News
Voter ID laws could block millions of voters
A new study says state laws requiring voters to show photo identification will hinder ballot access for millions of Americans and drive down turnout among minorities, the poor and elderly, according to Reuters. The report comes as voter ID laws face legal challenges in several states.
The report, issued Wednesday from the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School, said one in 10 Americans lack government-issued photo IDs required under new laws in 10 states. Those laws affect potential voters this year in Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.
The report said about one-quarter of African Americans, 16 percent of Hispanics and 18 percent of Americans over age 65 do not have ID required under the new laws. It said more than 10 million eligible voters live more than 10 miles from the nearest full-time state ID-issuing office, with many of those voters lacking vehicle access and living in rural areas with limited public transportation.
Supporters of the new rules say requiring photo ID helps reduce voting fraud. They say getting the required ID is no more difficult than getting to the polls to vote.
The new laws face challenges and setbacks in court. In Wisconsin, two state court judges have issued injunctions against implementing the voter ID law, according to The Huffington Post. In the most recent case, an injunction issued Tuesday, a university political scientist testified that more than 301,000 eligible voters, making up 9.3 percent of registered voters, do not have a driver’s license or state ID card.
Voter ID laws in South Carolina and Texas, blocked by the U.S. Justice Department, are currently being weighed in federal court. The American Civil Liberties Union has also filed a lawsuit challenging Pennsylvania’s voter ID law.
The headline should
The headline should read;
“New voter ID law reduces Voter Fraud and could stop thousands from voting multiple times.”
The laws would applied equally regardless of race, age, or religion. The new laws have been challanged by groups supportive of easy voter access to the polls even by those without creditials and thus encouraging fraud.
You see it is all in how you write it.
Let’s try the truth. These
Let’s try the truth. These laws are proposed and passed by Republicans whose primary interest is to design a law to prevent portions of there oposition from voting. Nothing neutral in today’s computer and data files goes into the laws or the design of them. Shame!!!
That’s right. Republicans are
That’s right. Republicans are all evil. Democrats are all pure as the driven snow. If Republicans ruled we would return to the stone age. If Democrats ruled we would have utopia.
Even the Federal Government
Even the Federal Government no longer accepts a voter registration card as proof of citizenship for the I-9 form.
You are 100% correct. If
You are 100% correct. If they can get out to vote they can do the requirements to qualify.
I’ve been showing my photo ID
I’ve been showing my photo ID to vote for over thirty years!! I don’t understand the objection. This protects my vote and reduces voter fraud. Seems to me that only those who perpetrate voter fraud have any reason to squawk about this requirement! If a citizen can register to vote, they can surely also obtain a state ID.
This seem to be taking the
This seem to be taking the County back to when you had to own property in order to vote and even then you had to pay a pole tax in order to vote. This is just unreal and an object be placed in the way to keep the group that will and do vote from voting. This is just another way to cut some people down.
How about having no
How about having no requirements to vote…. maybe we should not even have to pay taxes, but then again if we did not pay taxes there would be no one complaining about the voting requirements.
We all have rules to live by… well most of us.
Give me a break! There is no
Give me a break! There is no way in the world someone should be able to vote without some kind of official identification. There absolutely is fraud today, and it must be addressed. Rather than throw the baby out with the bath water, why not work on reasonable ways of establishing LEGITIMATE identification for those that LEGALLY QUALIFY. It’s absolutuley crucial that we do what’s necessary to maintain the integrity of our elections. Voting is a right, but also a serious responsibility.
Mexico, a third world county
Mexico, a third world county has an ID Voter Law and people form 2-3 hour lines to excercise their right to vote. Come on, don’t develop silly excuses…
Did they ask the the one’s
Did they ask the the one’s with out an ID if they voted in the last election. I bet a large number have not voted in years.
I Wisconsin they can obtain an ID at no cost at the Motor vehicale Department.
No one seems to be in uproar
No one seems to be in uproar about having to have photo ID to drive or get on a plane. People of all incomes drive. Give it away free if needed, as long as ID is verified when issuing.
No one seems to be in uproar over having to provide ID when borrowing money. Etc, etc, etc.
The “smart money” will keep an eye on the groups making the most noise on this. What have they to gain (or keep)?
Voting is a responsibility as
Voting is a responsibility as well as a right. I wouldn’t show up for work without a shirt and shoes. I won’t show up to vote without an ID.
I wonder if, rather than
I wonder if, rather than stating simply “eligible voters” if those persons might take the time to study how many persons who ACTUALLY VOTED would be denied access. I would bet the percentage would be significantly lower.
