Requiring voters to authenticate their identity is a perfectly reasonable and easily met requirement. Such measures are supported by the vast majority of voters of all races and ethnic backgrounds. As the U.S. Supreme Court has noted, voter ID protects the integrity and reliability of the electoral process. All states have a valid and legitimate state interest not only in deterring and detecting voter fraud, but also in maintaining the confidence of their citizens in the security of U.S. elections.
By the way, Hans Von Spakovsky, a man from my own home town of Huntsville, AL, was a plant into the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Dept by Alberto Gonzales BEFORE the US attorney firings so that he would not investigate the letting go of David Iglesias and others. Scott Horton (of Harpers) has done great work investigating the firings and the motivations for doing so.
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - Some people with disabilities say the new voter identification law that takes effect Jan. 1 is unfair and will keep many of them from voting.
They say simply getting the ID is a challenge.
One of the closest bus stops to the east Nashville driver testing center, where someone can get a picture ID, is about one mile from the facility. That can be a far distance for someone on foot and a real challenge for someone in a wheelchair.
Dylan Brown needs a wheelchair to get around and says it is dangerous for him to get from the bus stop to the driver testing center.
There are telephone poles and fire hydrants in the middle of the sidewalk, making it impossible for a person in a wheelchair to navigate the area. The sidewalk also gets extremely narrow with the road in areas.
It's also more than one mile from the nearest bus stop to the Centennial Boulevard driver testing center.
Brown says an extra trip like that to get a photo ID means danger, physical labor, and significant time for a person who has a disability.
"We need to make sure that our most vulnerable people in society aren't being adversely affected by it greater than the rest of the population," said Brown.
Some people with physical disabilities have the option of permanently voting absentee from home.
But Brown says most voters he talked want to be part of the public process in person.
With the new requirements, Brown says early indications through phone surveys conducted by the Tennessee Disability Coalition show about 30 percent of voters with disabilities will simply stop participating, especially in areas like the east Nashville location.
"People who otherwise would vote are not going to vote because it's another obstacle for them to do the process," said Brown.
Once a person with a disability almost makes it to the center, they still have to leave the sidewalk and walk along six lanes of traffic to get inside.
It's a process packed with obstacles that people like Brown say is enough to stop people with disabilities from coming to the polls to vote.
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
Republicans across the nation have enacted such sweeping voter ID reforms aimed at the young, minorities, low income people and those with disabilities that the Brennan Center for Justice concluded it “could make it significantly harder for more than 5 million eligible voters to cast ballots in 2012.”
Five million disenfranchised voters is a lot of people. It might even help the Republicans win the White House in 2012.
Here’s a look at these new voter ID laws in action in Wisconsin during the recall of nine state senators last summer. The Republican legislature’s Wisconsin’s voter ID laws required voters to show photo IDs at the polls this summer during the recalls, however if they didn’t have them, they could still vote (in theory). Starting next year, photo IDs will be required. In 2009, in Wisconsin alone, the cost for issuing voter ID cards was estimated at 2.4 million dollars.
Citing widespread confusion at the polls last summer stemming from improperly trained election officials and uninformed voters, the A League of Women Voters suggested improvements including hiring more poll workers at an added expense, as well as providing more training and taking action to alleviate long lines. Apparently making voting more difficult for some people is a big part of freedom for Republicans.
Other problems noted by the League included:
— In almost a quarter of the polling sites, officials were inconsistent in asking voters to show ID, in violation of the law.
— Some voters showed IDs, such as fishing licenses and employer IDs that would not be valid for voting in 2012.
— Voters were incorrectly told at some polling places to re-register if the address on their photo ID did not match the address on the poll list. The law does not require that the address on their photo ID be current in order to vote, but they do have to show proof of residency when registering.
— In at least four locations voters were incorrectly told they couldn’t vote next year if their driver’s license was expired. The law allows for licenses that have expired after November 2010 to be used.
– Observers found problems experienced by disabled voters with the requirement they sign the poll book, even though the law allows for exemptions.
In short, these voter ID laws were a costly debacle. These same Republicans in Wisconsin have been busy dismantling workers’ rights in order to save “money.” The hypocrisy of their enacting voter ID laws in a state with hardly any voter fraud issues does more than smell of deliberate voter disenfranchisement. Republicans are willing to spend 2.4 million dollars on a non-issue while they kill union rights under the guise of fiscal responsibility.
Ironically, just this year in Wisconsin there were a few widely publicized instances of voter fraud. There was Republican Marcie Malszycki, 30, an aide to state Rep. Warren Petryk, R-Eleva, who voted improperly for Walker in the 2010 election, dead people who signed the Republicans recall petitions against Democrats, the shady practices of Republicans in the recall campaign and “issues” with lost, torn and uncounted ballots in Waukesha by the Republican county clerk during the Supreme Court race (technically more of an election fraud issue).
