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Subscribe to RSSIn an election year dominated by battles over health care mandates, tax rates, and rising gasoline prices, it’s the mechanics of voting – and who’ll get to vote in November – that’s getting full-time attention from state legislators, election lawyers, and judges.
In the latest example, the Virginia state Senate is headed for a vote Friday on a new voter identification requirement – one more indication that the voter ID controversy will keep boiling in legislatures and in the courts right up to Election Day.
These new voter ID laws are being proposed almost exclusively by Republican legislators and governors in states throughout the nation, spawning both litigation and angry rhetoric from Democrats.
“All of a sudden after the 2008 election, these (voter ID laws) miraculously appear,” said Rep. Frederica Wilson, D- Fla. at a recent anti-voter ID event at the Capitol. “Why? Because we have a black president in the White House and it is to stop all of the people of color from … coming out to vote, because they (the proponents of voter ID laws) know who they are targeting …"
Here’s the status of some recently enacted voter ID laws and states where such laws might be considered this year:
Enacted but blocked
South Carolina: Last December, the Justice Department denied approval of the state’s voter ID law requiring voters to present photo identification that Gov. Nikki Haley had signed in May. Under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, South Carolina is one of nine states that must seek approval, or “pre-clearance,” from the Justice Department or a federal court in Washington, D.C., in order to make any change in voting procedure.
State Attorney General Alan Wilson brought suit in federal court, arguing that the requirements “are at most a temporary inconvenience” to some voters. The state contended that its law was nearly identical to one enacted by Indiana and upheld by the Supreme Court in 2008. Therefore barring South Carolina from doing what Indiana had done would “raise serious constitutional concerns” about whether Section 5 “violates South Carolina’s right to equal sovereignty.”
In a separate but related case with big implications for voter ID laws, Shelby County, Ala., is fighting in the federal appeals court in Washington to have Section 5 of VRA struck down as unconstitutional. The appeals court heard oral arguments on Jan. 19 and a ruling is likely in the next several weeks. The Shelby County case will likely end up before the Supreme Court and if the justices were to strike down Section 5, the Justice Department would no longer be able to pre-emptively block changes in voting laws. The department would still be able to use another Section of the VRA to challenge voting laws that have a racially discriminatory impact.
Enacted but likely to be blocked
Texas: State Attorney General Greg Abbott filed a suit last month in federal court, asking that Texas be permitted this year to use the photo ID law Gov. Rick Perry signed last spring.
Under Section 5 of the VRA, the Justice Department is now considering Texas’s law, having asked for additional information from the state on the race and ethnicity of Texas voters and drivers. The department must give its response to the Texas law by March 12.
In his filing, Abbott said Texas did not have the racial and ethnic data the Justice Department wanted. “Indeed, the very reason Texas refuses to maintain racial and ethnic data on its list of registered voters is to facilitate a colorblind electoral process,” he said.
Even in the unlikely event the Justice Department were to approve the Texas law, opponents of the law contend that there would be problems implementing it.
“The state is not ready to allow citizens the ability to obtain this kind of voter ID,” said Rep. Charlie Gonzales, D- Texas. “It goes way beyond just going to the Department of Public Safety and standing in line. You still have to have your birth certificate; if you’re divorced and your name is different you have to get a certified copy of your divorce decree. There are so many hoops to jump through.”
Enacted but may be blocked
Laws similar to those in South Carolina and Texas have passed in several states and are likely to be opposed by the Justice Department over the same concerns.
Alabama: Another Section 5 state, Alabama passed a voter ID law which doesn’t take effect until 2014.
Mississippi: Voters last November approved a ballot initiative to create a photo ID requirement. But the legislature must provide funding to implement the law and the state must receive Justice Department approval since Mississippi is a Section 5 state.
Wisconsin: On Tuesday Wisconsin conducted its first elections under the voter ID law that Republican Gov. Scott Walker signed last year. Wisconsin is not covered by Section 5 of the VRA but challenges have already been launched. On Thursday civil rights groups and a labor union coalition filed a suit against the law arguing that it discriminates against black and Latino voters. The American Civil Liberties Union has also filed a suit seeking to block enforcement of the law. One argument ACLU makes is that the cost of obtaining a copy of a birth certificate ($20 in Wisconsin, more in other states) in order to get a state ID card would be “a severe financial burden” for some people, a burden that violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The voting in municipal and county primary elections in Wisconsin went smoothly, according to the Associated Press. Walker commented on his Twitter account: “1st election w/photo ID required & it seems to have run well. Proof that common sense still works.”
But Rep. Gwen Moore, D- Wisc., a longtime political foe of Walker, alleges the governor "clearly has had a goal for many, many years to disenfranchise people of color."
She also contended that the law would hurt President Barack Obama’s chances to win the state in November, adding, “This is strictly designed to disenfranchise people who would otherwise vote for Democrats."
Asked to comment on Moore’s remarks, Walker’s spokesman Cullen Werwie said, “Requiring photo identification to vote is common sense – we require it to get a library card, cold medicine, and public assistance. Gov. Walker will continue to implement common sense reforms that protect the electoral process and increases citizens’ confidence in the results of our elections.”
May be enacted this year
Virginia: The state Senate is likely to vote Friday on a bill that would require a voter to present some form of identification but would allow him or her to use an employee identification card containing a photograph of the voter, or a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, or paycheck that shows the name and address of the voter. As a VRA Section 5-covered state, Virginia would need to gets its law cleared by the Justice Department.
Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania House passed a voter ID bill last year. Both Republican and Democratic sources say that there will be a renewed push for voter ID to pass in the state Senate, where the GOP has a 30 to 20 majority, and to be sent on to Republican Gov. Tom Corbett for his signature in the next couple of months. Corbett has said he supports a voter ID law.
Minnesota: A Minnesota state senate committee has approved a proposed amendment to the state constitution to require photo ID for voting, but it has yet to be approved by the full state senate and the state House. Last year, Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, vetoed a voter ID bill which had been passed by the Republican-majority state legislature.
Missouri: On the November ballot is a proposed amendment to the state constitution which would allow for the legislature to impose a photo ID requirement. Republican state Sen. Bill Stouffer, the sponsor of that measure, predicts it will pass with 75 percent or more of the vote. The legislature last year passed a photo ID bill which Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed.
Recently enacted
Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Kansas all enacted photo ID laws last year. None has yet been enjoined or struck down. None of those states are covered by Section 5 of the VRA.
Not likely to be enacted this year
Iowa: The state’s Republican Secretary of State Matt Schultz has proposed a photo identification law but state Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal opposes the idea.
Ohio: The Ohio House passed a photo ID bill last year but the Senate didn’t act on it. The prospects do not look good for passing a bill this year, said Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, a Republican.
He said the photo ID bill last year “polarized people over the whole concept of election reform and modernization. The photo ID bill was much more ‘nuclear,’” he said, than another bill, which he supported, to shorten and standardize the early voting period in every country in the state. “Once it (the photo ID bill) came on the scene, the common-sense conversations stopped and … it was really hard to build consensus around thoughtful reforms,” Husted said.
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Wow, the Democrats just can't get off the Racist agenda. A person is elected to office based upon a lot of things.....not his nor her color.
And, just why were you elected to office, Rep. Wilson ?
Actually, a lot of people have come out and said that they voted FOR Obama specifically because he was black. And the left calls the right racist?
Oh, and of course there's the fact that these laws are nothing new and only came about en mass recently because of the wave of Republican majorities in state legislatures from the 2010 elections.
Well there is a large group of #GOP that believe and preach that President Obama (First Black President) was not born in America, Is that racism?
Or yelling that the President a liar during the State of the Union?(Never happen before)
Or sticking your finger in the Presidents Face?
Its sad when you need to surpress voting on one group of voters to try to win election. There is not a voter fraud problem in the US so why are these laws being pushed?
When you know your going to lose you will always try to change the rules!!!
@ldo:
Unfortunately no becuase Teapubs keep exposing their racist and women hating agenda. So NO ldo we can not yet move on. This is why we need a strong Republican Party.
We need a strong Republican party but right now, that just doesn't exist, and it's not good for either side. Right now, we have a Republican party usurped by loons and goons whose only goal is to bring down President Obama, regardless of the cost to the country, regardless of the damage. Oh, they have a few other ulterior motives, like imposing an authoritarian religious regime on the country, and controlling womens access to reproductive healthcare services.
Repairing our badly damaged and crumbling roads, our airports, bridges, dams, levees, schools, hospitals, national parks, our electrical and water grids? Creating badly needed jobs and strengthening an economy teetering on the edge of collapse?
No, that’s not even a blip on their radar, too busy preaching tax cuts for the rich and “austerity” and “sacrifice” for everyone else, like a fat man telling someone dying of starvation the way to get better is to eat even less, OR die quickly.
And as a result, we have a Democratic Party gradually starting to lose its way as well, rife with DINOs and Blue Dogs and the incompetent or lazy or co-opted. Without an honorable opposition, we have very little with which to keep our parties honest.
