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So far, this election’s most controversial debate (other than the recent return of the birthers) is arguably voter I.D. laws.
Thirty-two states have already implemented some sort of voting identification law, and some of the strictest laws are in places where, according to a Pew Hispanic Center analysis of census figures, the minority population has sky-rocketed.
The Brennan Center for Justice has criticized many of the new voter identification laws as discriminatory, estimating that 11 percent of eligible voters lack government-issued identification. I have even come across some of the (admittedly, more absurd) commentators of online news stories that wholeheartedly believe President Obama won his election in 2008 due to deliberate and widespread voter fraud.
Personally, I’ve always been on the fence about voter identification laws. I understand the concerns of both sides. I understand the necessity of verifying votes, especially when we need identification for everything from renting sports equipment to buying alcohol. Yet, I understand the concern of disenfranchising certain populations – Latinos, African Americans, the poor and college students – all groups that are less likely to have acceptable identification and who make up key parts of the Democratic voting bloc.
So, before formulating my opinion, I decided to follow the research to lead me to the most logical outcome.
Take Wisconsin for example. A recent study found that in the 2004 election, the state had a voter fraud rate of 0.0002 percent – all of which involved people with felony convictions who weren’t eligible to vote after being released from prison. No fakers, no deliberate impersonations.
That means actual cases of voting fraud are so rare, that a voter is much more likely to be struck by lightning than to impersonate another voter at the polls.
Those figures didn’t stop Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus from claiming that Wisconsin is “riddled with voter fraud.”
Jump over to Indiana, however, and we see exactly the kind of voter fraud Republicans are trying to protect us from. In February, Republican Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White was found guilty on six felony counts of voter fraud, theft and perjury. This happened despite a 2005 Indiana law that implemented “the strictest voter I.D. requirements in the nation.”
So, there you have it: Republicans are trying to protect our elections from the fraud they commit with their voter identification laws, which have now proven to be completely ineffective anyway.
This is media sensationalism at its finest. James O’Keefe and other Republican campaign strategists have effectively scammed voter fraud into existence.
Even the Justice Department has objected to voting identification laws in multiple states because they would have a disproportionate impact on minority voters. Attorney General Eric Holder has said such laws aren’t likely to make elections insusceptible to fraud.
If Republicans have to make something up in order to prove their point, they probably don’t have a point to make in the first place.
About Felipe Diaz
Voter fraud is a real issue. However, it isn’t the widespread problem many make it out to be. Here in Texas, our legislators commit fraud when they part-take in the action of “ghost voting.”
i think both sides commit fraud in one way or another. But there is a problem with voter fraud. Not big but there is one.
When I go to vote, I have to show my ID. I don’t see how this is an issue. They already have a list of people who are registered, and then you show your ID. WHAT IS THE PROBLEM??? If you’re a citizen and eligible to vote, you will be able to get a gov’t issued ID no problem.
there should be a system where you have to insert your STATE ID, SS # and a thump print just to make sure its you .
Feds setting us up in Florida.
A hoax to oppress the minority voter.
The numbers don’t support casting such a wide net. The real motivation is voter disenfranchisement and discouraging participation.
This is seems that some people are scared at the vote might not go there way so they make it harder for people to vote
The vote in Florida traditionally has been close. It’s good to make sure fraud is curtailed.
Get an ID, there is no excuse not to have one. The poor have them. College students have them. There is no valid argument why not to show an ID when voting. What the Left is inserting is an emotional fallacy. It’s difficult to prove fraud when there is no record of who voted because they cannot be identified. How much more equal does it have to be? Everyone has an ID, everyone can vote.
everyone should have an i.d. anyway, liberals would like us with no i.d., without which we cant evern check out a library book, let alone find a job, they would probably like us barefoot and pregnant also then they can keep selling minorities welfare for votes!
Just look at what happened in Florida and Ohio in 2000. Total disregard for the popular vote and/or blocking minorities as much as possible until poles closed.
Ah well, with 1.8 deceased still registered who knows if the dead speak.
Opinions on the issue do not matter. The numbers are very clear, as the article stated: there is NO widespread voter fraud. This is another attempt at creating moral panic to disenfranchise a certain group of citizens…similar to what we saw a few months ago with the birth control “issue.” Again, your personal opinions mean nothing in the face of contradictory research and data. So by all means, for those of you who believe voter fraud is a “widespread problem,” continue to drink the Kool Aid and regurgitate the TV box.
I’m as progressive as the next guy. maybe even more, but I don’t understand the issue behind getting an ID. I went to the DMV and got a non-driver’s ID car.
*card
voter fraud = myth. all got started with i think 2-4 cases? I was reading about it again recently but forgot the actual number. And it’s not FRAUD at all–people weren’t actually casting votes more then once. Anyway @bryan anlas you should check out work by Brennan Center, Advacement Project, Colorlines, Project Vote, NAACP, VoteSmart, ColorofChange, Voter Participation Center, League of Women Voters….you get my drift?
and @Kev Sa just having “an ID” isn’t enough…you have to have the RIGHT ID for your particular state now…I’m sure you read about the gun vs. student ID debacle? just because it’s easy for some of us (myself included) doesn’t mean others share our privilege. I would suggest subscribing to the following if you’re interested in learning more about ballot initiatives. good resource http://ballot.org/
Beatrice, my question is about why many of us don’t have ID cards. I do agree that conservatives are using this as a way to try to prevent us from voting. By why don’t we have these cards?
Many elders can’t get their ID cards cos they don’t have the proper ID’s to get one. Some of them don’t have recordings of their births and many aren’t even recorded in their town halls, hospitals or elsewhere. Even so, many of the states are charging way too much to get them. Many can not get to the DMV cos of transportation or they’ve been shutdown.
In FLA a hero of WW II was recently purged from the voters role cos they think he isn’t a citizen of the US. The GOP are bringing back the old Jim Crow laws and are breaking the Voting Rights Act of 64′ in these states.
I don’t have to use an ID to vote cos they use my signature which no one can copy.
Thanks Leslie, that answers my question.
You’re welcome Bryan.