Cokie Roberts, who served under George W Bush’s administration on the Council on Service and Civic Participation, wrote an article with her husband Steve yesterday in which she called the new voter ID laws a “miscarriage of justice” and urged the Department of Justice to challenge this assault on Americans’ rights. The Roberts wrote, “This is far more than an outrageous attempt to rig the next election. It is a tragic violation of core American principles. How can we possibly promote democracy abroad when we violate such basic rights at home?
Supporters of the new laws say they are necessary to combat voter fraud. But that, to put it bluntly, is a lie.
There is no evidence — none — that fraud is a major problem in any state. Rolling Stone magazine reports “a major probe by the Justice Department between 2002 and 2007 (during a Republican administration) failed to prosecute a single person for going to the polls and impersonating an eligible voter, which the anti-fraud laws are supposedly designed to stop.”
You might remember Cokie for her comment about candidate Barack Obama visiting his dying grandmother in Hawaii during the 2008 campaign. Roberts said “I know Hawaii is a state, but it has the look of [Barack Obama] going off to some sort of foreign, exotic place.” So it appears that her opinions regarding our democracy don’t come from some vested interest in the reelection of Barack Obama. Cokie’s passion for voting rights is no doubt influenced by her father, the late Democratic Congressman from Louisiana, Hale Boggs, who endorsed Lyndon Johnson’s 1965 Voting Rights Act.
In 2007, The Brennan Center for Justice found that the sort of voter fraud addressed by overly restrictive identification requirements is more rare than death by lightning. They wrote in the report, “Overly restrictive identification requirements for voters at the polls — which address a sort of voter fraud more rare than death by lightning — is only the most prominent example.”
The Republicans Voter ID restrictions were a debacle last summer in Wisconsin and will end up costing the state untold amounts of money to address a non-existent issue; an issue so rare it occurs less often than being killed by lightning. These same laws are being enacted all over the country and are set to disenfranchise over 5 million voters.
This, from the party of “freedom.” Republican legislatures have done this in 19 states and two states’ laws were changed by executive order.
Every citizen has the right to cast their ballot. Discriminating against the poor, the young, minorities and the disabled is an unthinkable violation of the evolved principles of this great country. Republicans are going after those who vote Democratic in a deliberate attempt to rig elections and in doing so, they are proving that the GOP is no longer the party of liberty.
In fact, I can’t think of a more antithetically un-American action than stealing votes away from others because of the way they vote. I registered voters in 2008 for the Obama campaign, but I registered anyone who wanted to vote. Some Republicans were shocked that I would do so. My response to them was this is America and I love this country, so I support every citizen casting their ballot for the candidate of their choice. I don’t need to agree with them in order to passionately support their right to do so, and use my free time to assist them in doing so. I wouldn’t want to win an election by cheating or by taking someone else’s vote away from them. That’s not how this country is supposed to work.
The modern day Republican Party is killing the modern American spirit of expanding voters’ rights as we saw in 1965, with the help of misinformation central from Fox News and the con artists who carry their water. The only reason they are doing this is because they fear that they can’t win elections the American way.
What kind of political party fails to believe in the tenets of the very government they seek to control? The Republicans’ voter ID laws will cost us more than money we don’t have; they will cost us our honor as a free democracy in the eyes of the world.
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
Like I said, you are using the wrong lens again. This isn't about race.
what they are doing now is absoulutely about race. it is about race and class war and voter suppression.
if the republicans were not scared of losing, why would they be doing this in the first place....it is about gaining and maintaining power.
AND how do you republicans reconcile your desire for freedom with these freedom stealing laws?????
it is the highest form of hypocracy.
Because the republicans cannot possibly win in the arena of ideas. And they know it. 2012 will be stolen via the voter ID laws as well as where, how many and which types of voting machines are used in states with republican governors and election boards. Pretty simple really. And the Supreme Court? Yea, they're not possibly biased nor influenced or corrupted. Sleep tight.
Colorado conducted the study by comparing the state’s voter registration database with driver’s license records.
...Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-Texas) raised doubts about the reporting, noting that the study itself said it was based on inconclusive data and that it was “impossible to provide precise numbers” on how many people who were registered to vote in the state were not citizens.
In other words, if you don't have a driving license, then you should be classified a non-citizen and denied the right to vote?
Colorado conducted the study by comparing the state’s voter registration database with driver’s license records.
...Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-Texas) raised doubts about the reporting, noting that the study itself said it was based on inconclusive data and that it was “impossible to provide precise numbers” on how many people who were registered to vote in the state were not citizens.
In other words, if you don't have a driving license, then you should be classified a non-citizen and denied the right to vote?
:think:
see, it is about limiting the vote of the people who are lacking means, such as money, transportation, health, etc.. i can not for the life of me figure out why people in this country can not grasp that.
