By Samuel Short October 24, 2024 at 9:34am
When it comes to criticizing the left, truth matters.
Where Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, have provided conservatives with daily nuggets worthy of immense criticism, the right must always be vigilant in seeking the facts as the basis of this criticism — lest we sink to the left’s miserable standard.
Wednesday’s social media X post from political commentator Libs of TikTok provided good evidence as to why we should all heed this warning.
In the video of Walz and his son, Gus Walz, the latter can be seen being assisted by his father as he voted for the first time, KMSP-TV reported. Wednesday, when the video was recorded in St. Paul, Minnesota, marked ten days since his 18th birthday.
Some on the right were quick to pounce on Walz, questioning the legality of the governor’s actions within Minnesota state voting law.
Libs of TikTok included a photo of Minnesota state law, with text highlighted that read, “Are there restrictions on the individuals who may provide assistance to a voter?”
Another highlighted portion under the list of those prohibited from providing assistance said, “A candidate for election.”
Wow! Here is Tim Walz appearing to help his son vote.
According to Minnesota law a candidate can’t assist someone with voting.
Did Tim Walz break the law?
H/t @GrageDustin pic.twitter.com/B6rx2PIujT
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 23, 2024
Is Tim Walz America-last?
This would mean that under the law, Walz is restricted from helping his son vote, right?
No.
As the community note on the post stated, this is no longer the law in Minnesota: “The statute referenced was amended in June 2023 in Minnesota Omnibus Bill HF 1830 The amendment struck ‘a candidate for election’ from the individuals providing assistance to vote section. This was because it was deemed unenforceable due to violating the Voting Rights Act.”
The note also provided a link to an ACLU release from April 2020 explaining how this law changed.
The former restriction violated the supremacy clause of the United States Constitution and the Federal Voting Rights Act, according to Ramsey County District Judge Thomas Gilligan.
Therefore, the law was deemed unenforceable.
So, Walz did not break the law when he helped his son vote.
While critics of the Democratic ticket don’t have anything to draw on from this moment, there is no shortage of legitimate criticism for Walz.
Since being chosen by Harris is early August, his lies about his military rank upon retirement and his supposed use of IVF to have a family are two that come to mind.
If conservatives hope to prove themselves better than the left, we must always cling to truth even when it is inconvenient.
Smacking down Walz for breaking an election law would have been a satisfying victory, but it would have also been a dishonest one.
Sam Short is an Instructor of History with Motlow State Community College in Smyrna, Tennessee. He holds a BA in History from Middle Tennessee State University and an MA in History from University College London.
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