DNC: Republican Voter ID Drive Disenfranchises Real Voters

[MaineDem]

For Immediate Release
May 5, 2006
Contact: Damien LaVera - 202-863-8148

Republican Voter ID Drive Disenfranchises Real Voters

Washington, DC - This week, voters in Indiana and Missouri moved to the
forefront of the national Republican effort to push voter ID laws that
disproportionately disenfranchise poor, minority, elderly, rural, disabled, and
student voters. On Tuesday, voters in Indiana became the first in the nation to
vote with the Republican's voter ID law in effect. According to reports from
people who called in to a voter protection hotline established by the
Democratic National Committee's Voting Rights Institute (1-888-DEM-VOTE), a
wide variety of voters from across the state were disenfranchised by the law.

In addition, the Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne, Indiana, today reported that
Indiana veterans were disenfranchised by the new law. According to the report,
veterans were turned away despite presenting valid government-issued Veterans
Administration ID cards. The report comes a day after
the Missouri House of Representatives passed a similar voter ID bill in a
strictly party-line vote.

"The fact that a government-issued Veterans Administration ID card was not
enough to permit lawfully registered veterans to cast their ballot shows just
how flawed Republican voter ID laws are," said Democratic National Committee
Chairman Howard Dean. "No American should be denied the right to vote, but to
disenfranchise our brave men and women who have served in our Armed Forces in
defense of our freedoms is completely unacceptable and just doesn't make
sense.

"Laws that disenfranchise people go against our fundamental values as
Americans. This report shows that voter ID laws do, in fact, keep eligible
voters from being able to exercise their right to vote. We should be doing
everything we can to make it easier for people to vote and participate in our
democracy. Instead of looking for ways to keep Americans from casting their
ballots, Republicans should join Democrats in fighting to make it easier, not
harder, for people to vote."

The Indiana Democratic Party today announced it would file a notice of appeal
challenging the recent federal court ruling upholding the voter ID law.
Following the Indiana primaries, the DNC Voting Rights Institute prepared an
analysis of calls received at its toll-free hotline (1-888-DEM-VOTE). The
following is a sampling of calls showing that a wide variety of Hoosiers were
disenfranchised by this law:

A newlywed couple from Marion County who were both registered voters had gotten
married since they last voted in 2004. The husband was allowed to vote but the
wife was not because her name changed and it did not match her photo ID. She
was denied the right to vote.

An elderly disabled man from Posey County was told that he was standing in the
wrong voting line and was instructed to go back out of the building, enter
through a different door and stand in another line. He refused and instead
walked across a gymnasium floor to the other precinct only 20 ft away. He was
denied the right to vote and sent home.

A married woman from Vanderburgh County who was driven by her husband (she does
not drive) to the Department of Motor Vehicles to get an ID presented her
social security card, her medical card, even her voting card, but she was
denied a photo ID because she did not have a birth certificate. She was denied
the right to vote.

A working man from Boone County tried all day to locate his birth certificate
but did not find it in time to make it to the DMV before it closed and before
he had to return to work. He was denied the right to vote.

A Marion County woman who works for the United States Postal Service and was
wearing her full uniform was denied her right to vote because election workers
deemed her U.S.-government-issued employment identification to be an
unacceptable form of identification because it did not have an expiration
date.

A working woman from Elkhart County had a photo ID but was still denied the
right to vote because she had moved and the address on the card did not match
the address in voter list. She persisted and was forced to vote a provisional
ballot (that may never be counted). She called to express her solidarity with
the many other voters who were likewise being turned away. We know from 2004
that her provisional ballot may never be counted and she too may be denied the
right to vote.

###

Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee, www.democrats.
org. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's
committee.

[IndyOp]

1. Woo-hoo! Now this is what I like - KICK, DNC, KICK!

[C_U_L8R]

2. why are republicans scared of voters?

just asking' - rhetorical stylee