GOP Voting Measures Anger Women's Groups

[The Desperate Blogger]

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Bills currently being considered in 13 state legislatures have several women's rights groups and prominent civil rights advocates accusing Republicans of attempting to disenfranchise the nation's female population.

The measures -- all very similar in nature -- would require female voters to undergo counseling and/or wait at least 24 hours after first visiting the polls before being allowed to cast their ballot.

Opponents describe such legislation as a blatant attempt to prevent women from voting. Supporters claim that no one's rights would be infringed, and the measures, once enacted, will allow female voters to "make more informed decisions".

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a proponent of a bill currently being debated by the House of Delegates which would require that all women seeking to exercise their right to vote first undergo a brain MRI and then have the results as well as informational material prepared by state legislators read and explained to them before casting their ballot, defended his position telling reporters, "Elections have consequences. They can profoundly affect people's lives. It is not our intention to discourage anyone from exercising their constitutionally protected rights. Rather, before taking such an important step, we feel it is in the best interests of our Commonwealth that all women seeking to vote be provided with the tools they need to make an informed decision."

When asked by one reporter why he feels there is a need for women, specifically, to receive state-mandated information before being casting a ballot, the Governor responded, "C’mon -- you know how they can be."

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus bristled when asked to respond to critics' accusations that these and similar proposals expected to be introduced in at least 10 other GOP-controlled state houses are nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to discourage women from voting brought about by recent polls -- which suggest that current measures designed to restrict access to abortion as well as the ongoing national debate over contraception are eroding support for Republican candidates among female voters.

"The policies being pursued are totally unrelated to the fact that women are currently fleeing our Party faster than a group of cheerleaders at a science club mixer," Priebus snapped. "Rather, they are a culmination of a strategy that has been brewing since the passage of the 19th Amendment all the way back in 1920."

Congressional Democrats, citing what they call the "suspicious timing" of the many state bills, took control of the House floor this morning to demand an inquiry into what Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi described as, "a most sudden and disturbing national trend."

Bowing to mounting pressure, House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) announced late this afternoon that he has scheduled hearings on the matter for next week where his committee will hear testimony from at least 12 male experts.

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