Look, I Want to be all Happy Happy Joy Joy on July 4th, but...

On July 4th we celebrate our country. And the idea that all Americans are endowed with rights, including the rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

But our Supreme Court doesn't agree. With at least the voting part of Liberty. Today, in the worst pandemic in at least 100 years, either the courts or the legislature have expanded the ability to vote remotely. But that would make it harder to Republicans to rig elections, so the Supreme Court has overturned those changes. By a series 5-4 (Republican to Democrat judges) decisions. After gutting the Voting Rights Act a few years ago, now they are outlawing changes to make voting easier.

This week the Supreme Court overturned a court order to expand voting by mail. The Alabama laws allow people to have a mail-in ballot. BUT, they must have it signed by two witnesses or a notary. Now this law does not apply to Seniors (those over 65). For the pandemic this year, a court opened this rule up to all voters, thinking that requiring witnesses or a notary defeats the purpose of isolation because of covid 19 or fear of catching the virus. But then all their hard work of closing polling stations in minority areas would be wasted.

So, the Republican Supreme Court said, no. Screw democracy (5-4).

Texas has a much stricter requirement to get absentee ballots. Going the legislative route, Democrats in six counties wanted to expand remote voting (by mail) to allow everyone to do it to prevent the spread of Coronavirus.

Surprise suprise, given that those voters in major counties are often Democratic leaning, the 5-4 Republican Supreme Court overturned this law.

Han't the Supreme Court always been political you ask? I will say fuck no. The Supreme Court has ruled agains Nixon 9-0 (a vote about the President finances, that just had to follow precedent, was defeated by the Republican majority 5-4. The Supreme Court ended segregation unanimously. Allowed abortion 7-2. They upheld the New Deal, where a Republican Court none the less ruled a giant Democratic plan was Constitutional.

So yeah, I want to be proud this July 4th. But I am not.