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
that is the thing. a lot of people can't transport themselves. i am talking the poor who have no car. those on a fixed income via social security. you are going to make them pay bus/cabfare, make them stand in line at the license bureau only to be turned away for not having the proper documentation. can this 93 year old woman find her 93 year old birth certificate??? what if they have to go back 2 or 3 times? and how are they going to pay for the cost of the id? a new license is nearly $20 in missouri.
this is not as simple of a process as some of the people supporting these laws make it out to be..
that is the thing. a lot of people can't transport themselves. i am talking the poor who have no car. those on a fixed income via social security. you are going to make them pay bus/cabfare, make them stand in line at the license bureau only to be turned away for not having the proper documentation. can this 93 year old woman find her 93 year old birth certificate??? what if they have to go back 2 or 3 times? and how are they going to pay for the cost of the id? a new license is nearly $20 in missouri.
this is not as simple of a process as some of the people supporting these laws make it out to be..
Not to sound insensitive, but she has has 93 years to get this figured out.[/quote]
Well, it wasn't until recently that it became an issue. So, she didn't need to spend her 93 years on this ID problem. Prior to the new laws, a water or electric bill showing her address would have been good enough.
Voter fraud rare in Maine, elsewhere with same-day registration
Should we make voting as easy as possible so that more people will vote?
If we make voting easier, will many ineligible people vote?
When Maine votes on Nov. 8 on Question 1 — deciding whether to overturn the Legislature’s plan to end voter registration on future election days — it will answer these two questions.
In recent decades, Maine has allowed people to register to vote on Election Day, eliminating the need to register separately and in advance. It is one of 10 states that have so-called “same-day” registration, which will still be in effect on Nov. 8.
The theory is that voting is made easier by eliminating the need for advance registration, so more people will vote. Although many factors affect turnout, in the 2010 elections, average turnout in the “same-day” states was 48.3 percent, compared with 40.9 percent in the United States as a whole.
Encouraging voting is American public policy. For example, the federal “motor-voter” law allows registration when renewing a driver’s license.
While we know much about participation, we have few statistics on illegal voting, almost certainly because voter fraud is rare in all states. For example, an Ohio study of two elections there in which a total of more than 9 million votes were cast, found four cases of voter fraud. Polling data shows that a relatively few people are seriously worried about fraud.
Isolated cases of voting by ineligible voters have been found, but they amount to a tiny fraction of one percent of votes cast. A few illegal voters, some for innocent reasons, are not evidence of an attempt by a political organization to influence the outcome of an election.
North Dakota, counted among the “same-day” states, is the only state that does not require voter registration at all. People simply show identification or are recognized as local residents when they come to vote. The state says that, by keeping voting precincts small, officials are usually able to recognize their neighbors. Voter fraud has not been found, and voting participation is higher than average.
Maine is similar to North Dakota with many polling places relative to population, making it easier for election officials to spot potential fraud.
Aside from North Dakota’s rejection of voter registration, same-day registration might seem to be the most aggressive way to encourage participation by simplifying the process. But it is not.
Some countries require people to vote. In such cases, they use so-called “passive registration,” where the voter does nothing in advance of voting. The government compiles the list of eligible voters based on other data – residential information, tax returns and driver’s licenses. Under this mandatory system, Australia has around 95 percent participation. The voting law is enforced, and violators are subject to fine.
The “passive” system also works where voting is not required by law, such as in Canada. There, if the government has not placed a person on the voting rolls, the person may still register on their own. In this year’s elections, the turnout in Canada was 61.4 percent, well ahead of even the “same-day” states.
It is unlikely that the United States would adopt either mandatory voting or passive registration. Both would probably be seen as putting government into a decision that ought to be up to each voter. That’s why efforts are made to encourage people to vote here by, among other means, making it easy to register.
The Question 1 referendum in Maine is not only a matter of balancing two valid public policy concerns – encouraging voting and discouraging fraud. It is also a politically partisan issue.
Proponents of ending Election Day or “same-day” registration (“no” voters on Question 1) say that allowing people to register while officials are busy with balloting may allow unqualified voters to slip through and commit voter fraud. This is the Republican position.
Opponents, who want to keep the current “same-day” system (“yes” voters on Question 1) say that those who register on Election Day include young and other first-time voters, and low-income people – considered traditional Democratic constituencies. Not surprisingly, this is the Democratic position.
This debate has been taking place all across the country. In almost all cases, the initiative for imposing tougher conditions on voting has come from Republican legislatures. Although they have not presented specific cases of fraud, they appear to fear that easier voting access disadvantages the G.O.P.
Without any proven cases of voter fraud, Maine, with “same-day” registration, tied for first in the country in voter participation in 2010 at 55.5 percent.
As for partisan politics, both Maine and North Dakota went Republican that year.
Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
When voting is made just a little bit harder to do...have to have correct ID, etc.... you certainly are reducing the number of people that are voting. However, are you gaining a more informed overall voter? Someone that doesn't have the understanding to have the proper ID (and I'm not talking about an elderly person who can't stand in line) but then goes in to vote...what kind of understanding of the issues do you think they have?