We need a strong, healthy, honorable Republican Party to stay strong, healthy and honorable ourselves. The Republican Party was once a champion of civil rights, personal responsibility and a regulated government, and engendered people like Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower.
Today, Mitt Romney’s father would not recognize the Republican Party his son would like to head, Ronald Reagan’s son says his father would be furious with what the Republican party has become - a party utterly dominated by the rich, the religious fanatic, the psychotic, and the jingoistic bigot. The last remnants of the decent, honorable Old Time Republican party are either senile or dead, what’s left is vitriolic, mean-spirited and downright stupid.
OBAMA IN 2012,
70+ SEATS FOR DEMS IN THE SENATE,
CONTROL OF THE HOUSE,
Put JOHN "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a SCOTCH AND TONIC today" BOEHNER, "CANTDO ANYTHING" CANTOR, AND MITCH PEABODY MCCONNEL ON A SLOW PINK BUS TO CHINA...
Well @!$%# Ido, if the republicans are tired of being called racists, they can consider stop acting like racists...
Cut the junk... you do know it has nothing to do with skin color... it has EVERYTHING to do to make sure that whomever voted for Obama has as little opportunity to vote for him again.... they have thrown out college cards, but included NRA cards, gun permits... you name it... they have done it again.... The GOP has no candidates but is going to make sure that there as few people voting democratic as possible.
Ron in Seattle, take a pill and chill, will ya. The Democrats were plenty mean spirited, dishonest, fanatical, psychotic when it came to Bush, so stop being a hypocrite.
And when you're worried about the crumbling bridges and roadways, just remember that Obama has buried us in so much debt that we're paying $40 billion a day just in interest. Imagine how that money could be used instead of paying the Chinese.
No matter how hard you rethuglicans try to make it for people to vote,you will still lose.All this game playing will not help you one bit. Most Americans see you people for what you are.Thugs.So you may as well pack it in, you are about to have your a$$ handed to you. Change the rules in the middle of the game,typical rethuglican strategy. Or I'm going to go home and tell my daddy on you. Loser Party.To bad what comes out of your butt makes more sense then what comes out of your mouth.
All of a sudden after the 2008 election, these (voter ID laws) miraculously appear,
This is just a scam from Karl Rove to make sure that the Republicans steal the Presidency from the Democrats., just like they did with Al Gore.
So it is racist to suggest that in order to vote in this country one should have to prove they are legally eligible to vote? Did someone tell that to the unions because they all require that all union members have to show their union ID cards before they are allowed to vote in union elections. The hypocrisy.
People need to have identification. Otherwise, just like the Democrats in every election, people will vote 4-5 times using different names and the illegal aliens will also vote. That's how Illinois got enough votes for John Kennedy to become president.
These GOP led voter-disenfranchisement laws are an assault on our very democracy.
Every single one of these GOP anti-voter laws need to be struck down.
.
So, you need an ID to buy beer, but don't need one to VOTE?
That makes sense.
In this day and age, just HOW does one do anything without getting an ID? Try getting on a plane without one. Or cash a check. Or drive. Or go to school.
If the dems are so bad up that they have to get street people to vote for them, then maybe they should take a good look at what they are pushing. Or maybe they ARE pushing the welfare society.....on purpose.
That actually makes more sense than "no ID"..
"Well there is a large group of #GOP that believe and preach that President Obama (First Black President) was not born in America, Is that racism?"
No, that's stupidity.
In California you have to have a Driver's License with a picture on it to drive. Show your damn Driver's License in California and you can vote, either that or your California ID, same card but for non-drivers. That proves you're in the state leagally AND who you are to polling place workers. Not THAT hard to figure out folks. Quit this boo hooing and finger pointing, it gets pretty old.
There is NO good reason that someone should not have to have a valid photo ID issued by a governmental entity in order to vote. All states issue ID cards, DL, etc. I support a student ID from a state university/college IF one obtained it by showing a valid photo ID, which almost every public college requires now to get a student ID.
If someone can't produce a photo ID then they should be electronically fingerprinted.
If you are too dumb or lazy to obtain such then don't vote!
There is no reason in this day and age that we should have so many dead people or people who are not properly registered voting. It's not about Republican or Democrat, it's about fraud.
The only voter fraud going seems to be in the republican caucuses/primaries. I give you Iowa and Maine.
The Republicans are passing these voter ID laws to prevent voter fraud when the only voter fraud that has taken place recently has been by the Republican Party (Iowa, Nevada, Maine caucuses.) Simply ask Ron Paul about voter fraud.
The funny thing is, you will find that due to the inherant lack of frontal lobe function of someone who actually votes for a Republican, the number of Republican votes under these laws will go down, those who are intelligence quota challenged will not be able to fulfill the requirements to vote.
It amazes me how limited peoples wisdom and intelligence is around here....
Notwithstanding the above:
04/28/2008
Supreme Court upholds voter ID law
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Monday that states can require voters to produce photo identification without violating their constitutional rights, validating Republican-inspired voter ID laws.......The law "is amply justified by the valid interest in protecting 'the integrity and reliability of the electoral process,'" Justice John Paul Stevens said in an opinion that was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Anthony Kennedy......
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24351798/ns/politics/t/supreme-court-upholds-voter-id-law/#.T0f82vXNk5Y
DEAL WITH IT.
If a photo ID is required then let the voter registrar office provide it, free of charge, period.
Voter ID requirements, the United States biggest non-issue, issue. Now that we have Obama care, everyone has to have health insurance, but not an ID? When you go to the hospital, do you think you will get admitted without an ID?
"It amazes me how limited peoples wisdom and intelligence is around here....
You need ID to drive car.You need ID to purchase a firearm.You need ID to ....."
Indeed. You do not need ID to purchase a firearm. You were speaking of wisdom and intelligence? Perhaps you should demonstrate some in the first place.
These laws are fomenting rebellion! When enough groups are singled out for exclusion that will be when it starts.
What voter-disenfranchisement laws are you talking about? Showing a valid picture ID card has already been heard by the Supreme Court and has been found to be constitutional.
The election isn't until November, which is about 7 months away, so maybe those that don't have a picture ID card should go out and get one if they want to vote. They cost little and if one can't afford it the state will issue it for free. It takes what, a couple of hours to get a ID Card?
It's time to get rid of the Voting Rights Act. There are only 9 states that are currently under Section 5 of the VRA. The federal DOJ and democrats are only using this as a political football.
Ah yes, voting eligibility, and Washington DC with a population larger than several states still does not get to vote. I bet they get taxed tho.
When Republicans hold picket signs that say "Obama = N****r"; when they create and distribute Photoshopped pictures depicting him as a witch doctor or monkey, or the White House lawn covered with watermelons; when they talk of "hip hop barbecues" and "welfare president" and say that he is "unAmerican" or "not born here" because of his name or his skin color; you CANNOT say there isn't a racist agenda against Obama.
"There is no reason in this day and age that we should have so many dead people or people who are not properly registered voting. It's not about Republican or Democrat, it's about fraud."
You are citing dead people on the rolls, not voting. There has been 0.00003% voter fraud since 2000... one of those was Ann Coulter, as well as the GOP caucuses in Iowa, Maine & Nevada. There is fraud going on but it's in the fevered, delusional minds of the GOP nuts.
Sorry but you are way off base on this one. Hasn't the fact that these voter ID laws have suddenly developed after years of very little voter fraud? Further, I guess you haven't connected the dots between republican governors/republican state legislatures and these laws. Also, even if you want to bury your head in the sand, then I suggest you ask yourself this question: republicans have fought against democratic principles for years. Why suddenly have they taken a position that voter fraud exists in this country (which has been proven even by the most fervent republican to be a lie) after the election of a black President? Why because his nomination brought out the minority vote. Anyone with a brain realizes that these groups usually support democratic policies (I know I don't have to explain that one to anybody). What better way to stop his reelection than by suppressing the vote?
So, I guess if it walks like a duck, and quacks likes a duck, it probably is a duck. Pure and simple.
"Ah yes, voting eligibility, and Washington DC with a population larger than several states still does not get to vote. I bet they get taxed tho."
Residents of DC having been voting in presidential elections since 1961.
Who in the country doesn't have an ID?
Re: Texas the DPS issues an non driver ID card on the same format as the drivers license which is available at any drivers license office. Where you can automatically register to vote if you are a US citizen. It requires a birth certificate or proof of legal US residency to obtain. I can think of only one reason someone legal to vote in Texas couldn't obtain one. The damn deadbea't hasnt made his child support payments.
This is so the left can get votes from illegals!!
In Indiana our REPUBLICAN Secretary of State Charles White was convicted of voter fraud. The man was the election official in charge of running elections fairly in the state! We have a voter ID law. He had a ID and showed it when he voted. He did not live where he said he did. He did it so he could keep his job on the town council and collect a 1K a month. He moved out of the council district and should have resigned. So exactly how will showing a ID prevent voter fraud? HE SHOWED HIS ID!!!!!!!!
Not sure about other states, but in my state you have to show ID for years now..I show my drivers license everytime I vote.
