A shelf displaying Stanley cups is nearly bare at the Target in Metairie on Sept. 14, 2024, (Greg LaRose/Louisiana)
The Republican Party’s persistent call for legislation to ban noncitizen voting is just as inexplicable as the raging popularity of those massive Stanley drinking cups.
Do you really need it? Don’t we already have something available that takes care of that need? If you must, could you end up hurting yourself or others unintentionally?
Despite noncitizen voting already being against the law, GOP forces at the state and federal level are rabid in their support for measures that are obvious attempts to create obstacles for legitimate voting.
This article is part of U.S. Democracy Day, a nationwide collaborative on Sept. 15, the International Day of Democracy, in which news organizations cover how democracy works and the threats it faces. To learn more, visit usdemocracyday.org
In late August, Gov. Jeff Landry signed an executive order that calls for “noncitizens” to be monitored to ensure they aren’t offered opportunities to register to vote. He and other Republicans around the country have raised unfounded concerns that noncitizens will attempt to influence the November presidential election. Meanwhile, actual foreign interference in the nation’s democratic process happens with the help of the far right.
“Everytime an illegal alien votes, it cancels out the vote of a citizen. That’s a disenfranchisement of American citizens,” Landry said at an Aug. 27 press conference.
The governor’s order has no power to prevent state agencies from offering voter registration forms to the public, as dictated by federal law. But what it does do is require the state to include notice with those forms that it is illegal for noncitizens to vote.
Going back to the Stanley cup analogy, Landry’s order is like placing a warning label on the cups saying that if the user pours molten hot liquids into it, there’s a good chance their taste buds will be burned to the point of uselessness.
Sounds pretty pointless, right?
Yet the governor goes a step farther with his edict, directing the state Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV) to compile a list of people issued a temporary, 180-day Louisiana driver’s license or identification card. That list will be turned over to Secretary of State Nancy Landry, a Republican who is not related to the governor, so she can cross-check it against voter rolls.
According to Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill, who joined the governor at the order signing ceremony, the OMV has issued more than 40,000 temporary IDs, without providing a timeframe for that number. Those ID and license applicants could have received voter forms, Murrill added, and some might have unintentionally registered.
But Nancy Landry, who has helped run the state elections system well before being elected Secretary of State, said her voter roll checks since 2022 have resulted in just 48 noncitizens being removed from rolls. While she should be applauded for her scrutiny — and this week’s emphasis on voter registration — that number is not quite the panic-inducing figure the governor and other GOP standard bearers would have you believe it is.
Keep that in mind as Republicans continue their campaign in Congress this month to require voter IDs in federal elections for the false flag purpose of keeping noncitizens out of this fall’s election. In reality, it’s a blatant attempt at voter suppression.
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, pulled his first attempt at a temporary spending bill with that requirement, but he intends to include it in a revised draft. GOP U.S. senators have their own version, which Democratic President Joe Biden intends to veto if it somehow advances to his desk.
Like when the last drop gets sucked out of a Stanley cup, the far-right’s arguments for noncitizen voting keep coming up empty.
Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com. Follow Louisiana Illuminator on Facebook and X.