All in all I think voting should be pretty easy. But I think having a valid, government issued photo id is a good thing.
I guess I should add, we should be figuring out how to more easily get photo id's for people rather than questioning the need for a photo id to vote.
It only make sense to have a photo id to prove your ability to vote. Now let's see where this is really difficult and fix it. Issue a photo id to all recipients of government aid, free of charge. Seems easy enough. Would add cost, but I think it is worth it. Make them show this photo id whenever these services are used (welfare, etc.). Would cut down on people selling food stamps for cash to buy beer, would give these people a valid ID without incurring the cost, would help cut down on voter fraud (even if there isn't much of it, it would help)...win-win-win.
there is not enough vote fraud to justify implementing this from a federal level.
if you want a card for all of those things do not call it a voter card and make it free and easy to get.
You didn't really answer the question, so I'll make it simplier... why isn't it reasonable to expect a voter to present a photo id prior to voting?
it is reasonable to expect that, but lets talk of realities here. not everyone is going to get a photo id for whatever reason. wrong or missing documents, no transportation, fixed income, etc.
i work in a doctor's office, and people can not even bring photo id or insurance cards here to our office to see the physician.
if they can't get an id to see a physician, what makes anybody think that they will get one to vote?
the point is, barriers to voting are being put up when they should be being torn down...
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
there is not enough vote fraud to justify implementing this from a federal level.
if you want a card for all of those things do not call it a voter card and make it free and easy to get.
You didn't really answer the question, so I'll make it simplier... why isn't it reasonable to expect a voter to present a photo id prior to voting?
it is reasonable to expect that, but lets talk of realities here. not everyone is going to get a photo id for whatever reason. wrong or missing documents, no transportation, fixed income, etc.
i work in a doctor's office, and people can not even bring photo id or insurance cards here to our office to see the physician.
if they can't get an id to see a physician, what makes anybody think that they will get one to vote?
the point is, barriers to voting are being put up when they should be being torn down...
Right, I understand that. That is why you have to figure out how to make getting the ID as easy as possible and with help for those in real need. And I don't think you can change the requirements until you have thought about all the potential negative scenarios and developed reasonable plans to help. Doesn't mean you won't have some slipping threw the cracks though.
Isn't this just an anecdotal example...much like those the same people dismiss in welfare fraud threads?
Not to sound insensitive, but she has has 93 years to get this figured out.
attitudes like this will never solve any problem...and only serve to inflame tensions...
Inflame tensions???
Having a photo ID is about as basic as basic gets. Honestly, I don't understand how people in the US society can function without one. So many services, so many background checks, so many everything, rely on a form of identification.
How do you insure that someone is who they say they are if you cannot verify who they claim to represent?
Not to sound insensitive, but she has has 93 years to get this figured out.
attitudes like this will never solve any problem...and only serve to inflame tensions...
Inflame tensions???
Having a photo ID is about as basic as basic gets. Honestly, I don't understand how people in the US society can function without one. So many services, so many background checks, so many everything, rely on a form of identification.
How do you insure that someone is who they say they are if you cannot verify who they claim to represent?
By the way ... I'm Andre the Giant.
hear my name
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
It has been a record year for new legislation designed to make it harder for Democrats to vote — 19 laws and two executive actions in 14 states dominated by Republicans, according to a new study by the Brennan Center for Justice. As a result, more than five million eligible voters will have a harder time participating in the 2012 election.
Of course the Republicans passing these laws never acknowledge their real purpose, which is to turn away from the polls people who are more likely to vote Democratic, particularly the young, the poor, the elderly and minorities. They insist that laws requiring government identification cards to vote are only to protect the sanctity of the ballot from unscrupulous voters. Cutting back on early voting, which has been popular among working people who often cannot afford to take off from their jobs on Election Day, will save money, they claim.
None of these explanations are true. There is almost no voting fraud in America. And none of the lawmakers who claim there is have ever been able to document any but the most isolated cases. The only reason Republicans are passing these laws is to give themselves a political edge by suppressing Democratic votes.
The most widespread hurdle has been the demand for photo identification at the polls, a departure from the longstanding practice of using voters’ signatures or household identification like a utility bill. Seven states this year have passed laws requiring strict photo ID to vote, and similar measures were introduced in 27 other states. More than 21 million citizens — 11 percent of the population — do not have government ID cards. Many of them are poor, or elderly, or black and Hispanic and could have a hard time navigating the bureaucracy to get a card.
In Kansas, the secretary of state, Kris Kobach (who also wrote Arizona’s notorious anti-immigrant law), pushed for an ID law on the basis of a list of 221 reported instances of voter fraud in Kansas since 1997. Even if that were true, it would be an infinitesimal percentage of the votes cast during that period, but it is not true.
When The Wichita Eagle looked into the local cases on the list, the newspaper found that almost all were honest mistakes: a parent trying to vote for a student away at college, or signatures on mail-in ballots that didn’t precisely match those on file. In one case of supposed “fraud,” a confused non-citizen was asked at the motor vehicles bureau whether she wanted to fill out a voter registration form, and did so not realizing she was ineligible to vote.