Wow, the Democrats just can't get off the Racist agenda. A person is elected to office based upon a lot of things.....not his nor her color.
Well, why didn't the GOP change the rules when they were in power during GW Bush's presidency then?
If the GOP isn't racist, they're simply partisan.
I registered to vote just the other day and they used my drivers license to ID me. I don't see how this is ridiculous or over the top at all. What American citizens do not have photo ID?!
I think there should be a Federal voter registration law, requiring every voter's registrar to issue, free of charge any photo ID required to vote.
END OF ISSUE.
However, you won't find the House of NOPE going for that idea.
Bad Repubicans ! Want to make sure that only those people vote that are legally eligible. Bad people ! No illegal aliens and others restricted by law from determining the nation's future. I have heard rumors that they also want to make sure that everybody only votes once !
Honestly, people, what is your problem ? We are talking about enforcing a law here. Do you want millions of illegal aliens to determine who our next President is ---- based on his color ? Do you want people to go the polls multiple times in multiple voting places ? They wouldn't do that ? Well, in that case, you have nothing to fear from these voting laws - WHICH EXISTED LONG BEFORE OBAMA CAME INTO OFFICE. Which means that all the race baiting on the Dem's side is not worthy of elected officials. Or are they afraid they will only win if these illegal votes are counted ?
Fact of the Matter,
The voter ID requirement is a STATE law, not federal.
To all of you advocating for more strict voter ID requirements, what is your justification? Where is your proof that there has actually been widespread voter fraud? Quote me some numbers.
I have no problem with showing an ID to vote. I have always done so. But new requirements for a specific ID that you have to purchase are just transparently discriminatory. Why not allow a driver's license? A passport? A student ID? An employee ID?
The right to vote is one of our basic tenets. To attempt to deny it is to deny our basic rights.
Not a Voter Fraud Problem in the US? are you sure about that?
Also how is it hard to have an ID, most states (if not all) require anyone over 18 to have one for a variety of reasons, so absolutely it should be shown to vote. And once a new ID is given to someone who has moved from state to state, they should have a deactivation process that makes it illegal/impossible to vote where they USED to live ... like running the strip through a machine. Not sure why it disenfranchises likely democratic voters to be responsible members of their communities and have an ID and follow a policy that is only intended to hold the system accountable and accurate. Everyone gets ONE vote.
Without an ID you could vote in several states.... HELLO
There's really only one reason to be against a voter ID law, and that is because people intend to commit voter fraud.
After all, the democrats ought to be able to help any person who legitimately has a problem affording it.
Unless, of course, democrats don't really care about minorities at all, except for as a tool to gain power.
Ain't no big thing.....if you entered the United States legally.....what's the fuss?
It's a shame that Democrats feel that they have to allow people that aren't citizens, or otherwise ineligible, to vote in order to get elected. Instead of fighting to allow everybody to vote without identification, how about fighting to get everybody, eligible to vote, a proper photo ID? Allowing people to vote that are ineligible is just as bad as preventing somebody from voting that is eligible.
Fact of the Matter : read the article again. These voter laws have been in effect long before Obamas appeared on the orizon. What the heck is wrong with excluding voters who are not eligible ? Tell me. I am listening. Everyone can get a Non-Driver's-License. If anyone can't afford it, he/she should get it for free. But, my good man, I am not comfortable with having millions of illegals determining who will be in the White House. Are you ?
Once again the "RACE CARD" with Voter I.D. requirements. Right Awag (again) if you don't like O'Bama then Black Politicians call you "Racist". Those Black Politicians should be arrested for a "Hate Crime". Those same politicians should know that minorities have been using the Race Card to get what they want for so long, it no longer means anything. You need an I.D. or sorts to drive - that hasn't been called Racist. You need I.D. or sorts to get a Social Security Card (unless you are Illegal). SO WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL WITH AN SHOWING AN I.D. TO VOTE. The people complaining seem to believe minorities can't read or write their name, that's just not true. The I.D. is so the elections are legal and not like when O'Bama was elected and got votes from Dead People, Illegals and some people 3-4 times & that's in O'Bama's home state where the majority of names to put O'Bama on the Ballot were "forged" or didn't exist.. That gave us an Illegally Elected President. If O'Bama can't win an election legally, then screw him because he should never have been on the ballot in the first place.
There is no proven voter fraud.
In fact, it has been PROVEN that there is no real voter fraud problem. Anywhere.
Changing voter requirements is an important and critical change in our voting process... it CAN change the very outcome of an election. It should not be done with any risk to the inclusion of all eligible voters.
So what's the hurry? So why all this hubbub now... at this moment? Why are all these changes so important to be done before the next election... at the risk of adversely affecting the real outcome?... at the risk of excluding valid voters?
Easy answer. Simple discussion. The Republicans are desperate and have found yet another way to "make Obama fail" using inane sound-bytes and trickery. The end justifies the means trumps truth and fairness.
What a shame. What a sham.
Is the motivation race? Maybe. But that's really not the point, is it.
Votes are very inportant, and only qualify people should vote, they need an ID that allows to vete only once per elections
lol, many of the Dem posting today want mickey mouse and goofy to be able to vote.lol,lol,lol,lol,lol
Wouldn't this be easier if the Republicans and the Tea Party just came out and said the TRUTH? Just be honest...
"If you are not going to vote Republican than we don't want you to vote. We know better than you, and we think you are wrong, so we don't want a wrong person voting."
That is what they think... hell, some of them have hinted at it.
Well I remember How Gore got ripped off, and look what that did to our country. We still have not recovered and they are trying to stack the deck, I wonder who really wants to destroy America they did a hell of a job with BUSH, and I'm not about to give them another chance, its time to put these people where they belong in the baby seat in the back of the CAR. And is it not a Constitutional right to be able to vote if your an American citizen so how can they all of a sudden say you need an ID to vote it was never that way when the Constitution was written, so these people just can change something they don't like so they can STEAL AN ELECTION.
What's the problem here? If you are of legal age to vote and you are a US Citizen, why wouldn't you have a Social Security Number and/or Driver's license or identification card? If you don't have one and you want to vote, go get one. If you aren't going to get one or if you aren't a legal US citizen, you aren't allowed to vote, so quit whining. Oh, and if you are dead, you can't vote either (this time around).
Bobbski--
"Indeed. You do not need ID to purchase a firearm. You were speaking of wisdom and intelligence? Perhaps you should demonstrate some in the first place."
I've never bought a firearm (not opposed, just don't feel the need) but I was under the impression that there are background checks involved. How do they do a background check if you don't have to verify your identity in some way? If they don't check a photo ID, a person could use a relative's social, or anyone's they could get for that matter, and completely defeat the purpose of the background check altogether. Unless there aren't really background checks, in which case, never mind.
You people amaze me, they got you all riled up about ID laws, while you forget about the Diebold Voting Machines having widespread fraud and easily hacked by an 8 year old. I don't mind showing an ID, but I do mind voting on a computer that I can hack with a smartphone. I will be absentee voting with a paper ballot that I will Photocopy for verification and in case of fraud by Republicans.
In third world countries everyone that votes has to dip their thumb into indelible ink... that would work here if nobody wants to carry their wallet with them to the polls.
Wake up2840,
I like your idea. What if you don't have thumbs?
The fact is that there is an extremely small amount of voter fraud. There is an extremely small amount of people voting in more than one place, or voting more than once - at all.
I live in Washington State. We have mail voting. We register to vote, and have our ID and signature checked. My mailing address is a PO Box, the country has my physical address, which are no one else's business. When I move, I change my address with the Registrar's office. Personally, I think that the way Washington State does it, would be a good idea for the other states to do it. ONE ballot gets sent to my PO Box. I can look up my voting record online, through the State website.
For those of you who are saying that illegals are voting, that people are voting more than once, or that dead people are voting, do you have any proof to back you up? If you do not, there is no reason to change the Voter ID Laws. Simply because you want to is not reason enough.
Bobbski. You and your buddie Knealski need to lay off the pipeski !
f
There may or may not have been voter fraud in the past, seems in my state (WI), the DA looks the other way when these issues are brought to light. That said, whats wrong with being proactive? Elections are going to be hotly contested for some time to come, to the point where a few hundred votes may make the difference on who is elected president, governor, senator, etc., etc. In Wisconsin, if you don't have a photo ID you can get one absolutely free from the DMV, there is no excuse not to have or get one. The dems have their collective panties all in a bunch over this issue because they know it will cost them the dishonest vote that has typically gone 99% democratic.
About 11% of eligible voters, that's who.
http://www.brennancenter.org/content/section/category/voter_id
Yet again the teapubs want to find a solution to a problem that DOES NOT EXIST.
You want to stop a poor 96 year who voted all her life from voting again? What a way to subvert democracy.
http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/10/96-year-old_tennessee_african-american_woman_denied_voter_id_because_she_didnt_have_her_marriage_lic.html
For all the claims that there is no voter fraud, just do a search on "voter fraud" in MSNBC since it is your trusted source.
