So, now that Jeff Sessions is the attorney general, I figured that reading the letter by Coretta Scott that is now credited with stopping Sessions in the '80s would give us some insight into what to expect from this attorney general.
In recent years, there have been efforts by republicans to implement Voter ID laws. This is in direct response to claims of "voter fraud." These claims started in the 1980s in a Republican effort to delegitimize Democrats and democratic voters.
From Sessions, I am expecting a full war on certain demographics that voted for Clinton. President Trump, who is not totally convinced that he won by the rules of our electoral college, still is under the impression that there were "millions" of illegal votes for his (more popular than him) opponent.
In her statement, Coretta Scott King alleges that as a U.S. attorney Sessions has "exhibited an eagerness to bring to trial and convict three leaders of the Perry County Civic League including Albert Turner despite evidence clearly demonstrating their innocence of any wrongdoing" (that's page six, by the way). Here, she is referring to the Marion Three, where Sessions prosecuted activists Albert Turner, Evelyn Turner, and Spencer Hogue for allegedly altering ballots for a primary in 1984. Spoiler alert: the defendants won, and Session's reputation has been defined by this case.
This time around, I think that latino voters will be next. Now, I as a black woman understand that black people are being deterred away from the polls due to Voter ID laws. King actually wrote "no group has had access to the ballot box denied so persistently and intently. Over the past century, a broad array of schemes have been used in attempt to block the Black vote" (page 5).
However, I think latino voters will be next because Trump is under the impression that millions of illegal Mexicans voted for Clinton. We have a president who loves to be popular so much so that he would go to any lengths to prove his popularity.
King wrote that Sessions charging the Marion Three was politically motivated, and I think that Sessions might launch this massive voter fraud case for political reasons. Both remain the same: to prove (non-) existent large- scale voter fraud.
I think we will see mass conservative efforts to scale back voting practices mostly used by people of color. As King wrote, Sessions' actions "represent just one more technique used to intimidate Black voters and thus deny them this most precious franchise" (pages 5-6). She also mentions that the investigations into the Marion Three only took place in the "Black Belt" counties of Alabama.
All those in favor of scaling back the Voting Rights Act, Sessions has your back. All those who are not, you clearly read Coretta Scott King's letter.
