Greg Palast, journalist, author "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy"

Air Dates: May 1-3, 2021

GREG PALAST, Journalist, Voter Rights Activist & Author of "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy"   

"The most important investigative reporter of our time - up there with Woodward and Bernstein." -- the Guardian

“In the past decade, we have had a couple of billion votes cast in all our elections put together. We have had less than 12 convictions for voter fraud in more than a decade. It is about 600% more likely that you will get struck and killed by lightning than cast a fraudulent vote." – Greg Palast

 This week’s REPORT FROM SANTA FE features a new, timely interview with Greg Palast, journalist, and author of "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy," discussing the move in many states' legislatures to restrict voting rights. Palast is a dedicated voter rights activist and he discusses the new voter suppression laws.

In a backlash to 2020’s historic voter turnout, and under the pretense of responding to baseless and racist allegations of voter fraud and election irregularities, state lawmakers have introduced a startling number of bills to curb the vote. As of March 24, legislators have introduced 361 bills to restrict voting access in 47 states.

Most restrictive bills take aim at absentee voting, while nearly a quarter seek stricter voter ID requirements. State lawmakers also aim to make voter registration harder, expand voter roll purges, or adopt flawed practices that would risk improper purges and cut back on early voting.

The states that have seen the largest number of restrictive bills introduced are Texas (49 bills), Georgia(25 bills), and Arizona(23 bills). Georgia enacted an omnibus voter suppression bill (SB 202) last week, which limits absentee voting, cuts back early voting, restricts the availability and hours of drop boxes. In one particularly cruel provision, SB 202 criminalizes the act of giving snacks or water to voters waiting in line at polling places.

An April 21, 2021 article in the New York Times, "G.O.P. Bills Target Protesters (and Absolve Motorists Who Hit Them)," describes the many measures states are writing as part of a wave of new anti-protest and voter suppression legislation. Republican legislators in Oklahoma and Iowa have passed bills granting immunity to drivers whose vehicles strike, injure, or kill protestors in public streets.

Palast reports on vote suppression and all the legislation to stop people from registering to vote or to stop their votes from counting.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

statewide air times for this weekend's NM PBS-TV's "Report from Santa Fe" featuring an in-depth interview with NYTimes best-selling author Doug Preston.Saturday, April 24, 6:00 p.m. KENW-TV, Channel 3 for the East side of NMSaturday, April 24, 6:00 p.m. - statewide DirecTV airs it statewide on their Channel 3Sunday, April 25, 8:00 a.m. KNME, Channel 5, airs it for all of Northern NM, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe.Sunday, April 25, 8:00 a.m. KRWG, Channel 22, runs it for all of Southern NM out of KRWG-TV in Las CrucesSunday, April 25, 4:30 p.m. KNME's digital channel 9.1 airs it, which is Channel 204 on statewide Xfinity/Comcast.Sunday, April 25, 5:30 p.m. On Dish TV, Channel 3Monday, April 26, you can hear it at 9:30 a.m. on FM radio at KANW, 89.1 FM