Look at Troy, NY, where local politicians were found guilty for filling in absentee ballets. Look at the ACORN voter registration scams. According to another MSNBC article, 1 in 8 voter registrations throughout the country are incorrect. See
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46383861/ns/business/t/one-us-voter-registrations-faulty-survey#.T0gO0vES01I
Having college age children who are registered in their home state, they are constantly pushed to register and vote in their college town. It would be pretty easy for them to vote twice.
Unfortunately, the voter ID laws don't go far enough. They will help prevent dead people and non-citizens from voting at the ballot box. They don't address the issues surrounding absentee ballots and double voting by others.
The voter ID requirement is a STATE law, not federal.
Right, but why not the push on the state level in 2000?
It cost LEGAL aliens thousands to become a citizen atleast the ones born here should show PROOF with a legal photo ID. If you can't spend $5 - $10 on a state ID to legally vote then you shouldn't be allowed to vote since you place so little value on it.
Terri Greer you live in WA state? Either not for very long or you have a very short memory. It was not that long ago (last gubernatorial elections) that we had felons voting, dead people voting, people's pets voting, etc.
Guess you forgot all about that, huh? LOL
BTW Vote by mail only recently became the mainstream way to vote here, so we have yet to see what the real downfalls are.
The conservitives scream voter fraud but the funny thing is, the only voter fraud we've been seeing has been during the Republican primaries. Kind of ironic. The GOP/tp has been doing everything in their power to disenfranchise voters ever since President Obama was elected. It's all been in the name of preventing voter fraud, even though there is no documented problem of it. Maybe we should have laws to not allow the tea party voters to vote because they might be absolutely uninformed. Actually, that might be a great idea. At least THAT we could prove.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2011/11/21/fox-news-viewers-uninformed-npr-listeners-not-poll-suggests/
Wow, NBC/MSNBC are in the full attack mode for Barry's reelection effort. Now they want to usurp individual states' rights to pass laws to ensure honest elections. Well, I guess it would be upsetting to take the vote away from all of those illegal aliens, family pets, and dead Democrats who have been voting regularly for some time now.
By the way, media guys, other than FOX, I haven't heard a peep from the media all day about soaring gas prices. I mean, it's the issue the country is most concerned with now...by far. Why the silence???
No state requires its residents to possess a photo ID.
here is a case of voter fraud that has actually been PROVEN true... unlike all the other claims of votewr fraud by the repugnicans...
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2011/03/top-ind-election-official-indicted-for-voter-fraud/1
Voter fraud is a fallacy and all of these laws being passed by states with republican majorities in the legislature have one purpose an one purpose alone... TO SUPPRESS VOTER TURNOUT of the folks that primarily vote democratic. In my book this is treasonous since it is an outright attack on the most basic principle of this country.
Well, said.
The GOP does not have either a logical or viable political platform to stand and run the party's ludicrous candidates on. The more Santorum, Romney, Gingrich and Paul talk, the more extreme and reactionary they reveal themselves to be.
Many Americans have now see and understand the divisive and elitist laws sorrowful conditions that the Republicans selfishly want to sink America under.
If the GOP resurrects the "Poll tax" and the "can you read this statement," favorites of the past and the South, do not be surprised. When cannot fairly win an election...just reach into your "ole bag of tricks" and lock out your opponents base. Unfortunately, the party is quite racist!
We banned voter registration fees years ago... because there are the unimaginably poor... and it is a "burden".
Requiring an ID to vote does seem simple enough. And it is, unless you are poor, unless you live very rural, unless you have no birth certificate, unless, unless....
Look. Maybe this is a good idea. It sounds okay. But there are people that do not have licenses or state IDs today... for some reason. And unless you can guarantee that a new voter ID bill will not cause the exclusion of ONE voter, the voter ID should not be enacted.
Okay, let's do this by statistics... if you can prove that more fraud will be eliminated than valid voters denied, then we have a discussion. But you don't even have THAT. We have no proof of overwhelming voter fraud. If you have it, produce it.
The bottom line is that the above arguments will prevail in court in front of the election... so legislate away GOP... voter ID your hearts out. Just be prepared to prove fraud and that the law is NOT exclusionary of valid voters.
Fat chance.
Do you people realize that you'll probably lose more votes from the ethical side of your own party than the ones you deny through trickery? Every one of these idiotic and obvious moves lose you votes and party members.
The Republican Party has a very long track record of lying, cheating and stealing elections. I have personally witnessed a number GOP voters voting in two or three states during national elections. When I was still a registered Republican I was encouraged to register and vote in multiple states....I would not do what they asked and re-registered as an independent. These cheats are now upping their game with GOP controlled states pushing laws that will not stop their own voter fraud but are designed to suppress the vote of students, the poor and older voters that don't support them.
I don’t understand why ANY real American would support politicians that promote voter suppression laws. What good are elections if one political party rigs the vote in their favor? If this is the only way for Republicans to win elections then it’s obvious what their selling most voters aren’t buying.
The GOP (Government of Plutocracy) continues to push their "hidden" agenda, govenrment by the wealthy for the wealthy.
If you vote Republican and are not a millionaire you are voting against your financial inerests.
David-1250323, Rich 711, you're each suspended for a day for violating #1 of the Code of Honor.
Bobbski, I have bought quite a few handguns, rifles and shotguns over the past few decades. The only time I didn't have to show an id was for a black powder colt 1860 cap and ball revolver from Cabela's. They are legal to ship through the mail. Since sometime in the 1800's , I have not heard of anything like that being used in commission of any crime, lol. At least, not since ammo with shell casing became fashionable in the late 1800's, and you didn't have to pour gunpowder into each cylinder and ram a lead ball into it, then cap the firing nipple. What are you referrring to, the third party gun sales? I don't exactly know what the law is on that, but if you go to Walmart or a gun store, you gotta show id. Some states, CA for instance have a waiting period.
raddave,
Ask a police officer, you are required to have ID. You can be detained until your true identity is prov-en if you do not have ID. If you get pulled over without your drivers license, your name will be ran in the computer, if you are in the system, they will provide the officer with a physical description of you. If he is satisfied with the description, you get a ticket. If not, you are under arrest.
If you don not, and never had a drivers license, and you are questioned and asked to produce ID and you do not, you are detained until proof of your identity is provided. This has been the law all my life, at least.
The rest of you questioning gun sales, ID is required. Period. I know, I have guns I have LEGALLY PURCHASED!
In Washington State, our DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR won her election after 3 recounts! Many dead people, pets, felons and multiple votes by the same people. in the end thousands of votes for both sides were thrown out and she sued for a win by less than 200 votes.
A member of the NAACP was convicted of voter fraud by casting multiple votes in other people's names!
You want honest election results? Vote honestly, provide ID!
If you don't have a Id legitimate of some sort then no you can't vote period. You people can rant all you want but the truth is if you don't, you can't. I'm tired of all these people trying to make illegal immigrants, legal. BS If you don't like the laws of this country then there is another for ya! C-ya
They aren't undocumented workers either, in fact they are illegal immigrants! If you're going to say something then tell it like it is, no sugar-coating. Tired of all the BS. in this nation it's truly getting old.
This is just as it's always been. First it was the white segregationist democrats in the south. Then after they joined with the glorious republicans that whole party commenced the same sh^t. There are many simple procedures to determine the constitutional right of any particular person to vote at the occasion of that persons registration. The registrar then determines the persons voting precinct and address of the voting place, places the persons name on that precinct list, and at time of election sends the list to the particular precinct. The person shows up at the precinct, announces name and address to poll worker, who matches name and address given, to list, checks it off, and goes to the next voter. Someone else comes in claiming to be that voter, the poll worker sees the checked name, and has the attempted fraudulent voter arrested. Wanna add to the security, add a voter selected password and have the poll worker ask for it. Truth is, registrar's and poll workers are much more likely, and in fact, have much more opportunity, to commit voter fraud and suppression than any voter.
Being REQUIRED to produce a photo ID to be eligible to vote is just another way for Government to intrude upon and squash Civil Liberties, as well as force more Government Regulation into the lives of U.S. Citizens -- and it's being pushed by none other than the very people who complain the most about how there is already far too much Government Regulation of the very type they are trying to get passed into Law!
I have an ID that's not the issue, where does it say in the Constitution which the Republicans want to shove in our face on a daily basis that in order to vote you have to have an ID, just because we have one does not mean everyone else has one, Oop's I'm bad, I forgot the Republicans only think about themselves NO one else ....
Wow...do you people really think that 'illegal aliens' are voting in elections? Let's examine this for a second. You are here illegally and can be arrested and deported at any time and you are going to stroll into a polling place and cast a vote in an election you couldn't care less about?
Are you people really that stupid? These people that you are so worried about voting and costing you an election are more worried about keeping their heads down and staying off ICE's radar.
The people you should be worried about are the ones you are attempting to disenfranchise. The elderly who have no idea where their birth certificates are or college students without drivers licenses. Funny thing about most of these laws the R's are trying to pass...college ID doesn't count. Could it be because most college students are smart enough not to vote republican?
Four Words.............
don't care how many people say that we need to get over race. Racism still exists on both sides. Classicism is more rampant than ever!! This was settled years ago and no need to revisit it now....
