the mail ballot that President Trump opposes, there are cases where Democratic Party supporters complain of blocking the vote.



In Texas, the number of reception desks where ballots mailed by the authorities in the Houston metropolitan area with a population of 4.7 million can be directly thrown has been reduced from 12 to 1, and there are long lines every day. ..



Republican Governor Abbott, who issued the instructions, argued that the reason was "as the infection spreads, polling stations need to be safer, more transparent and prevent illegal voting." I am.



On the other hand, the Democratic Party has opposed that it is "repression of the right to vote", and groups supporting the Democratic Party are in a situation of appealing to return the reception place to 12 places.

Concerned about intimidating behavior around polling stations

Furthermore, in this election, there are voices concerned about the situation where radical groups supporting President Trump will take intimidating actions around the polling place.



In Virginia last month, a group of President Trump's supporters yelled at the polling place entrance, causing people to vote in the polling place.



In Michigan, on the 16th, under Democratic Governor Whitmer, the state government said that it would "enable voters to exercise their basic right to vote without threats, threats or harassment," the polling place and its. Announced that it is prohibited to have visible weapons such as guns in the vicinity.



Meanwhile, President Trump has repeatedly claimed that elections will be fraudulent, calling for him to monitor his votes to prevent this, and posted on Twitter on the 13th of this month, "Apply for volunteers for Trump election observers!" And appeal for stronger surveillance.



Some American media and election experts are concerned that these calls could trigger intimidating acts in the name of surveillance.

“More than 1 million people may not have been voted in the 2018 midterm elections”

A private think tank has analyzed that more than one million people may not have been voted in the 2018 midterm elections due to actions allegedly "blocking votes" and "suppressing votes" at New York University. "In this presidential election, minority turnout in close-knit states can make or break a win," said Ted Johnson, senior researcher at the Brennan Center for Justice. In states that have introduced legislation that makes voting difficult. The voter turnout will be noticed. "



Stacey Hopkins, who lives in the Georgia metropolis of Atlanta, says she received a notice from the state government that she had "removed voter registration" two years ago before the midterm elections.



The reason was the change of address, but under Georgia law, even if the address changes in the same county, the voter registration will be automatically renewed and will not be deleted if you notify the postal service.



According to a local newspaper, about 500,000 people in Georgia were deregistered for a variety of reasons on the same day as Hopkins.



Hopkins was able to file a lawsuit against the states and finally recover the registration with the support of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a private organization that tackles these issues in order to restore voter registration. is.



However, some of Hopkins' friends said they couldn't vote because they had an election day without realizing that they had been deregistered.



At that time, it was pointed out that about 50,000 people could not vote in Georgia due to a new change in the voter registration system.



In this system, voting rights were frozen due to slight differences in notation such as the presence or absence of hyphens in the name.



Also, in the area where Mr. Hopkins lives, the reduction of polling stations has created a long line for voting, Mr. Hopkins said, "In areas where white people live, you do not have to wait for voting, but in areas where there are many black people, it takes hours. It was natural to wait. I'm angry that blacks still have to win the right to vote in this era. "



Mr. Hopkins said that he used postal voting in this presidential election, but he was distrustful of the authorities, saying, "I'm still worried about whether the votes cast will be counted properly."