In Bruce Poliquin’s world, down seems to be up, and up seems to be down. In a column in the March 13 Press Herald, he voiced his opposition to HR 1, a bill that passed the House of Representatives on March 8. The aim of HR 1 is to expand voting access and improve accountability and transparency in elections.

The reason the passage of HR 1 is important is that Republican legislators in 43 states have introduced more than 250 bills with restrictive voting provisions. It is clear that Republican leaders want to make it harder for people to vote – especially people who might not be able to make it to polling places on Election Day. Not surprisingly, that demographic is overweighted to lower-income groups and people of color.

Poliquin refers five times to supporters of HR 1 with terms like “far left,” “liberal” or “extreme liberal.” He uses these terms like they are profanities. Yet while bashing those of us who support expanding voting access, he has the audacity to state that nothing is more sacred than our constitutional right to vote.

Poliquin apparently believes in “the big lie,” that the election was somehow stolen from Donald Trump. Among several examples he cites, it seems to really bother him that legally cast votes were counted for three extra days in Pennsylvania. Counting legal votes is bad? Making it easier for working people to vote is bad? Down is up? Up is down?

Kevin Carley
Portland

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