Twenty-fourth Amendment (Amendment XXIV)
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
__________________________________________________________________________________
And for those who want to rationalize this as "not a tax" you need to look no further than your own bills. That "service fee", that "restocking fee", that 911 EMS fee on your cell phone bill................... These are just fees "disguised as taxes"
My, My, My, All these liberals up in arms over this one. Lest some forget Ohio made national headlines in 2008 over Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck voting, along with deceased residents. Several other states reported the same types of voting irregularities.
Why is it, I wonder, that only Democrats have an issue with Photo ID's ??????????
AT raddave Pennsylvania requires Photo ID to do anykind of business in the state. I.E. Credit Cards, driving, buying alcohol, pruchasing tobacco, purchasing lottery, singing a lease, and the list goes on and on and on.
@Jeff-1667763
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh........................... In case you didn't know this whole "Voter ID" thing is a set republican strategy to eliminate that part of the vote. They know that Dems out-register Repubs. It is meant to "even out the numbers" As a whole, Rebubs vote loyally while Dems tend to either not vote or switch parties in the General Elections.........
With that being said, It's a good strategy for their party, but bad for the whole "smaller government" thing....
Kind of hypocritical, huh?
@garcher-1253370
ARE THERE ANY IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS TO VOTE IN PENNSYLVANIA?
Generally, voters are not required to show ID at the polling place.
However, first time voters and voters appearing for the first time at a new polling place will be asked to show ID to vote on the machine.The following forms of photo ID are acceptable:
Pennsylvania driver’s license or PennDOT ID card
ID issued by any Commonwealth agency
ID issued by the U.S. Government
U.S. passport
U.S. Armed Forces ID
Student ID
Employee ID
As for the other examples:
NONE of these things are a right or a duty, they are a privelage. Every U.S. Citizen (age excepted) has the right to vote
I don't understand why it is a big deal. I had a picture ID as a teen, I didn't get an actual driver's license until my 20's. I'd find it hard to get by in life without one. I am ID'd everytime I present a new insurance card at the doctors/dentist office. I show it when I buy beer, and now and then when I use my debit card. And I could have sworn that if you write a check at a business, you are ID'd. So how is everyone getting by without having to present one?
Think i'll just mosey on down to the local gun shop and buy me up a bunch of them shoot'n irons. NO ID NEEDED, RIGHT!!! Yea, shure. Those boys will just laugh at me while they trow me out the door, and those guys know me too! I have no problem proving who i am at the poling place. Why should anyone else. Unless they got something to hide. I had to show my ID when i used my bank card to buy a bucket of chicken the other day.
Ron in Seattle...@#1.3 I was considering responding to some of your screed, then I got to your missive's coda and realized it'd be a waste of effort, so I'll just burst your little fantasy bubble instead.
You claim that the Democrats will hold 70 Senate seats during the 113th Congress. That means that they would need to increase their total from the 53 (55 if you include the two Dems in Ind. clothing) they currently hold. I'd tell you that's a mean feat considering that the largest number of seats either party has ever held in the Senate is somewhere around 60, but since there are only 10 seats currently held by Republicans up for grabs, your scenario would require keeping all Democratic seats, taking all Republican seats (including Utah!), and somehow finding five (or seven) more Arlen Specters. In the simplest terms: Ain't gonna happen.
The most likely outcomes I see for Federal elections are as follows:
Senate: Republicans pick up three or four (most likely) seats leaving 49 Republicans, 49 Democrats and 2 Dems in Ind. clothing, meaning a lot of narrow, drawn-out votes.
House: Republicans currently hold a 50 seat advantage. I see it being trimmed by about half, leaving the advantage around 230-205.
President: Barack Obama will be reelected with somewhere around 290 EC votes to Mitt
Romney's 245. This of course precludes someone else like Mitch Daniels or Jeb Bush coming out of the nomination process. In that case, call it a toss-up. Also don't be surprised if Joe Biden steps back and someone else (Hillary, maybe?) is set up to run in 2016.
I saw on the Facebook page of one of my children's friends that this friend went off to grad school in PA, registered to vote there, and then bragged that she voted for Martha Cokely (D) in the MA senatorial election. That is fraud. I also remember that Dick Daley stole the presidential election for Kennedy. Some Chicago precincts counted more ballots than there were registered voters. Voter fraud is real and it is hard (i.e., NFW) to provide statistics on fraudulent votes that are not caught. When ACORN is paying people to register Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, we need voter ID laws
@ Rob Corelli: Do you, or any of you understand how literally stupid these claims of "Mickey Mouse" and "Donald Duck" are? Would anyone wishing to cast a fraudulent vote sign such names? The purpose of casting a fraudulent vote is to have it counted. Richard Daley probably fixed several elections. That though is not the voter. As New Yorks "Boss Tweed" said; "I'm not concerned about who votes". "I can fix 'em the way I want during the counting".
To those who equate proof of ID and photo imagery to vote, with that requirement for purchasing a gun, are you serious? Do you not understand the difference between the two acts?
Toasty McGrathRestored
Again, Toasty is off topic to aviod the issue.
Not a single Federal thing we do in this Nation is done without proper ID...VOTING IS THE SAME TOASTY! Get a clue!
Everone doubting Mickey Mouse register to vote?
Read up!
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2008-10-18-3995453887_x.htm
jobless carpenter, @1.76
I went over this issue a few months back, got the liberal hotfoot treatment back then also.
There is no doubt that there was fraud committed in the election for governor in 2004, none whatsoever!
And the democrats did it without question, not only was it proven in court but it was proven by one of the few investigative reporters to actually go after it...
Here is the link.....
From Sound Politics 11/2005......
Dean Logan counted unlawful ballots at behest of group involved in vote fraud
This shows that it was proven and admitted that invalid ballots were counted on the orders of the King County Executive, Ron Sims.
Tell that to Ido, JOG. I was just responding to his post.
Egilman, maybe this time we will have a real, truthful election!
Can't wait!
J Carpenter,
Well, I will be caucusing for Dr Paul come Mar. 3rd, I plan on trying to make sure the votes are counted publicly and recorded so what happened in Maine will not happen in my district. I"m hoping to be appointed as a delegate also.....
Everyone needs to get involved....
For those insisting that voter fraud doesn't exist: I was curious and decided to Google it and was even surprised myself at how many cases came up! There are actually 100's of instances of arrests and prosecutions for voter fraud. There would likely be more but most cases are difficult to prove unless the person is detained at the polling station and there is little motivation to spend resources tracking down questionable voters.
From various news sources (NOT FOX) "two Troy city officials, the city clerk and a councilman, along with two Democratic political operatives, have pled guilty to forging absentee-ballot signatures and casting fraudulent ballots in the 2009" "Two ex-ACORN employees were convicted in Denver of perjury for submitting false voter registrations." "The New York Post: ACORN submitted a voter registration card for a 7-year-old Bridgeport girl" "113 individuals convicted for voter fraud committed in 2008 in Minnesota." etc
While these may not be enough to swing most general elections, in cases like the Presidential election of Bush vs. Gore several hundred votes could make the difference. We could have had Gore as president. Small amounts of fraud can easily swing results of local elections.
If photo ID's are supplied free of charge by a governmental entity to someone who can't afford one then there is no reason that someone should not be able to have a photo ID to vote. You register you must produce a governmental photo ID. If you don't have one then these ID's could be made freely available at most governmental agencies where people register.
You want proof of widespread voter fraud? Take a look at Santa Ana, California or heck lets go bigger. How about Los Angeles.
Now here is a true and funny story about voter fraud that happened during the bush gore election. I read this in a newspaper somewhere.
A guy is walking his dog and he is already registered to vote when some voter registration person approaches them and ask him if he would like to register. Being a humorous type person he thought he would sign up his Labrador Retriever. Well the elections came and went and he had forgotten about it till one day in the mail comes a jury duty summons address to his dog. He thought this was odd and called the courthouse to straighten things out but decided not to tell the clerk on the other end of the line that the person they thought they were contacting with the summons was actually a big happy dog. Some how he found out, before spilling any info, that the courthouse got it's list of eligible jurors from the voter registration list. Not knowing what to do he tried to tell them that the person they were trying to contact didn't live in the area anymore. Well the summons date came and went and the dog never showed up so the judge put a warrant out and sent a Marshall to go pick them up and haul them back in cuffs. The Marshall went to the address with the warrant looking for the fictitious voter and met the guy who started it all when he was just trying to be funny. So the Marshall somehow ends up arresting this guy because he said he wasn't going to tell them where the absent juror was. A animal control officer came out and took custody of the dog and off they go. Soon afterwards the the animal control officer realizes that the dog and the absent juror have the same name when he reads his dog tag and contacts the courthouse. Confronted with the new evidence the dogs owner confesses to what really happened. He told them how he got scared by the clerk on the phone and so he tried to hide his error in judgement the best he could. His once funny sense of humor now gone awry. The judge was furious, the courtroom exploded with laughter and after a few stern words, the judge releases the guy with a several hundred dollar fine and orders the name to be stricken from the records and puts a warrant out for the voter registration person.
