This election cycle, like many others that Oberlin students have seen in the past, is a highly contested and important one.  As was the case in years past, the incredibly active and opinionated student body will no doubt participate in this election in large numbers.

However, instead of lining up to vote on Election Day (as they have traditionally done), the majority of Oberlin students will “vote by mail” using a ballot request form that they will find in their OCMRs. This workaround is a response to a new Republican sponsored Ohio election law that requires anyone voting at the polls to show “proof of residency in Ohio” such as an Ohio driver’s license or a utility bill with a home address on it. Taken on their own, these new ID requirements represent a blatant disregard for democratic principles (which apparently are highly controversial these days). Far from existing in isolation, however, the change in residency requirements is actually the latest in a series of moves that have begun to reveal a broader philosophy on the part of the Republicans in power; a philosophy that at its core aims to take the people out of politics.  

If any of you fellow progressives out there have ever been called a latte sipping, sushi eating, New York Times reading elitist, you’ll immediately recognize the significance of this. Ever since the Republican Revolution of 1994, conservatives have claimed the mantle of populism as their own.  Equating liberals with out-of-touch elitists, Republicans have successfully given the impression that they are the party that gives voice to the “average American.”  This rhetoric has never been anything more than cynical pandering and demagoguery, but increasing electoral pressure on Republicans across the country (and particularly in Ohio) has forced the party to show its true colors.   

Much has been made of the possibility that the Diebold electronic voting machines might have been tampered with, but of more significance are the electoral offenses that can be attributed to the Republicans without even delving into conspiracy theories. The new residency requirements are the most obvious, but the past year alone holds two other instances of Republican legislative efforts to take power out of the hands of the people in Ohio. First on that list would be the smear campaign run against the Reform Ohio Now amendments that were on the ballot just last year.  These fairly innocuous amendments (including Vote by Mail and Non-Partisan district drawing) ran into fierce opposition, spearheaded by conservative groups and Republican state representative Jeff Jacobson. One would think that a party that cares so deeply about the average Midwestern voters would have an interest in allowing them to vote but that would be taking Republican rhetoric at face value.  

Ohio Republicans made their opinions of the democratic process even clearer when they tried to put a version of a “Taxpayers Bill of Rights” on the 2006 ballot. The conservative group sponsoring the initiative (Citizens for Tax Reform) eventually pulled the amendment because of a lack of public support. Had it been passed, TABOR (or TEL as it was called in Ohio) would have taken spending decisions outside of the democratic process by writing expenditure limits into the constitution. Putting aside that this policy was a disaster in the only other state it was tried (Colorado), the amendment was inherently anti-democratic in nature; Ohio voters in the future would have less of an ability to decide how much money was spent in crucial areas such as education.  

Thankfully, conservatives in this state were not able to find broad support anywhere for this amendment, but when the amendment attempt is put together with the anti-Reform Ohio Now campaign and the new residency requirements, the question remains: why does a party that once prided itself on populism find itself struggling to keep voters away from the polls and issues away from the voters? The simple answer is that for the first time in a long time, Republicans statewide (and nationwide, for that matter) find themselves in a losing electoral battle. In Ohio, Republicans are trailing in nearly every race that matters. These past few years have seen Republicans in a futile attempt to corrupt the democratic system to stay in power. Not only will they fail, but they also have opened up an opportunity for progressives to credibly reclaim the banner of populism.