There is no northern equivalent for the southern term “bless his heart.” Alabama football coach Nick Saban may be unaware that thousands of loyal Tide fans are blessing his heart this week. The coach naively signed a letter to Senator Joe Manchin urging him to support the so-called Voting Rights Bill.
It’s obvious to those who have read this legislation that Coach Saban has not. Bless his heart. Those who have read even the bill summary find the title very misleading.
The real thrust of this bill has little to do with voting rights. It has everything to do with making it easier for nefarious characters to commit voter fraud and steal elections.
Surely the coach doesn’t support cheating in elections anymore than he supports cheating in football games. He would certainly object if one of his competitors salted their team with players who were otherwise ineligible. Rules after all, protect the people who play by them.
Paul Tagliabue (bless his heart) who actually wrote the letter, may have failed to mention that this bill would effectively prohibit state voter ID laws. Contrary to the wailing from the Left, there is no evidence that these laws restrict legal voter participation. Georgia for example, has had voter ID requirements since 2008. They have had record turnouts and registrations since then. Polls have consistently shown overwhelming support (in all demographic groups) for voter ID laws. And the U.S. Supreme Court has found that they pass constitutional muster.
Coach, don’t Bama students need a photo ID to get into a game? Why?
The bill would also open several doors to potentially massive voter fraud. Under this legislation states would be required to provide drop boxes for ballots. Ballots that could be harvested and stuffed into those boxes by unscrupulous operatives. Worse, the legislation includes few security provisions for those drop boxes.
We seriously doubt coach Saban supports that?
Then there is mandatory motor voter registration. This would automatically register anyone who appears on state or federal databases like Departments of Motor Vehicles. This would include millions of people who are aliens or otherwise ineligible to vote. A fact well-known to the authors of the legislation since they included immunity provisions for those who would find themselves illegally registered.
Maybe there are those who want to register disinterested, dead or otherwise ineligible people so that they can harvest their ballots to stuff into those unguarded boxes? This legislation would make that possible.
Perhaps Coach Saban supports allowing convicted felons to vote. A lot of folks in Alabama do not. This bill would require it.
There are other troublesome provisions in this Make Voter Fraud Easier Bill. It flies in the face of reinforcing the legitimacy of our elections. It will open the doors to never-ending challenges to election outcomes. That is not good for the future of our republic.
Sweeping legislative changes to rules affecting election integrity should never be done without bipartisan support.
Coach Saban is a superb coach and a good guy. His teams play hard, they play to win and they play by the rules. He expects his competitors to do the same. The great coach would be the first to oppose any NCAA rule changes that would make it easier for some unscrupulous coaches to cheat. So perhaps he can understand why so many who want greater election integrity are strongly opposed to this legislation.
Everyone agrees that all eligible voters should be able to cast their ballots. No one should support making it easier for some to cheat and steal elections.
Supporters of the bill have resorted to half truths and bald-faced lies to advance this thing. For example, contrary to their talking points, it is not a felony for an election judge to give a drink of water to a thirsty voter standing in line in South Carolina. Senator Scott shot that down just the other day.
Democrats and their friends in the media are doing an unsportsmanlike job of spreading disinformation about this so-called Voting Rights bill. There is no need for Coach Saban to get penalized for piling on.