Some of the desperate Republican attempts to keep college students from voting are almost comical in their transparent partisanship. No college ID card in Wisconsin meets the state’s new stringent requirements (as lawmakers knew full well), so the elections board proposed that colleges add stickers to the cards with expiration dates and signatures. Republican lawmakers protested that the stickers would lead to — yes, voter fraud.
Other states are beginning to require documentary proof of citizenship to vote, or are finding other ways to make it harder to register. Some are cutting back on programs allowing early voting, or imposing new restrictions on absentee ballots, alarmed that early voting was popular among black voters supporting Barack Obama in 2008. In all cases, they are abusing the trust placed in them by twisting democracy’s machinery to partisan ends.
Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
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Needing a ride to Forest Hills and a ounce of weed. Please inquire within. Thanks. Or not. Posts: 58,276
wait what? they don't even check my id 3/4's of the time....it's great being a middle aged white guy.
you need an ID for library books, alcohol, banks, beer, school, driving, insurances, passports, cell phones and utilities, to rent, to do anything.....so YES YOU NEED AN ID TO VOTE! YES YES YES How cant you?
You know how many people there are that sneak into this country??? Anywhere from 11-20 million! You need an id to vote ! PERIOD!
Theres no time like the present
A man that stands for nothing....will fall for anything!
you need an ID for library books, alcohol, banks, beer, school, driving, insurances, passports, cell phones and utilities, to rent, to do anything.....so YES YOU NEED AN ID TO VOTE! YES YES YES How cant you?
You know how many people there are that sneak into this country??? Anywhere from 11-20 million! You need an id to vote ! PERIOD!
on what grounds? there is not enough voter fraud to justify these laws.
have you read this thread?
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
you need an ID for library books, alcohol, banks, beer, school, driving, insurances, passports, cell phones and utilities, to rent, to do anything.....so YES YOU NEED AN ID TO VOTE! YES YES YES How cant you?
You know how many people there are that sneak into this country??? Anywhere from 11-20 million! You need an id to vote ! PERIOD!
on what grounds? there is not enough voter fraud to justify these laws.
have you read this thread?
People are too scared about a National ID card but it would certainly help streamline things like this. If only we could be assured that the information wouldn't be used inappropriately...hahaha.
You could scan in in order to activate the voting booth. Your card could keep your voting history, which you would be able to check and verify that your votes were properly counted. So many things technology could do for us if it weren't for jerks.
Comments
Could voter ID law disenfranchise disabled residents?
http://www.wsmv.com/story/16327237/coul ... -residents
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - Some people with disabilities say the new voter identification law that takes effect Jan. 1 is unfair and will keep many of them from voting.
They say simply getting the ID is a challenge.
One of the closest bus stops to the east Nashville driver testing center, where someone can get a picture ID, is about one mile from the facility. That can be a far distance for someone on foot and a real challenge for someone in a wheelchair.
Dylan Brown needs a wheelchair to get around and says it is dangerous for him to get from the bus stop to the driver testing center.
There are telephone poles and fire hydrants in the middle of the sidewalk, making it impossible for a person in a wheelchair to navigate the area. The sidewalk also gets extremely narrow with the road in areas.
It's also more than one mile from the nearest bus stop to the Centennial Boulevard driver testing center.
Brown says an extra trip like that to get a photo ID means danger, physical labor, and significant time for a person who has a disability.
"We need to make sure that our most vulnerable people in society aren't being adversely affected by it greater than the rest of the population," said Brown.
Some people with physical disabilities have the option of permanently voting absentee from home.
But Brown says most voters he talked want to be part of the public process in person.
With the new requirements, Brown says early indications through phone surveys conducted by the Tennessee Disability Coalition show about 30 percent of voters with disabilities will simply stop participating, especially in areas like the east Nashville location.
"People who otherwise would vote are not going to vote because it's another obstacle for them to do the process," said Brown.
Once a person with a disability almost makes it to the center, they still have to leave the sidewalk and walk along six lanes of traffic to get inside.
It's a process packed with obstacles that people like Brown say is enough to stop people with disabilities from coming to the polls to vote.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
http://www.politicususa.com/en/voter-id ... llion-cost
Republicans across the nation have enacted such sweeping voter ID reforms aimed at the young, minorities, low income people and those with disabilities that the Brennan Center for Justice concluded it “could make it significantly harder for more than 5 million eligible voters to cast ballots in 2012.”
Five million disenfranchised voters is a lot of people. It might even help the Republicans win the White House in 2012.
Here’s a look at these new voter ID laws in action in Wisconsin during the recall of nine state senators last summer. The Republican legislature’s Wisconsin’s voter ID laws required voters to show photo IDs at the polls this summer during the recalls, however if they didn’t have them, they could still vote (in theory). Starting next year, photo IDs will be required. In 2009, in Wisconsin alone, the cost for issuing voter ID cards was estimated at 2.4 million dollars.
