Donald Trump’s efforts to discourage people from voting have taken on many forms — some loud and sinister, some quiet and simple. The simplest resulted from the stroke of his big black Sharpie on the afternoon of Inauguration Day 2025. Acting on Project 2025 priorities in the first hours of his second term, Trump trashed a Biden executive order calling for the federal government to promote voter registration. Imagine that. Ten years into the Donald Trump experience, reality still seems surreal. Here was the newly-sworn leader of our constitutional republic erasing his predecessor’s high-minded attempt to encourage more Americans to vote. The premise of President Biden’s order, signed in 2021, was simple: When citizens interact with federal agencies — visiting the Social Security Administration’s website, for instance, or visiting a Veterans Affairs office — there should be information about registering to vote in their home states.  The idea was to give eligible Americans more opportunities to register without having to seek out a separate government office, website or registration event. Such a thing could only become controversial in these dopey, divisive times. Hysterical Republicans claimed that Biden was trying to federalize voter registration and give an advantage to Democrats in the 2024 elections.  Imagine that: Republicans saw no benefit in getting more Americans registered to vote, so they assumed Biden was up to no-good. But there was no evidence that partisanship motivated Biden to sign the order. Rather, it was seen as a way to give a nudge toward an existing law, pushing federal departments to do more to encourage voter registration under the National Voter Registration Act. “It is our duty to ensure that registering to vote and the act of voting be made simple and easy for all those eligible to do so,” Biden’s order said. On his first day in office last year, Trump revoked it. Now comes Maryland Rep. John Olszewski to revoke the revocation. The freshman congressman, a Democrat, last week introduced the ASSURE Act to codify Biden’s order and “embed voter registration into everyday interactions with the federal government.” (ASSURE stands for Agency Support for Secure and Universal Registration Enhancement.) Olszewski, once a teacher of history and civics in Baltimore County schools, is joined in sponsoring the bill by Rep. Sarah McBride, the Delaware Democrat. “As a government teacher, I spent years teaching my students that democracy only works when people participate in it,” Olszewski said in a press release. “If someone is interacting with their government to access veterans benefits, Social Security or another federal service, we should use that opportunity to make sure they know how to register to vote.” If it becomes law, the ASSURE Act will direct federal agencies to include voter registration information among the services they provide. According to Olszewski’s staff, the law would restore another longstanding policy, also reversed by Trump, that allows nonpartisan groups to provide voter registration assistance at naturalization ceremonies. Imagine that. Added McBride in the joint press release: “At a moment when this administration continues to undermine voting rights, particularly for Black Americans and communities of color, this work is more urgent than ever.” I’ll say. There’s a big repair job ahead for Democrats, should they gain control of the House and even the Senate in November’s midterm elections. Part of the repair must include reacquainting many Americans with the fundamentals of democracy, a kind of civics class for the nation. Making Election Day a national holiday, requiring states to offer same-day voter registration — such gestures would make a powerful statement about the importance of voting, the need for everyday Americans, and not just the billionaire class, to exert their influence on government. “We should make it easier for eligible Americans to participate in our democracy – not put up unnecessary barriers,” Olszewski said. “The ASSURE Act is a simple idea: Meet people where they are, make registration easier and make our democracy more accessible to everyone who is eligible to participate.” Imagine that. Dan Rodricks writes weekly for Baltimore Fishbowl. His play, “Baltimore, You Have No Idea,” will be on stage again at the Baltimore Museum of Art in December. ...read more read less