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In reply to the discussion: What is wrong with requiring a picture ID to vote? [View all]stevenleser
(32,886 posts)61. I covered this and other voter suppression issues in my radio show last thurs. Here is text and link
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/lesersense/2012/11/02/the-presidential-election-who-is-ahead-and-why
Ever since election 2000, Republican attempts at voter suppression have grown more numerous and more brazen. And why not? They got away with suppressing enough legal voters in 2000 to affect the election for President. They are going to continue doing this until the party gets a big enough black eye from it that they have to stop. It could be a long time before it comes to that.
A small part of what has already come out regarding Republican voter suppression efforts this election is as follows:
Pennsylvanias Republicans enacted a strict voter ID law that was struck down by the courts. Some of Pennsylvanias older African American community has never had a state issued ID and were born at home at a time when people didnt necessarily register their births.
In other words, a this voter ID law would have prevented a significant percentage of elderly African Americans from voting. This block votes reliably Democratic 90-95% of the time
Floridas blocked (by the courts) attempt at another broad purge from the election rolls. The courts later approved a more modest version of the purge, but again, here is an attempt to disenfranchise legal voters that had to be turned back by the courts.
Billboards by GOP Donors in Ohio and Wisconsin warning people about stiff penalties for voter fraud.
This is another thing we see from Republicans, efforts to intimidate voters. Now you might say to yourself, whats wrong with these billboards? Well, a small but significant amount of minority voters have a distrust of the establishment and of law enforcement in general. If they see an indication that they will attract law enforcement attention merely by exercising their right to vote, they may not show up at all.
Mailers in Ohio and Arizona were sent out to Democrats by elections officials with the wrong election date (i.e. one or more days after the election)
The instance of this in Arizona was more striking Arizona election officials sent out the right information in English, but the Spanish version had the wrong date. Latinos tend to vote Democratic, Arizonas state legislature and Governor are Republican. You do the math.
Robocalls to Democrats were made in Virginia telling people they could vote by phone for convenience. There is no ability to vote by phone in that state.
In Pennsylvania, despite the blocked law, the state kept putting posters up and sending mailers to voters saying they would need to show ID to vote on election day.
In Wisconsin, Romney campaign poll watchers are being intentionally trained with misleading information to give out to the voters they are supposed to help vote.
A Texas poll worker wrongly tells someone trying to vote early that they need a drivers license. Texas courts in August effectively struck down that states attempt at a voter ID law, but some poll workers are trying to enforce the now struck down law that is not on the books.
We have an odd report of an early voting irregularity in Broward county Florida. The vote tally in a heavily African American community was manually revised down by about 1000 votes. Polling officials originally said a computer glitch was discovered that caused an incorrect high number of votes. They then revised their story to say that it was a human error that caused the error.
Mind you that Florida is one of the states where the GOP is already embroiled in a large voter fraud scandal where one of the firms it hired was turning in thousands of fraudulent voter registration forms.
The firm called Strategic Allied Consulting of Tempe Arizona was not only registering fraudulent voters in Florida, but also in Nevada, North Carolina, Colorado and Virginia.
And finally a story I reported on Sunday, La Porte county Indiana Republican co Director of voter registration Donna Harris had more than 13,000 voters or about 16 percent of the 80,000 La Porte county voters registered in 2008, purged from the roles. The head of La Porte countys Democratic Party has asked the US Department of Justice to investigate.
So we have this torrent of election and voter fraud going on by the Republican Party that makes their shenanigans in Florida in 2000 look small and amateurish by comparison.
You know what scares me, though? These are the things we know about. These are the things that the Republicans have been CAUGHT doing. Does anyone believe we have caught every single instance? Do you think weve even caught two thirds, or a half, or a quarter of the things Republicans are doing to try to steal this election? I dont think so, I think this is probably a small percentage of the cheating that Republicans are doing.
Ever since election 2000, Republican attempts at voter suppression have grown more numerous and more brazen. And why not? They got away with suppressing enough legal voters in 2000 to affect the election for President. They are going to continue doing this until the party gets a big enough black eye from it that they have to stop. It could be a long time before it comes to that.
A small part of what has already come out regarding Republican voter suppression efforts this election is as follows:
Pennsylvanias Republicans enacted a strict voter ID law that was struck down by the courts. Some of Pennsylvanias older African American community has never had a state issued ID and were born at home at a time when people didnt necessarily register their births.
In other words, a this voter ID law would have prevented a significant percentage of elderly African Americans from voting. This block votes reliably Democratic 90-95% of the time
Floridas blocked (by the courts) attempt at another broad purge from the election rolls. The courts later approved a more modest version of the purge, but again, here is an attempt to disenfranchise legal voters that had to be turned back by the courts.
Billboards by GOP Donors in Ohio and Wisconsin warning people about stiff penalties for voter fraud.
This is another thing we see from Republicans, efforts to intimidate voters. Now you might say to yourself, whats wrong with these billboards? Well, a small but significant amount of minority voters have a distrust of the establishment and of law enforcement in general. If they see an indication that they will attract law enforcement attention merely by exercising their right to vote, they may not show up at all.
Mailers in Ohio and Arizona were sent out to Democrats by elections officials with the wrong election date (i.e. one or more days after the election)
The instance of this in Arizona was more striking Arizona election officials sent out the right information in English, but the Spanish version had the wrong date. Latinos tend to vote Democratic, Arizonas state legislature and Governor are Republican. You do the math.
Robocalls to Democrats were made in Virginia telling people they could vote by phone for convenience. There is no ability to vote by phone in that state.
In Pennsylvania, despite the blocked law, the state kept putting posters up and sending mailers to voters saying they would need to show ID to vote on election day.
