Nothing illustrates conservatives’ mastery of double-speak quite so well as their phony war on voter fraud and other efforts to suppress voting. With front groups called “American Center for Voting Rights” and initiatives labeled “Ballot Access and Voting Integrity,” one could get the impression that the sponsors care about protecting and expanding an important part of the democratic experience. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The conservative war on voting rights has many fronts – in the courts, state legislatures, the media, and even the Federal government. Thanks to the conservative takeover of the US Department of Justice, voter fraud allegations have been pursued with vigor. Using the ‘Division of Civil Rights’ as a vehicle, state and federal officials have created the illusion that voter fraud is rampant throughout the land. Getting ‘civil rights’ divisions involved in voter suppression takes double-speak to a new low. Their weapons of mass disenfranchisement also include attacks on and intimidation of groups that engage in voter registration, purging voter roles in ways that target African American voters and immigrants, and pursuing photo ID laws in many states. All of this has a chilling effect on voting behavior before an election. On Election Day, voters in poorer communities must contend with long lines, too few ballots, not enough poll workers and other problems, while more and more voters everywhere must use confusing and non-verifiable electronic voting machines.

It should come as no surprise that the targets of voter suppression tend to be Democratic-leaning areas, especially urban centers and communities of color, and immigrant communities. Insupportable claims that non-citizens are voting in large numbers create fear and resentment. It does not matter that legitimate cases of this kind of voter fraud are extremely rare.

The Justice Department’s role in pursuing allegations of voter fraud has received greater scrutiny this past year because we now know that some US attorneys were dismissed because they were reluctant to prosecute trumped up claims. Still, the damage has been done. The wave of fraud accusations that started after the 2004 elections created a climate in which conservatives could pursue restrictive legislation, such as voter ID laws. Since 2004, almost 30 states have proposed voter ID laws. And soon, the Supreme Court may very well uphold a bad Indiana law.

Progressive efforts to combat the war on voting rights need to take on all of the ways that the Right carries out its assault, exposing their methods, taking on the double-speak, and reaffirming voting as a basic civil right that we as a nation don’t seem to take as seriously as most other democracies do. Progressive forces are fighting back, but often in a piecemeal way. Some groups are focusing on voter ID legislation while others are pushing for paper ballots. Each kind of campaign is important, but we would do better if we talk about and agitate around these as linked issues that are part of a broader democracy agenda. For good resources on voter ID laws and other voter suppression methods, check the many resources at the Brennan Center. For a good overview of the case for paper ballots, check out a new film called Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections.

--Sandra Hinson