How badly can CNN screw this up?
CNN has screwed up again. This should not be a surprise as the network is flailing wildly and has been for years. So let’s break this down. First, there is Texas. Poor Texas. The state has been through so much lately. And things don’t seem to be getting better. On the contrary, things seem to be worsening.
As you know, the Texas Republicans have passed absurd and stringent mail-in voting laws in the Lone Star state. And things are already starting to get screwed up. CNN reported on this the other night. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo was a guest on Erin Burnett’s show. And Hidalgo appeared somber. What she said should make us all stop and take notice.
Hidalgo says that 40 PERCENT of the mail-in-ballots in the biggest Texas county have been “flagged.” That means those votes will most likely not count. This is because the new voting laws are impossible to understand. Outdated paperwork, incorrect flagging, confusing directions about submitting one’s identification. All of these things are making the Texas mail-in-voting process a cocktail for disaster.
Most of the people who will be using mail-in-voting are the elderly. And many worry that some of these people won’t even know their ballots are not being counted. Others worry that the new processes are so utterly confusing that many will just give up. In my opinion, Burnett didn’t handle the segment well as she seemed to be trying to “both sides” it.
But you’re not AGAINST voter ID in itself, Burnett asked Hidalgo sweetly. Hidalgo spoke passionately on the subject, clearly worried about the (as she called it) “weaponizing of bureaucracy.”
Why not try to educate people? Burnett asked maddeningly. The segment went on as I silently thanked Hidalgo for appearing and realized that everything wrong with CNN isn’t about to change anytime soon.
So — if you know someone in Texas using mail-in-voting? Please let them know what’s going on. In fact, let EVERYBODY know and tell them to tell everybody. THEY know. We need to make sure every vote counts. And the best way to do that is to bring what’s happening into the awareness of the American people.