The simple fact is many (and sometimes most, depending on the election) eligible voters vote rarely, and some never vote at all. The question is not how many eligible voters are affected, but how many actual voters are affected.
As many above have stated, I always vote and have always been required to show ID. This is no imposition, it’s responsible implementation of the greatest freedom we have.
Drive a car,cash a check,open
Drive a car,cash a check,open an account,buy a beer,purchase a pack of smokes,bottle of wine,use a credit card,PHOTO ID REQUIRED…enter the country or elect the government no ID necessary…STUPID OR WHAT?
There is plenty of time for
There is plenty of time for all legal voters between now and the election to get a proper photo ID. The requirements are miniscule.
The opposition, however, wants this to linger through the courts until the time is short and people might be disenfranchised through inaction. Registering in Illinois can be done in the voter’s home by an appointed election judge.
Voting is so important that it must be perfect and without error. Honest totals must emanate from the polls. The big city political machines have corrupted the voting system to their advantage. Dead people vote. Party hacks sit alongside a voter and fill out the absentee ballot.
In fact I would suggest that when less than seventy percent vote, the election ought to be declared invalid and a new election scheduled. Not voting citizens give up the power of the republic to the central government.
I have never had to show an
I have never had to show an ID to vote. Voting is not lilke driving, flying, opening a checking account, or any other comparison. These are all privleges, where voting is a right. There are almost no prosecutions for voter fraud. This is a self-discribed plan to deny voting to a constituency.
Yeah, the ineligible to vote
Yeah, the ineligible to vote constituency.
It is a right for citizens only. If you want everyone present to have that right, change the Constitution.
You had to at some
You had to at some point…………possibly when you registered to vote and got your name on the voter registration list. Are you saying that when you go to the polling place you don’t have to verify anything…..place of residence? Are you saying that you just walk in to your local polling place and vote and that anyone can do so? If what you are claiming is true……….then what and where is the problem?
If you value your right to
If you value your right to vote so much that you won’t even get an ID, no one should be sympathetic for you. People fought and DIED to gain and keep that right.
I have yet to see evidence (rather than just surmisings) that anybody has been UNABLE to get ID.
Can you get welfare without ID?
How do you expect to get to a poll if you can’t get to an ID office?
If you’re too lazy to update your ID when it expires or you get married, that’s your own problem. Don’t cry “disenfranchisement” when your own actions have consequences you don’t like.
Good grief, we used to be responsible for ourselves. Americans used to have some pride. Are we all 3 years old now? If we can’t put forth the effort to get a blasted ID, let us go down the drain, put us out of our misery. We’re so spoiled rotten it’s absolutely disgusting.
I would imagine that those
I would imagine that those that don’t have an ID have plenty of time to get one since they obviously don’t do anything else and must rarely leave their homes! You should have valid ID to register to vote… If you have a job, you had to show ID for your I-9 (required by law); if you drive a car, you should have valid ID; if you travel anywhere by plane; if you smoke; if you drink, if you go to any bar; if you have a bank account; if you have a credit or debit card; if you receive any assistance from federal or state (welfare, state health care, disability, Section 8 housing, etc.) iand etc., etc., etc. These poor ‘disenfranchised voters’ don’t have friends that can assist them? Every community has some type of community action program or place you can contact that will assist residents (free of charge) to get a ride (since they can’t LEGALLY drive without a license) to the MVD to get a state issued ID. Even the small town where I live (less than 2,000 people) has free ride assistance that people use all of the time! If you need to register, go to your local town office – they should have the application to register. They should also be able to tell you who or where to contact for help getting ID! Go to your local library and get on-line if you don’t own a computer or cell phone with internet access to find where you can get assistance with getting ID and registered. On September 25th there will be a nationwide concentrated drive to get people registered to vote! The ONLY people that won’t be able to vote will be those few that are to lazy or really don’t care enough to get it together to meet the miniscule requirements that millions of Americans have already completed so that they can vote OR those that are NOT LEGALLY able to vote (non-citizens, felons). There are no valid excuses for anyone that is an American citizen!
I was told years ago by a man
I was told years ago by a man who I knew to be republican that “we want to create a dictatorship here in American-oh, not like in the third world-and we plan to do it thru the elections. Then we’ll just tell people what they’ll get and they won’t have a thing to say about it.”
Many people are blindly following the republicans vs the democrats, but if a party is ever going to take over America, and kill all our freedoms-it’ll be from the republican side, not the democrats.
THEN how can any one vote
THEN how can any one vote what will be the result