Let's take this one word at a time...
This. Isn't. About. Having. To. Prove. You're. Eligible. To. Vote. We. Already. Have. To. Prove. That. Prior. To. Voting.
This. Is. About. MAKING. PROVING. You're. Eligible. HARDER. To. Do.
The system of identifying voters works, seeing as we have a less than 1% rate of voting fraud, so the government has no compelling interest to justify making voting harder.
It's assinine to compare this to driver's licenses, seeing as we don't have a civil right to drive, but if we must, think of it this way...
We already have to have licenses to drive, right? Just like we already have to have voter id's to vote, right? So this isn't about just requiring the id. This would be like making your driver's license harder to get.
It's pretty simple. If the Republican's agenda's are so popular, why do they need to suppress/obstruct the vote? We should fear this kind of behaviour. They obviously feel the only way they can get elected and have their way is to cheat. The party of evil.
Good gosh, it's just a law to have a ID to vote, to avoid voter fraud. I think what they are trying to say is that not everyone in this country are honest. I'd say that is a pretty accurate statement.
Joel,
See my post above. We already have those laws in place. And they're obviously adequate seeing as the voter fraud rate is nil. This is law to make getting ID's to vote, harder.
Sarah.. See my above post on fraud or Google it yourself. Yes the numbers are low but in FL there are 11,053,664 registered voters. At a rate of .00005, which is even using a 2011 democratic party accepted number (which many argue is low) that makes 553 voters in FL that vote illegally. In most national elections that would be a drop in the bucket. For a close Governor's race or even the Bush vs Gore election that many votes could have made a difference.
Every vote counts and no one can point to any legitimate reason that if photo id's (which include driver's licenses, state ID's, etc) were made available for free to the poor that they couldn't supply one when voting. Most voter laws require little more than a government issued photo ID of any kind. There are even 20 million more Americans w/Driver Licenses than registered voters. Given that many government and private institutions/businesses require photo ID's to receive services or a job then this would be a perfect opportunity for the nation to pull together to make sure that such is available to those in need.
I do respect your right to have a difference of opinion though and thank you for not throwing insults when people disagree. :)
What with the voter fraud rate being pretty damned low, sounds like the Regressive Right is hot and heavy on rushing into place, the institutionalization of more voter suppression tactics to make it harder for the elderly, handicapped, poor and minorities to vote in this country.
Reminds me of the southern states Jim Crow laws of the 19th century to make it harder for freed black slaves to vote.
Some older people were born without birth certificates at home so they can't get an ID..And they never needed them if they stayed close to home ( Think about going to your local liquor store,Lottery agent,Tobacco store, bank where teller knows you ) Now they are being told they have to have one and no doubt it costs dollars they can't part with but will if deemed eligible ( See no birth certificate )....And yes in the states in the south among others trying to ram this through they cannot obtain one for free...And in the states that were sensible( so the supreme court didn't strike down their law since poll taxing is un-constitutional ) enough to have a provision for free ID,just try jumping through the hoops to qualify.. By the time you do the election is over....Not to mention the folks that might lose their wallet on or close before election day...Or the folks who aren't on the web and work in the field or elsewhere more than they watch TV and may have not heard about this new thing they need.... Bottom line you prove who you are when you register and then verify that at the polling place with a matching signature or address verification...The only fair way to change it would be to require every citizen to have ID and let them vote at polling time whether they have it or not and come back and prove it if the election is close, also if you don't move and re-register you have to change nothing so all of the old folks who stay put will be continuing what they have done in some cases for almost or more than 90 years...
Sarah-3043284
It's no harder than driving Sarah. It's no harder than collecting Welfare (or is it?). It's no harder than buying liquor if under 25. It's no harder than cashing a check.
What are you talking about girl?
The republican propaganda about the scourge of voter fraud and their efforts to disenfranchise voters by making people jumps through hoops to get an ID that they may need but once a year or less is voter fraud, fraud on a grand scale. My hope is that this effort is shoved up their backside.
Justone,
Driving and welfare aren't civil rights, which if not protected can disenfranchize entire demographics. You have no good answer for making it harder, if the system we have now is working.
Fraud? Well fraud is in every state capitol as well as in Washington DC. Watch C-span any day and you can see fraud at work... The politicians that say "I'm doing the peoples work." that's fraudulent...
If every state wants people to have voter iD then every state should issue voter Id to every citizen that's over 18 y/o... It's that's simple...
The only reason that voter ID is an issue again is the need for the republicans to have an advantage at the polls... It reminds me of the sixties all over again... Minorities being required to prove things that the WASP didn't have to prove... Makes me kind of ashamed...
I just can't imagine why these Republican states would be pushing so hard to do this in an election year. And with South Carolina republicans who investigated 900 cases where they had no doubt that there were dead people voting, they found ZERO instances. Iowa Republicans can't even get their own caucus right, Nevada Republicans had more votes from their caucuses than they had voters, Maine can't even figure out how or when to count (or even hold) their caucus... Shouldn't they get their own houses in order before they try to mandate this?
I don't oppose the idea of needing an ID to vote, I just question the timing and purposes of the Republican party. If this was truly about preventing voter fraud (which is nearly non-existent) then why aren't they working with the state services to ensure that all currently registered voters have a valid ID? In WI, it's supposed to be a free ID, but Walker instructed the licensing department to charge everyone if they didn't specifically mention that they were there to get the free ID.
Dills- what are they supposed to do, wait until after the election? So you are gonna call the fire department after your house burns flat?
BTW, Maine is not a "Republican" state - there are lots of Dems up here - that's why we had a $220,000,000 deficit passed on to our new Governor this past election. They just forgot to mention it when they lost the election after 8 years of "democratic" rule.
This little old lady calls 911.
When the operator answers she yells, "Help, send the police to my house right away! There's a damn Democrat on my front porch and he's playing with himself."
"What?" the operator exclaimed. "I said there is a damn Democrat on my front porch playing with himself and he's weird; I don't know him and I'm afraid! Please send the police!" the little old lady repeated.
"Well, now, how do you know he's a Democrat?"
"Because, you damn fool, if it was a Republican, he'd be screwing somebody!"
It's clear that over the last 236 years there have been very few instances of voter fraud, which is what puts the lie to the arguments that is what these laws are intended to prevent. If it weren't illegal, poll taxes and property ownership requirements for voting would return overnight, particularly in the South, and I'm sure Santorum and his supporters would be claiming that we need to strictly construe the Constitution and remove women's rights to vote. For a group that spends so much time professing their love of democracy, they sure attempt to inhibit the most fundamental right of democracy, suffrage.
there is voter fraud, it's called negative vote counting, check it out on youtube. Diebold voting machines, it's a no-brainer what and how the GOP is planning on stealing another election, Florida anyone?
For the record, I'm 42, served in the military and have no birth certificate in my possession, if you want to question my immigration status, be a man and come do it face to face, cowards.
Oaktown, the South is far more integrated and "civilized" than you think; your remarks are based on your own bigotry. There is plenty of evidence that voter fraud is prevalent, and a recent study showed that 1 in every 8 voter registrations had errors, mostly that dead people were still voting; you just don't want to see or hear no evil, so stop speaking it.
Why are so many people scared of this? the ONLY reason anyone wont like an ID Law is because they arent legaly allowed to vote.If you are Legal, these laws mean nothing to you.. If you are illegal, thats what these laws are about.
Okay, if you consider signs still up in (mostly rural) stores saying they "don't serve colored" and billboards displaying blatant racist, hate-and-fear-mongering messages directed at Muslims as "integrated", then you must be from South Carolina, where I lived for awhile. Never have I been, anywhere in the world, to a more racist and backwards region. Sure, there's plenty of open-minded people and even communities, but on the whole--PLEASE. You're only fooling yourselves.
Voter IDs? Come on. We all know who the Republicans, the party that is notoriously and persistently racist and bigoted, are trying to 'catch'.
Unfortunately, there is no constitutional amendment that guarantees the right to vote. Only amendments that guarantee no discrimination against race, color, and age (over 18). Laws that dictate any kind of restriction are undoubtedly REGRESSIVE, if not downright targeted against a specific population.
I'm wondering why the Republicans are suddenly all over this issue NOW, instead of 12 years ago. Hmmm... That's the only voter fraud ever proven to be true. All the other claims... "negative vote counting", dead people voting, registration errors... have ALL been proven to be false. But you know, if it's on YouTube or Fox or the interwebs it MUST be true, right?