Citing widespread confusion at the polls last summer stemming from improperly trained election officials and uninformed voters, the A League of Women Voters suggested improvements including hiring more poll workers at an added expense, as well as providing more training and taking action to alleviate long lines. Apparently making voting more difficult for some people is a big part of freedom for Republicans.
Other problems noted by the League included:
— In almost a quarter of the polling sites, officials were inconsistent in asking voters to show ID, in violation of the law.
— Some voters showed IDs, such as fishing licenses and employer IDs that would not be valid for voting in 2012.
— Voters were incorrectly told at some polling places to re-register if the address on their photo ID did not match the address on the poll list. The law does not require that the address on their photo ID be current in order to vote, but they do have to show proof of residency when registering.
— In at least four locations voters were incorrectly told they couldn’t vote next year if their driver’s license was expired. The law allows for licenses that have expired after November 2010 to be used.
– Observers found problems experienced by disabled voters with the requirement they sign the poll book, even though the law allows for exemptions.
In short, these voter ID laws were a costly debacle. These same Republicans in Wisconsin have been busy dismantling workers’ rights in order to save “money.” The hypocrisy of their enacting voter ID laws in a state with hardly any voter fraud issues does more than smell of deliberate voter disenfranchisement. Republicans are willing to spend 2.4 million dollars on a non-issue while they kill union rights under the guise of fiscal responsibility.
Ironically, just this year in Wisconsin there were a few widely publicized instances of voter fraud. There was Republican Marcie Malszycki, 30, an aide to state Rep. Warren Petryk, R-Eleva, who voted improperly for Walker in the 2010 election, dead people who signed the Republicans recall petitions against Democrats, the shady practices of Republicans in the recall campaign and “issues” with lost, torn and uncounted ballots in Waukesha by the Republican county clerk during the Supreme Court race (technically more of an election fraud issue).
Cokie Roberts, who served under George W Bush’s administration on the Council on Service and Civic Participation, wrote an article with her husband Steve yesterday in which she called the new voter ID laws a “miscarriage of justice” and urged the Department of Justice to challenge this assault on Americans’ rights. The Roberts wrote, “This is far more than an outrageous attempt to rig the next election. It is a tragic violation of core American principles. How can we possibly promote democracy abroad when we violate such basic rights at home?
Supporters of the new laws say they are necessary to combat voter fraud. But that, to put it bluntly, is a lie.
There is no evidence — none — that fraud is a major problem in any state. Rolling Stone magazine reports “a major probe by the Justice Department between 2002 and 2007 (during a Republican administration) failed to prosecute a single person for going to the polls and impersonating an eligible voter, which the anti-fraud laws are supposedly designed to stop.”
You might remember Cokie for her comment about candidate Barack Obama visiting his dying grandmother in Hawaii during the 2008 campaign. Roberts said “I know Hawaii is a state, but it has the look of [Barack Obama] going off to some sort of foreign, exotic place.” So it appears that her opinions regarding our democracy don’t come from some vested interest in the reelection of Barack Obama. Cokie’s passion for voting rights is no doubt influenced by her father, the late Democratic Congressman from Louisiana, Hale Boggs, who endorsed Lyndon Johnson’s 1965 Voting Rights Act.
In 2007, The Brennan Center for Justice found that the sort of voter fraud addressed by overly restrictive identification requirements is more rare than death by lightning. They wrote in the report, “Overly restrictive identification requirements for voters at the polls — which address a sort of voter fraud more rare than death by lightning — is only the most prominent example.”
The Republicans Voter ID restrictions were a debacle last summer in Wisconsin and will end up costing the state untold amounts of money to address a non-existent issue; an issue so rare it occurs less often than being killed by lightning. These same laws are being enacted all over the country and are set to disenfranchise over 5 million voters.
This, from the party of “freedom.” Republican legislatures have done this in 19 states and two states’ laws were changed by executive order.
Every citizen has the right to cast their ballot. Discriminating against the poor, the young, minorities and the disabled is an unthinkable violation of the evolved principles of this great country. Republicans are going after those who vote Democratic in a deliberate attempt to rig elections and in doing so, they are proving that the GOP is no longer the party of liberty.
In fact, I can’t think of a more antithetically un-American action than stealing votes away from others because of the way they vote. I registered voters in 2008 for the Obama campaign, but I registered anyone who wanted to vote. Some Republicans were shocked that I would do so. My response to them was this is America and I love this country, so I support every citizen casting their ballot for the candidate of their choice. I don’t need to agree with them in order to passionately support their right to do so, and use my free time to assist them in doing so. I wouldn’t want to win an election by cheating or by taking someone else’s vote away from them. That’s not how this country is supposed to work.
