This issue is one of those that should not be an issue. That courts are waisting there time and it is embarrassing. I wanted to lay it out as I see it so maybe I can let it go and sleep better. :(
There are exactly zero cases of voter fraud that have been documented. There is no voter fraud problem that is being solved. None. This, as John Stewart says, is like a leash law for unicorns. Here is a report from the Brennan Center on this issue.
It is therefore exceedingly rational to ask why Republicans (and almost exclusively Republicans are behind the recent spate of Voter ID laws) are pushing Voter ID laws across the country. So, is there any cost to these laws? There is a very specific financial cost to the time, money and resources it takes to create these purposeless laws. It is reasonable to say this cost is waisted. The other cost is the potential of these barriers keeping people from voting. It is reasonable to think that these barriers will keep people from executing their right to vote. If there is a moral high ground, a direction in which to err, it is to ensure that those who are able to vote can. Said another way the cost of supression of votes is far higher than the cost of fraud especially given that there is no identified fraud. To be clear, if there were no costs, then these laws would be fine.
Since I made a big deal about polling place, voter ID fraud not exisiting it is necessary to document that voter supression is something we must actively gaurd against. Voter disenfranchisement, specifically for people of color, has a substantial history in the US. Read the landmark legislation that corrected a real voting problem, the Voting Rights Act of 1965: There were certain jurisdictions for whom their abuses were so extreme that to this day they are not allowed to change their voting laws without federal pre-clearance.
As has long been the case in presidential elections, the majority of the "unlikely to vote" group learn Democratic. So, get out the vote tactics tend to be more effective for Dems and voter supression efforts are more effective for Repubs. (Major difference is the second one is illegal.)
Finally to the question, will the current spate of Voter ID laws suppress the vote in the upcoming election and is it likely to hurt Obama more than Romney. Well, there seems to be an opportunity to apply some common sense.
There are exactly zero cases of voter fraud that have been documented. There is no voter fraud problem that is being solved. None. This, as John Stewart says, is like a leash law for unicorns. Here is a report from the Brennan Center on this issue.
It is therefore exceedingly rational to ask why Republicans (and almost exclusively Republicans are behind the recent spate of Voter ID laws) are pushing Voter ID laws across the country. So, is there any cost to these laws? There is a very specific financial cost to the time, money and resources it takes to create these purposeless laws. It is reasonable to say this cost is waisted. The other cost is the potential of these barriers keeping people from voting. It is reasonable to think that these barriers will keep people from executing their right to vote. If there is a moral high ground, a direction in which to err, it is to ensure that those who are able to vote can. Said another way the cost of supression of votes is far higher than the cost of fraud especially given that there is no identified fraud. To be clear, if there were no costs, then these laws would be fine.
Since I made a big deal about polling place, voter ID fraud not exisiting it is necessary to document that voter supression is something we must actively gaurd against. Voter disenfranchisement, specifically for people of color, has a substantial history in the US. Read the landmark legislation that corrected a real voting problem, the Voting Rights Act of 1965: There were certain jurisdictions for whom their abuses were so extreme that to this day they are not allowed to change their voting laws without federal pre-clearance.
As has long been the case in presidential elections, the majority of the "unlikely to vote" group learn Democratic. So, get out the vote tactics tend to be more effective for Dems and voter supression efforts are more effective for Repubs. (Major difference is the second one is illegal.)
Finally to the question, will the current spate of Voter ID laws suppress the vote in the upcoming election and is it likely to hurt Obama more than Romney. Well, there seems to be an opportunity to apply some common sense.
- Voter ID laws are a barrier to vote.
- Barriers do not increase voting, they decrease it.
- If they decrease voting they will decrease it at a greater percentage among Dems than Repubs.
- These laws are unnecessary (this is the one that confuses me the most. Why is this a "debate"?)
- Unnecessary barriers to voting are a bad thing.