Voting has and always will be a sham.(proven many times all it takes is research and you can enlighten yourself above the media shills) Until you loons wake up to this simple fact you will continue to allow the 1% scheme to exist. The Nazis made you have "papers" also so i bet your ignorant ass would stand behind the Nazi party to its fullest extent of locking people in trains shipping them to gas chambers and killing hundreds of thousands of people if not millions. All in the name of IDs and what is legal. When you die ask yourself this are you gonna tell God you hated the poor because they were illegal. No Hades is not hell. Hades is where we all go. When your judgement comes you will either be given the breath of life again or you will cease to exist. Ignorance is not bliss are you happy? The people of earth are not illegal what the 1% are doing worldwide is illegal and by you being brainwashed to believe in their propaganda is exactly what they want. Wake up. Continue to fight amongst yourselves thinking there is such a thing as a false title called democrat and republican the 1% love this nonsense and are laughing at you and your ancestors all the way to the bank. While they continue the downfall of our society with the media and their govt agencies that have been in place since these puppets put them their. One
Bull@!$%#. Here is proof you are full of it. 11% of ELIGIBLE voters don't have the id, and it DOES DISENFRANCHISE voters.
http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/10/96-year-old_tennessee_african-american_woman_denied_voter_id_because_she_didnt_have_her_marriage_lic.html
http://www.brennancenter.org/content/section/category/voter_id
I understand both sides of this, however, how is requiring an ID to vote anything? You cant get a job without ID, you cant get govt assistance without ID, you cant walk into a courthouse or govt building without ID ? So whats the issue of getting a govt ID out of your wallet when you walk up to the voting booth? This cant be about well the poor minorties cant vote, well how do they get a job? or govt assistance (welfare, ebt , medicaid , medicare) without any id?
One thing I do know , is that at one of the local businesses here in the last election a bus came and picked up a bunch of people, if you were registered republican you were not allowed on the bus. Once you got on you were given free food and drink, and a list of who to vote for. The bus went to the nearest polling place and the people lined up. Some complaints were made that the drivers were even handing out ID cards and voting cards, but that was never proven. Im sure this happens on both sides all over the place and requiring a real state , govt issued ID could help with much of this.
I should amend my above last comment to say that claims of negative vote counting, dead people voting, registration errors and the like have found in a HANDFUL of cases to be true, are mostly attributed to clerical errors (or someone dying after their vote was cast--making it still legal), but widespread claims have ALL proven to be false.
Do these cases happen sometimes? Yes. Will a law change that? No.
So why can't the Republicans focus on and come up with viable solutions to the REAL problems in our nation? Why do they always have to come up with distractions to real problems? Last election year it was a f---ing birth certificate drama that wasted SO much of this country's time that it still makes we want to scream. Also still waiting for a viable alternative to the "socialized Obamacare" you're all turning Chicken Little over... among a number of other issues.
If I see ONE sane Republican candidate, who focuses on REAL issues, I'll forever give up my non-party registered status and vote Red 'til the day I die. Until then, DREAM ON. Obama 2012, if for no other reason that he's the least of 2 evils.
If not for voter fraud Obama might not be POTUS
All the evidence you need as to why the Dems oppose this.
If you want to vote, GET PROPER ID!!!
This is a RESPONSIBILITY
What's the problem here? If you are of legal age to vote and you are a US Citizen, why wouldn't you have a Social Security Number and/or Driver's license or identification card? If you don't have one and you want to vote, go get one. If you aren't going to get one or if you aren't a legal US citizen, you aren't allowed to vote, so quit whining. Oh, and if you are dead, you can't vote either (this time around).
HAHAHAHA. You must be too senile to remember 2000, and that it was actually BUSH. What "voter fraud" are YOU referring to?
If I understand a group of the comments say it is ok to show up on Election Day and say I want vote,
but I left all of my ID’s at home and get a ballot. Please explain the common sense of this approach
to voting. Thanks
Much to do about nothing. If you don't have an ID get one. If you are not a Citizen you can't vote.
Of course if you have an ID then you can vote even if you are NOT a citizen.
The problem seems quite simple.
Lets see the racist justice dept. does not think it is a good idea to have a photo id to vote? Why. Maybe because thier is a lot of fraud going on like Obama's home adopted home state of Illinios. This might disinfrancise people of color, well when you sign up for guvment benefits what are the standards are they harder than voting? Just Obama trying to flame the fire, and get reelcted
Just Look at How Franken of Minnesota got elected,You got to have some type of Standards and It's up to Each State to enact a Basic Form of ID/ The States might want add it in High School Government Class on what the requirements are. Keep it Simple.Those Touch Screens Should have a paper Trail for Accountability,and Early Voting no sooner than a week prior election(general).Other than Military & People who are not present(Alive) should Receive Absentee Ballot.
Pre-seed, you are obviously a bigot and a liar; I have lived in the South all of my life and I've never seen a sign or billboard like that.
This should be a bipartisan issue. You need ID to buy a beer or borrow a library book; so producing some sort of federal or state document at the voting place seems fair and reasonable. If it involves yet another task for voter registration folks . . . so be it.
What is the problem with voter ID laws ?
This is for trust2112, I'll say it to your face any day of the week. Do you need to show a birth certificate, highly doubtful if you happened to have your VA card with you. Remember every time you went to the class 6 store, exchange, come onto your base or go to any medical appointment your were required to show your ID. The first voting Fraud truly happened in the 2000 election in Florida, when GW was appointed president. The last time it happened was in Illinois during the 2008 election. It has been proved that there was voting fraud committed. If you are required to show your VA, drivers license ID to vote, stop with the pissing and moaning and grow a pair.
"The department would still be able to use another Section of the VRA to challenge voting laws that have a racially discriminatory impact."
Any of you libs want to tell me what's racial about picture ID's????
We have to use them for almost everything.....soooooooo....you are upset that we are trying to eliminate voter fraud and illegal alien voting?
Because in my opinion that's how Obama won in 2008...no more scams people
Ron Paul 2012
Let's see....everybody is required to register to vote. Registrar, under penalty of law, checks citizen's identification and verifies address. At that point, very little extra effort and expense to provide a valid U.S. Citizen Voter ID Card on the spot.
There...how hard was that?
Oh, by the way, did you forget to bring your ID card on election day? Sorry, too bad. Go back and get it or you obviously aren't qualified or smart enough to vote. You should take that responsibility more seriously.
The only people who "fear" voter ID are those who have found a way to "game" the system.
BB, I have registered to vote in three different states and have never been required to show an ID.
In our very rural neck of the woods where everyone knows everyone else, I still have to have a photo ID in order to cast my vote. Same way I have to present photo ID when I go to the ER, but if an illegal immigrant shows up and doesn't have one they are seen anyway and we have to move heaven and earth to provide an interpreter and forms in their language. Huge joke is many of the ones we are seeing (from very poor segments of Central America) can't read or write in ANY language but we MUST provide these materials to them in Spanish. We had a couple women from China et Vietnam who spoke English as a second language (barely) and we did not have to provide them forms in their language and these ladies could read. How many automated answering services ask you to press a number for anything other than English et Spanish? Why the difference? Politics, pure and simple. We have illegal immigrants from all other parts of the world, not just the Hispanic countries, yet Hispanics have been singled out as special and deserving of all priviledges. Why? Votes. The illegal immigrants with anchor babies have learned to work the system and our government is catering to them by providing funds, some of which goes to Mexico where an alarming number of our local women send their babies because it is cheaper to raise the child there and not have all the hassles of immunizations, truancy, etc. If I have to provide a photo ID to vote in a community that I have lived in for almost 30 years then why should anyone else be different? Another reason many of the illegal folks don't want to get an official ID is because they routinely use several different IDs (1 for hospital, 1 for work, 1 for health department, etc.) and if there was 1 official photo ID then they couldn't work the system. Make it fair, everyone shows the ID or they don't vote, period.
The Bush administration investigated voter fraud and found fewer than 50 cases, nationwide over 4 years. Republican governors talk about voter fraud but have found very little and more often than not -- none at all. South Carolina recently talked about something like 900 dead people who were still on the voter list. But they couldn't find any case of dead people voting. It's a lot of hot air over NOTHING. My wife died two years ago. Chances are she is still listed as an eligible voter in my state. Rest assures -- she hasn't voted since she died. We hear about people registering to vote as Mickey Mouse or some other insane name. But the conservatives who mention that can't show us where Mickey Mouse actually voted.
It’s NOT about voter, it about voter suppression. I have no problem with a picture ID. But why in say Texas the same ID that will get you on an airplane, will allow you to purchase liquor, will allow you to buy a gun, is NOT valid for voting? Why is it in states like Ohio and Wisconsin, Republican governors make it harder to register, close down registration offices and make it harder to vote early?? Why is it that in some states, even a valid, up to date UD Passport is NOT an acceptable ID to vote?
The reality is we are NOT going to have thousands upon thousands if illegal immigrants, non-citizens, and ex-convicts lining up to vote. Real voter fraud is gong to happen electronically and that’s what we should be concerned about. So far NONE of these right wing Republican governors have done anything about electronic voter fraud.
Let's see.. the government sends out voter's registration cards. One per voter. Two people show up to vote as the same person. The onus is on the GOVERNMENT to prove that you're not that voter, at that point. The onus is NOT on the voter. It is his/her RIGHT to vote.
That means, once again, that it's on the government to prove they have a right to take away that vote.
You gentle folks on the Right spend all your time time crowing about rights being taken away, then you go out and advocate for that very thing.
Give me a break.