The modern day Republican Party is killing the modern American spirit of expanding voters’ rights as we saw in 1965, with the help of misinformation central from Fox News and the con artists who carry their water. The only reason they are doing this is because they fear that they can’t win elections the American way.
What kind of political party fails to believe in the tenets of the very government they seek to control? The Republicans’ voter ID laws will cost us more than money we don’t have; they will cost us our honor as a free democracy in the eyes of the world.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Because the republicans cannot possibly win in the arena of ideas. And they know it. 2012 will be stolen via the voter ID laws as well as where, how many and which types of voting machines are used in states with republican governors and election boards. Pretty simple really. And the Supreme Court? Yea, they're not possibly biased nor influenced or corrupted. Sleep tight.
Peace.
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
In other words, if you don't have a driving license, then you should be classified a non-citizen and denied the right to vote?
:think:
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.
This seems to be such a strange issue to get riled up about.
this is not as simple of a process as some of the people supporting these laws make it out to be..
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
Not to sound insensitive, but she has has 93 years to get this figured out.
Well, it wasn't until recently that it became an issue. So, she didn't need to spend her 93 years on this ID problem. Prior to the new laws, a water or electric bill showing her address would have been good enough.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Voter fraud rare in Maine, elsewhere with same-day registration
Should we make voting as easy as possible so that more people will vote?
If we make voting easier, will many ineligible people vote?
When Maine votes on Nov. 8 on Question 1 — deciding whether to overturn the Legislature’s plan to end voter registration on future election days — it will answer these two questions.
In recent decades, Maine has allowed people to register to vote on Election Day, eliminating the need to register separately and in advance. It is one of 10 states that have so-called “same-day” registration, which will still be in effect on Nov. 8.
The theory is that voting is made easier by eliminating the need for advance registration, so more people will vote. Although many factors affect turnout, in the 2010 elections, average turnout in the “same-day” states was 48.3 percent, compared with 40.9 percent in the United States as a whole.
Encouraging voting is American public policy. For example, the federal “motor-voter” law allows registration when renewing a driver’s license.
While we know much about participation, we have few statistics on illegal voting, almost certainly because voter fraud is rare in all states. For example, an Ohio study of two elections there in which a total of more than 9 million votes were cast, found four cases of voter fraud. Polling data shows that a relatively few people are seriously worried about fraud.
Isolated cases of voting by ineligible voters have been found, but they amount to a tiny fraction of one percent of votes cast. A few illegal voters, some for innocent reasons, are not evidence of an attempt by a political organization to influence the outcome of an election.
North Dakota, counted among the “same-day” states, is the only state that does not require voter registration at all. People simply show identification or are recognized as local residents when they come to vote. The state says that, by keeping voting precincts small, officials are usually able to recognize their neighbors. Voter fraud has not been found, and voting participation is higher than average.
Maine is similar to North Dakota with many polling places relative to population, making it easier for election officials to spot potential fraud.
Aside from North Dakota’s rejection of voter registration, same-day registration might seem to be the most aggressive way to encourage participation by simplifying the process. But it is not.
Some countries require people to vote. In such cases, they use so-called “passive registration,” where the voter does nothing in advance of voting. The government compiles the list of eligible voters based on other data – residential information, tax returns and driver’s licenses. Under this mandatory system, Australia has around 95 percent participation. The voting law is enforced, and violators are subject to fine.
The “passive” system also works where voting is not required by law, such as in Canada. There, if the government has not placed a person on the voting rolls, the person may still register on their own. In this year’s elections, the turnout in Canada was 61.4 percent, well ahead of even the “same-day” states.
It is unlikely that the United States would adopt either mandatory voting or passive registration. Both would probably be seen as putting government into a decision that ought to be up to each voter. That’s why efforts are made to encourage people to vote here by, among other means, making it easy to register.
The Question 1 referendum in Maine is not only a matter of balancing two valid public policy concerns – encouraging voting and discouraging fraud. It is also a politically partisan issue.
Proponents of ending Election Day or “same-day” registration (“no” voters on Question 1) say that allowing people to register while officials are busy with balloting may allow unqualified voters to slip through and commit voter fraud. This is the Republican position.
Opponents, who want to keep the current “same-day” system (“yes” voters on Question 1) say that those who register on Election Day include young and other first-time voters, and low-income people – considered traditional Democratic constituencies. Not surprisingly, this is the Democratic position.
This debate has been taking place all across the country. In almost all cases, the initiative for imposing tougher conditions on voting has come from Republican legislatures. Although they have not presented specific cases of fraud, they appear to fear that easier voting access disadvantages the G.O.P.
Without any proven cases of voter fraud, Maine, with “same-day” registration, tied for first in the country in voter participation in 2010 at 55.5 percent.
As for partisan politics, both Maine and North Dakota went Republican that year.
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
When voting is made just a little bit harder to do...have to have correct ID, etc.... you certainly are reducing the number of people that are voting. However, are you gaining a more informed overall voter? Someone that doesn't have the understanding to have the proper ID (and I'm not talking about an elderly person who can't stand in line) but then goes in to vote...what kind of understanding of the issues do you think they have?