In Wisconsin, Romney campaign poll watchers are being intentionally trained with misleading information to give out to the voters they are supposed to help vote.
A Texas poll worker wrongly tells someone trying to vote early that they need a drivers license. Texas courts in August effectively struck down that states attempt at a voter ID law, but some poll workers are trying to enforce the now struck down law that is not on the books.
We have an odd report of an early voting irregularity in Broward county Florida. The vote tally in a heavily African American community was manually revised down by about 1000 votes. Polling officials originally said a computer glitch was discovered that caused an incorrect high number of votes. They then revised their story to say that it was a human error that caused the error.
Mind you that Florida is one of the states where the GOP is already embroiled in a large voter fraud scandal where one of the firms it hired was turning in thousands of fraudulent voter registration forms.
The firm called Strategic Allied Consulting of Tempe Arizona was not only registering fraudulent voters in Florida, but also in Nevada, North Carolina, Colorado and Virginia.
And finally a story I reported on Sunday, La Porte county Indiana Republican co Director of voter registration Donna Harris had more than 13,000 voters or about 16 percent of the 80,000 La Porte county voters registered in 2008, purged from the roles. The head of La Porte countys Democratic Party has asked the US Department of Justice to investigate.
So we have this torrent of election and voter fraud going on by the Republican Party that makes their shenanigans in Florida in 2000 look small and amateurish by comparison.
You know what scares me, though? These are the things we know about. These are the things that the Republicans have been CAUGHT doing. Does anyone believe we have caught every single instance? Do you think weve even caught two thirds, or a half, or a quarter of the things Republicans are doing to try to steal this election? I dont think so, I think this is probably a small percentage of the cheating that Republicans are doing.
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What if pigs could fly? In states where photo ID is required there are costs imposed now.
yardwork
Nov 2012
#85
I want you to step back and consider how silly your argument is getting
4th law of robotics
Nov 2012
#94
Nice try. You hope to confuse people by suggesting that the ID cards "could" be free.
yardwork
Nov 2012
#117
Why don't you get right on that? And while you're at it, make all marriages civil contracts, too.
yardwork
Nov 2012
#119
So it's your opinion that if it is not currently in existence/law of the land
4th law of robotics
Nov 2012
#124
How can we fix anything if we spend time fixing shit that doesn't need fixing.
Hassin Bin Sober
Nov 2012
#133
So doing what a great many other nations have already done is not impossible
4th law of robotics
Nov 2012
#125
Whether it seems "onerous enough" is beside the point, it's illegal (see: Voting Rights Act).
Spider Jerusalem
Nov 2012
#20
Per the US Supreme Court it is not illegal if there is no charge to obtain the ID. n/t
PoliticAverse
Nov 2012
#51
Requiring people to bring and then show a picture ID at the polls would slow the
JDPriestly
Nov 2012
#99
Which begs the question: What is the precise and relevant amount that is not...
LanternWaste
Nov 2012
#104
Unless an ID is issued to every single citizen, those without them will not be able to vote
rbixby
Nov 2012
#7
Documents that are often required to get an ID, like a copy of your birth certificate,
Chiyo-chichi
Nov 2012
#15
make it a federal law that birth certificates for obtaining voter i.d. are free.
BlueMan Votes
Nov 2012
#46
People would still have to pay for the transportation to the DMV to get an ID issued.
JDPriestly
Nov 2012
#111
If they can't get to the dmv, they probably can't get to the polls either...
BlueMan Votes
Nov 2012
#122
Yes, because I am privileged. I have a job that doesn't require me to punch a clock.
yardwork
Nov 2012
#138
I like Canada's laws, if you don't have photo ID someone with an ID can proclaim you are who you say
NotThisTime
Nov 2012
#18
Give people notice and it might be OK, even though it is still not necessary.
IllinoisBirdWatcher
Nov 2012
#19
It is designed to suppress votes as many in the cities rightfully dont trust
libtodeath
Nov 2012
#23
I am a foodstamp and medicaid worker, all my clients HAVE to havd ID!!
Puzzledtraveller
Nov 2012
#27
Why should there be a requirement to have a photo id to vote? Since there's only
sinkingfeeling
Nov 2012
#31
Well, considering that 30 states all at once have voter ID bills (written by ALEC) either passed
Lydia Leftcoast
Nov 2012
#35
Agree with everyone who says it's a poll tax and a means to suppress the vote.
forestpath
Nov 2012
#37
And a distraction\red herring from the reality that 1% of the country's population
coalition_unwilling
Nov 2012
#50
I currently live in Ohio, but not for long, and I cannot get a state ID...
a la izquierda
Nov 2012
#40
Not a problem is you offer free, easily accessible photo ids to everyone, IMO.
pointsoflight
Nov 2012
#43
Nothing....as long as there is time allowed to get it, and there is no charge for it....nt
AzSweet
Nov 2012
#47
If a poll worker knows you personally in KY, you don't have to show ID...
Comrade_McKenzie
Nov 2012
#52
I covered this and other voter suppression issues in my radio show last thurs. Here is text and link
stevenleser
Nov 2012
#61
Simple. Our problem isn't voter fraud - it's that less than half of eligible voters bother to VOTE!
HopeHoops
Nov 2012
#91
It is certainly not a bad idea in and of itself; but neither is passing a series of laws
LanternWaste
Nov 2012
#120
Here's two reasons: It's a solution in search of a problem. The potential for abuse is too high. n/t
Egalitarian Thug
Nov 2012
#121
What's wrong with changing the rules weeks before an important presidential election?
fried eggs
Nov 2012
#135