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From USA Today:
Our view: Republican ID laws smack of vote suppression
To many Republicans, it is an article of faith that minimalist government works best.
Except, that is, when Republicans want to impose tighter rules for their political benefit. A case in point is the flurry of states —six so far this year— rushing to pass laws requiring voters to bring government-issued photo IDs to polling places. All have Republican governors and GOP-controlled legislatures.
Supporters say this is necessary to prevent voter fraud. But the operative question is: Why, at a time of economic distress and state budget shortfalls, is this such a priority? The answer has less to do with prevention than with suppression.
In theory, there isn't anything wrong with requiring photo IDs to vote, just as they are required to drive, board a plane or cash a check. The Constitution gives states broad latitude to run their elections. And a 2008 Supreme Court ruling upheld an ID law in Indiana, giving other states a green light for their own laws.
So states clearly can impose these requirements. The question is whether they should.
Scratch just gently beneath the surface, and these new measures appear unnecessary at best. Voter fraud is rare and consists largely of the types of actions that IDs would not correct, such as vote-buying and voter intimidation. Fraud is already kept in check by elections officials, poll watchers from both parties, and acceptance of alternatives to photo IDs, such as utility bills.
One study in Minnesota, done after an extraordinarily close Senate race in 2008, found a grand total of seven suspicious votes, out of nearly 3 million cast. No charges were filed that year. Those seven cases were exceeded by the dozen or so elderly nuns in nearby Indiana who were turned away from the polls for lack of picture IDs.
The nuns were exercising a surprisingly common choice. An estimated one in 11— do not have government-issued photo IDs. This, of course, is an option they should be free to exercise. They also have every right to participate in elections, and the government has an obligation to allow them reasonable access to the polls.
I have posted numerous times about 2012 Voter Suppression. And, that it's been wrapped in a LIE of Voter Fraud - WHICH DOES NOT EXIST. Glad to see others finally waking up to it too.
I had posted about Missouri and what the legislature had attempted to do there.
Here's the latest from the Show Me State:
Nixon vetoes Missouri photo ID legislation:
Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed a bill Friday that could have eventually required voters to provide a government-issued photo ID to cast a ballot.
In the closing days of the legislative session, lawmakers passed an amendment to the state’s constitution mandating a photo ID to vote and a bill putting the amendment into practice. Voters will have the final say next year on the amendment, but by vetoing the implementation bill Nixon has prevented the law from going into effect even if it is approved by voters.
“This [photo ID] mandate would disproportionately impact senior citizens and persons with disabilities, among others, who are qualified to vote and have been lawfully voting since becoming eligible to do so, but are less likely to have a driver’s license or government-issued photo ID,” Nixon said in a letter explaining his veto. “Disenfranchising certain classes of persons is not acceptable.”
Yes, this is a Democratic Governor.
From the state of Maine:
From ThinkProgress:
Maine GOP Chair: We Must Make It Harder To Vote Because ‘Democrats Intentionally Steal Elections’
By Ian Millhiser on Jun 13, 2011 at 9:20 am
For nearly four decades, Maine has been one of eight states which provides same-day voter registration to voters at the polls. This policy of enfranchising the greatest number of Maine voters is likely to end, however, now that the GOP-controlled state legislature has passed a bill ending same-day registration and Tea Party Gov. Paul LePage is expected to sign it. Worse, state GOP Chairman Charlie Webster explained it was necessary to disenfranchise the thousands of Maine voters who take advantage of same-day registration every election year in order to save Maine from one of his paranoid fantasies:
“If you want to get really honest, this is about how the Democrats have managed to steal elections from Maine people,” Webster told a columnist for the Portland Press Herald in a piece published Friday. “Many of us believe that the Democrats intentionally steal elections.”
It seems that the obvious is finally catching on to some in the MSM. Before last week, the only person in the MSM who was reporting on these happenings was Rachel Maddow. But, with the editorial in USA Today, and a column by EJ Dionne, and even Matthews had a piece about this on Hardball, the obvious is well, becoming OBVIOUS.
2012 VOTER SUPPRESSION - the only strategy the GOP has.
For another comprehensive piece on this deliberate GOP Voter Suppression, check out this piece at Mother Jones:
Combating Fraud—or Suppressing the Vote?.
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