All in all I think voting should be pretty easy. But I think having a valid, government issued photo id is a good thing.
It only make sense to have a photo id to prove your ability to vote. Now let's see where this is really difficult and fix it. Issue a photo id to all recipients of government aid, free of charge. Seems easy enough. Would add cost, but I think it is worth it. Make them show this photo id whenever these services are used (welfare, etc.). Would cut down on people selling food stamps for cash to buy beer, would give these people a valid ID without incurring the cost, would help cut down on voter fraud (even if there isn't much of it, it would help)...win-win-win.
if you want a card for all of those things do not call it a voter card and make it free and easy to get.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
You didn't really answer the question, so I'll make it simplier... why isn't it reasonable to expect a voter to present a photo id prior to voting?
i work in a doctor's office, and people can not even bring photo id or insurance cards here to our office to see the physician.
if they can't get an id to see a physician, what makes anybody think that they will get one to vote?
the point is, barriers to voting are being put up when they should be being torn down...
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Right, I understand that. That is why you have to figure out how to make getting the ID as easy as possible and with help for those in real need. And I don't think you can change the requirements until you have thought about all the potential negative scenarios and developed reasonable plans to help. Doesn't mean you won't have some slipping threw the cracks though.
Isn't this just an anecdotal example...much like those the same people dismiss in welfare fraud threads?
Having a photo ID is about as basic as basic gets. Honestly, I don't understand how people in the US society can function without one. So many services, so many background checks, so many everything, rely on a form of identification.
How do you insure that someone is who they say they are if you cannot verify who they claim to represent?
By the way ... I'm Andre the Giant.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
The Myth of Voter Fraud
It has been a record year for new legislation designed to make it harder for Democrats to vote — 19 laws and two executive actions in 14 states dominated by Republicans, according to a new study by the Brennan Center for Justice. As a result, more than five million eligible voters will have a harder time participating in the 2012 election.
Of course the Republicans passing these laws never acknowledge their real purpose, which is to turn away from the polls people who are more likely to vote Democratic, particularly the young, the poor, the elderly and minorities. They insist that laws requiring government identification cards to vote are only to protect the sanctity of the ballot from unscrupulous voters. Cutting back on early voting, which has been popular among working people who often cannot afford to take off from their jobs on Election Day, will save money, they claim.
None of these explanations are true. There is almost no voting fraud in America. And none of the lawmakers who claim there is have ever been able to document any but the most isolated cases. The only reason Republicans are passing these laws is to give themselves a political edge by suppressing Democratic votes.
The most widespread hurdle has been the demand for photo identification at the polls, a departure from the longstanding practice of using voters’ signatures or household identification like a utility bill. Seven states this year have passed laws requiring strict photo ID to vote, and similar measures were introduced in 27 other states. More than 21 million citizens — 11 percent of the population — do not have government ID cards. Many of them are poor, or elderly, or black and Hispanic and could have a hard time navigating the bureaucracy to get a card.
In Kansas, the secretary of state, Kris Kobach (who also wrote Arizona’s notorious anti-immigrant law), pushed for an ID law on the basis of a list of 221 reported instances of voter fraud in Kansas since 1997. Even if that were true, it would be an infinitesimal percentage of the votes cast during that period, but it is not true.
When The Wichita Eagle looked into the local cases on the list, the newspaper found that almost all were honest mistakes: a parent trying to vote for a student away at college, or signatures on mail-in ballots that didn’t precisely match those on file. In one case of supposed “fraud,” a confused non-citizen was asked at the motor vehicles bureau whether she wanted to fill out a voter registration form, and did so not realizing she was ineligible to vote.
Some of the desperate Republican attempts to keep college students from voting are almost comical in their transparent partisanship. No college ID card in Wisconsin meets the state’s new stringent requirements (as lawmakers knew full well), so the elections board proposed that colleges add stickers to the cards with expiration dates and signatures. Republican lawmakers protested that the stickers would lead to — yes, voter fraud.
Other states are beginning to require documentary proof of citizenship to vote, or are finding other ways to make it harder to register. Some are cutting back on programs allowing early voting, or imposing new restrictions on absentee ballots, alarmed that early voting was popular among black voters supporting Barack Obama in 2008. In all cases, they are abusing the trust placed in them by twisting democracy’s machinery to partisan ends.
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
You know how many people there are that sneak into this country??? Anywhere from 11-20 million! You need an id to vote ! PERIOD!
A man that stands for nothing....will fall for anything!
All people need to do more on every level!
have you read this thread?
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
People are too scared about a National ID card but it would certainly help streamline things like this. If only we could be assured that the information wouldn't be used inappropriately...hahaha.
You could scan in in order to activate the voting booth. Your card could keep your voting history, which you would be able to check and verify that your votes were properly counted. So many things technology could do for us if it weren't for jerks.