Making vote count and voice heard

As stated by the ex-president, Republicans can never be elected again if it’s easier to vote.

As soon as the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, numerous red states were ready to pass laws to make it harder for Americans to vote. They knew that they would never represent the majority of this country, so the only thing they could do was gerrymander, dissuade, coerce and make it impossible for many people to get to the polls.

The Democrats in many counties in Idaho have been vilified to the point that they no longer speak out for fear of retribution. It’s working. Business owners are afraid their affiliation with the Democratic party will become known and they will lose business. Individuals who run for office have been harassed and received death threats. A Democratic field operative had to be removed because of fear for his safety. His housing location had to be changed many times until the party removed him altogether. Because he was naive to Bonner County politics, he introduced himself at a Republican booth at the fair and then the harassment began. Am I accusing all Republicans of being small-minded and fearful of different ideas? Absolutely not.

I am saying that truly democracy-loving Republicans need to speak out against the minority of their party or continue down the path of fascism.

Did I change my party affiliation to vote in the upcoming election? You bet I did. We know, in Bonner County, the race is decided in the primary election. This is minority rule. I have voted in every election throughout my adult life and I’ll be darned if I’ll let anyone stop me from doing that. Republicans closed their primary years ago to stop cross-over voting. Now they are going after the unaffiliated.

I have always been a loud and proud Democrat and suspect I always will. I’ll do whatever I legally can to have my vote count and my voice heard.

SYLVIA HUMES

Sandpoint