Republican state legislators across the country responded to President Biden’s victory in November by proposing a series of new voting restrictions, with the aim of containing early voting and absent voting in moves that would make it more difficult to participate on election day.
But in Iowa – a state that has been in the red trend for years and where Donald Trump won by more than eight percentage points in November – new poll from one of the nation’s top polls suggests voters are irritated by the latest attempt to restrict access to voting.
Last week, Republican state governor Kim Reynolds signed a bill passed by the state legislature led by the Republican Party that includes a series of voting restrictions, including reducing the nine-day early voting period and closing the polls. polls one hour before the election. Day.
The new poll, conducted by Selzer & Co. for The Des Moines Register and released today, found that 52% of Iowa residents were opposed to condensing the early voting period and 42% were in favor.
There was a deep party divide, with 71% of Republicans in favor of change and 81% of Democrats against it. Among independents, 51% were against change, while 43% were in favor.
The survey found that Iowa residents were equally divided over Reynolds’ job performance, with 46% approving and 47% disapproving. But 52 percent said they hope she won’t run for reelection next year, and only 41 percent said they would like her to do so.
Asked about Biden’s work to date as president, 47% gave positive marks and 44% gave negative marks.
The bill that Reynolds just signed is one of hundreds that have been making their way into state legislatures led by Republicans across the country. Proponents of these bills often cite the risk of electoral fraud as a motivating factor, although in reality fraud is extremely rare – and restrictions on ballot access tend to do more to deprive legitimate voters than to reduce illegitimate voting. .
The wave of state restrictions has drawn fire from voting rights advocates, and Democratic lawmakers in Washington have again pledged to pass two major voting rights bills that would invalidate many of the state laws.
But at the national level, it is not yet clear whether Democrats won the battle for messages. A poll published this month by CNN found that 53 percent of Americans said they were more concerned that voting rules might not be “rigid enough to prevent illegal votes from being cast”, while only 39 percent are more concerned than laws can “make it very difficult for eligible citizens” to vote.
Fears of anti-Asian violence increase after a deadly attack in Georgia.
The murder of eight people, including six women of Asian descent, during a shootout in the Atlanta area yesterday sparked a national outcry, and at a news conference today Biden observed a “very, very disturbing” pattern of violence against Asian Americans in recent years. months.
“Whatever the motivation here,” said Biden, “I know that Asian Americans are very concerned.” But the president hardly said the deaths were racially motivated, citing an ongoing investigation.
Investigators said they did not rule out prejudice as a motivating factor in the shootings, which took place in three massage parlors, although the suspect denied racial animus while in custody.
The murder suspect was charged today with murder. He told police he had a “sexual addiction” and carried out the shootings to eliminate his “temptation”, officials said on Wednesday.
Vice President Kamala Harris, the first woman and the first Asian American person who held the position, expressed condolences to the victims’ families today.
“I want to tell our Asian American community that we are with you and we understand how it scared, shocked and outraged everyone,” she said.
Asian Americans and the Pacific Islands were the target of nearly 3,800 hate incidents reported last year, according to Stop AAPI Hate. The incidents compiled by the group included mainly verbal harassment and name-calling, which accounted for about 68 percent of those reported. Evasion, or deliberate avoidance of Asian Americans, made up about 20%. About 11 percent of the reports involved physical assault, the report said.
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms of Atlanta said of the shootings: “Whatever this guy’s motivation, we know that most of the victims were Asian.”
She added: “We also know that this is a problem that is happening across the country. It is unacceptable, it is hateful and it has to stop. “
– Richard Fausset, Jim Tankersley, Marie Fazio, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs and Christine Hauser
Read our live briefing for the latest updates on the Georgia shootings.
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