Voting rights were a Republican thing, but with SAVE Act, they’re now in the GOP’s rearview mirror

By Jim Jones
Idaho Capital Sun

Voting rights in America were a Republican thing for more than 100 years, but the GOP made an about-face on the issue beginning with President Richard Nixon’s “Southern strategy.” The Republican regression has reached a fever pitch with the GOP push for passage of the preposterously-named SAVE America Act (SAVE Act). It would make it infinitely more difficult for women, minorities and military personnel to participate in our elections. Thankfully, the SAVE Act is not likely to become law, due to strong opposition from affected voter groups, including many traditional Republicans. 

President Abraham Lincoln set the stage for extending voting rights to formerly enslaved African Americans in a speech delivered at the White House on April 11, 1865. Following Lincoln’s assassination, his Republican Party was able to obtain ratification of the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It granted voting rights for the first time to Black males. Voting rights for females of any race were not on the table until ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920. Again, Republicans were behind that effort.

Despite the 15th Amendment, Southern Democrats were able for almost 95 years to prevent Black Americans from fully exercising their voting rights. That was accomplished by intimidation, poll taxes, literacy tests and a variety of other insidious stumbling blocks. Those tactics came to a halt with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The act would not have passed without strong support from Republican members of Congress. 

I was working as a legislative assistant for former-U.S. Sen. Len Jordan, R-Idaho, during the summer of 1965 and recall being proud of his support for the Act. Majority Leader Mike Mansfield, D-Mont., and Minority Leader Everett Dirksen, R-Ill., strongly pushed for the Act, too, overcoming fierce opposition from Southern Democrats. Its passage made a dramatic change in the composition of Congress.

Civil rights opponents immediately geared up efforts to marginalize the effects of the Act. Perhaps the most important development was President Nixon’s adoption of his “Southern strategy,” which sought to capture the support of white Southern voters by appealing to racist themes. The strategy proved wildly successful, eventually turning Southern segregationist Democrats into newly minted Republicans. In recent years, a number of Western states, including Idaho, have followed suit.

Former Gov. Phil Batt, who exemplified traditional Idaho Republicans, was a lifelong supporter of civil rights until he passed on March 4, 2023. His successors, Republicans Dirk Kempthorne and Butch Otter, both respected the rights and voices of Idaho voters. Republican Gov. Brad Little, determined to keep his Trump endorsement, has bought into the MAGA narrative. Idaho’s entire congressional delegation and attorney general strongly support the SAVE Act, despite any credible evidence of voter fraud in our elections. They know better but are fearful of straying from the Trump agenda.

If passed, the SAVE Act would likely be struck down as a flagrant violation of the U.S. Constitution, which gives states the power to control elections. If the MAGA-influenced Supreme Court should bow down to MAGA, the SAVE Act would seriously impact important voter groups. Those voters who have changed their names from that on their birth certificates, particularly married women, would have to dig up birth certificates, divorce decrees, passports or a variety of other documents proving their identity and citizenship in order to vote. 

Members of the military, particularly those overseas like the more than 50,000 currently located in the Middle East, would likely be unable to find documentation proving their citizenship. Many service personnel would find it nearly impossible to register and vote. 

Our military forces deserve better than this. After all, they are responsible for defending all of our freedoms. Their military identification should, in and of itself, be the key to allowing their vote and they should be allowed to send their ballots by mail, as has been the case for decades.

Idaho’s members of Congress and the Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador do not have much regard for the voting problems the SAVE Act would heap on our military. None of them ever stepped forward to serve. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, lamely claims that he did not serve in Vietnam because he “had an ongoing ulcer and they didn’t want” him. 

Quite frankly, the military was not very picky during the Vietnam buildup about who they allowed to serve. Despite having broken both legs in a horrific auto accident, spending 14 weeks in the hospital and being unable to walk unaided for almost a year, the Army was happy to honor my request for Vietnam service.

Our elected officials should stand up and speak out for Idaho voters and constitutional government. If they can’t find the courage to do so, they should step aside.

Jim Jones is a Vietnam combat veteran who served eight years as Idaho attorney general (1983-1991) and 12 years as justice of the Idaho Supreme Court (2005-2017). He also publishes at substack.com/@jjcommontater. This column was originally published by the Idaho Capital Sun, a Boise-based nonprofit news outlet.