I would think that if, in a given scenario, challenges are issued predominantly to members of a certain race or gender this would be problematic, or at least would merit some explanation. The GOP explanation for the list (which contained African American names) was that it was some sort of follow up from voter registration/marketing efforts. Geography is probably a legitimate explanation for this.
Try this: cherries in season sure are yummy.
Feels good, huh?
Seriously, I'm not sure this one instance much matters. We already know, because the Republicans have said so, that they're planning to challenge a lot of new voters. And a lot of those voters will be black or Hispanic, and probably poor. And I'm not so concerned about 1800 names of unknown import when there are 60,000 absentee ballots that seem to have been lost in Florida.
Yeah, I know--that's why my normally skeptical, conspiracy-theory-hating self is so reluctant not to believe this latest news. B/c it's so clear, there's such a pattern of intended Republican voter suppression. I'm like, "really? This is just a list of people they're sending election mail to? Yeah, riiiight..."
Cherries. That would be nice. But it's pumpkin season now. Pumpkin is good too.
Well, for the cynical response: clearly a GOP-coordinated, multi-state effort to suppress minority votes is happening. Raising the alarm about this particular instance, whether or not the case is airtight, is simply working the refs and making double-damn sure that the GOP knows they are being watched.