It's my right to speak freely and breathe air. You wanna ask me for ID to do it?
Have a nice day.
Many of these laws require a particular voter ID card--not just any type of picture ID.
And guess how hard these GOP laws are making it for people of color to get those cards?! For example, no offices in those neighborhoods; hours that do not accomadate people who are not able to get away from work to get an ID; extreme backlogs for people who try to get one by mail because they are homebound or have no car, etc., etc.
If you don't understand how this works to disenfranchise (deny voting rights), then you need to read a little history. Start with Jim Crow laws from the south.
The whole line that the Democrats are pushing that these voter ID laws will disenfranchise minority voters is a bunch of bull. In Indiana, where they had a voter ID law in place for the last election, there as absolutely no difference in minority participation in the election than in previous years. The reason the Democrats don't want these voter ID laws is because it will keep the illegals from voting illegally to support Obama. The idea that there is some huge number of people in this country who do not have photo IDs as also pure fiction. You need a photo ID to cash a check, buy alcohol, buy cigarettes, and do many other things in today's society. Because of this, virtually everyone already has a photo ID in their possession. For those that don't, every state issues what is called a non-driver photo ID card. In most states it is issued for free and the ones that do charge only charge about $5 for the card. Requiring a photo ID to vote will help to ensure the integrity of our elections. The only ones who don't want this law are the ones who are counting on illegal votes for their candidates to help get them elected.
It does not happen very often, but I was present one time when a person came up to the table to check in to vote and was told they had already voted. Obviously this per5son as shocked to hear this since they had definitely not voted yet. It seems someone had used this persons identity to vote in their place. This person had photo ID to prove he was who he said he was, so he was allowed to vote, even though it was on a provisional ballot. However, they then had a problem because they had to try and figure out a way to determine who the fraudster had voted for to void the ballot. This is purposely not something that is easy to do since who you vote for is intentionally kept private in this country.
Anybody who thinks that there is no voting fraud in this country is deluding themselves. Illinois, and Chicago in particular, has long had a problem with the cemetery vote. There was also an instance in one small district, I can't remember the state (I think it was somewhere in the mid west), where they had more votes recorded in an election than there were registered voters in the district. It happened in a non-presidential election year, so it did not get much press.
I know a bunch of folks think the Federal Government is too big but please tell me this; if we are all voting in the same presidential election, why the hell don't the feds make the rules about voting? And besides that, why isn't voting paid for with federal dollars? That way all states have the same rules and the same voting equipment.
Honest people have no trouble with proper voter ID.
Those who are dishonest, fraudulent, or from Chicago, most definitely do.
We banned voter registration fees years ago... because there are the unimaginably poor... and it is a "burden".
Requiring an ID to vote does seem simple enough. And it is, unless you are poor, unless you live very rural, unless you have no birth certificate, unless, unless....
Look. Maybe this is a good idea. It sounds okay. But there are people that do not have licenses or state IDs today... for some reason. And unless you can guarantee that a new voter ID bill will not cause the exclusion of ONE voter, the voter ID should not be enacted.
Okay, let's do this by statistics... if you can prove that more fraud will be eliminated than valid voters denied, then we have a discussion. But you don't even have THAT. We have no proof of overwhelming voter fraud. If you have it, produce it.
The bottom line is that the above arguments will prevail in court in front of the election... so legislate away GOP... voter ID your hearts out. Just be prepared to prove fraud and that the law is NOT exclusionary of valid voters.
Fat chance.
Do you people realize that you'll probably lose more votes from the ethical side of your own party than the ones you deny through trickery? Every one of these idiotic and obvious moves lose you votes and party members.
To all you people on here saying you need an ID card to get into a Government building,courthouse and to check out a book I call BS. I have never and I mean never been required to show an Id to get into any Government or public building in Missouri and that includes our state capitol. I had to pass through metal detectors but did not have to prove who I was at all. And now for the real no brain er the YOU HAVE TO HAVE AN ID TO CHECK OUT A BOOK. How many libraries have you ever been to, most the people in them are children and children do not need an ID for anything let alone to check out a book get real and quit lying to try and bolster your point of view. And in case you are wondering I have no problem with requiring an ID but any legal picture ID should and if you are going to make a state required than you have to make them ant the required documentation to get it free of charge and if not than it is and should not be required.
The thread is getting a little old, but how 'bout this:
Next time you vote, they take your picture and send you an ID card? If you vote, you get your very own free picture ID. Hurry, one time only! Next time you have to bring this ID, or go out and pay for your own! No voter fraud after that (not that there was any before).
How do you think the Republicans will like that one?
If I were a republican, and I was afraid of big government intruding on my Constitutional rights, I would be very suspicious of any mandate that required me to go through the process of obtaining some sort of big government issued ID in order to perform the most basic civil right of voting. Yes, we have seen big brother in the government, and it turns out, it's the GOP.
When are libs going to start looking after my rights? I'm a valid US citizen and have jumped through the hoops, admittedly anyone with half a brain can jump through them, but the point is that I'm a legitimate US citizen registered to vote. Why won't you libs protect my right to have my vote counted? My vote is a heck of a lot less than a vote if illegal votes are counted. Anyone who isn't entitled to vote who does vote disenfranchises me. I know the answer, but I want you libs to tell me why I should be entitled to less than a full vote!
A lot of you posters are saying "well if you are legal why don't you just get a license it is YOUR responsibility"............ Come on people it isn't just the immigrants that have trouble. MY 85 YEAR OLD BLIND FATHER, has no ID.
He can't have a license and his birth certificate has been misplaced for half a century, and good luck finding his SS card since he hasn't worked in 25 + years...............It isn't just the minorities that these Republicans are targeting it is the Senior Citizens too. My Dad couldn't even get on a plane because he didn't have proper ID........... RUN THROUGH THE HOOPS I RAN THROUGH JUST TO GET HIM AN ID CARD. HINT (It took OVER a year).
lib50 and others - what is wrong with a photo ID? I showed mine when I voted in 2010. What possible lame brain excuse can anyone use to say they can't get one?
Oh, I forgot, I can't afford one! BS lib50 put your name on a list willing to donate funds to pay for someones ID.
Oh, I forgot, I don't want to spend the time to get the documentation!
My dog ate it! Heck, I go into the grocery and check out, there is a sign that says we check ID's on anyone 40 or under when buying cigs or booze. Having one to vote is being a hardship? What a crock...
Maybe you should walk a mile in my 85 year old blind fathers shoes for a bit american-2051576 Get a clue that its not ALL ABOUT people not being able to afford it or too lazy......... It took me a YEAR to get my blind Dad an ID card........... not everything is all about YOU. Your type of response is exactly what is wrong with America...
SmBusOwnerinNY That is probably the best idea I have ever heard. It would have saved a year running around trying to get an ID card for my 85 yr old blind Dad....
lmarct: You are right, there is no poll tax. But, your logic falters at that point. The fact is that every state will provide an ID for free if one is indigent. Heck, a non-driver ID cost maybe a buck anyway. No birth certificate? Well, the question then is why. If you lost it, then it can be replaced. Don't have the 5 bucks to replace it, well I'm sure there are organizations that will help you. Since dems want everyone to vote, I'm sure all one has to do is call their local dem precinct chairman to get it taken care of. Admittedly, they might ask whether the person would vote dem or repub, but certainly not a hurdle that can't be conquered.
The bottom line is that if you aren't willing to make a little effort to get your ID, then you shouldn't be voting in the first place. Also, chances are you won't vote anyway, since you don't care. Which leaves us with the people who would vote with an ID. Doesn't take much brains to figure out that the chances are that one who legitimately has the right to vote, but won't make the tiny bit of effort that it takes to exercise that right is probably not a major problem. On the other hand, people who want to vote but don't qualify, would probably make a little effort to perpetrate the fraud.
Do you really think that either party would not make the effort to make sure that one who will vote for them and are qualified to do so, wouldn't make the effort to make sure, not only that they have the proper ID, but also get to the polls?
Sorry, but the fact is that the only people being disenfranchised by requiring a valid ID are those who legally obtain a valid ID.
Consider this: Quite a few elderly Americans were born at home. As a result, they have no birth certificate.
And because of their age, they no longer drive, so they don't have a DMV ID. Or what about other people that don't have a driver's license because they're handicapped or can't afford a car? Under one proposed Voter ID rule, if you don't have a driver's license ID to show as proof, you can't vote.
Under the rules of a few of the proposed Voter ID laws in certain states, they can't get a Voter ID without showing a birth cert, or pay a tax for it. Thus, they will NOT be allowed to vote because some right-winger will assume they're, "illegal immigrants." Maybe they'll flag them to be arrested and deported, too, eh?
Wisconsin’s Voter ID Law Forces Woman To Pay Unconstitutional Birth Certificate Poll Tax To Get Photo ID
thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/12/12/387601/wisconsins-voter-id-law-forces-woman-to-pay-unconstitutional-birth-certificate-poll-tax-to-get-photo-id/?mobile=nc
I don't suppose you'd like to cite those like a grown-up?
Why is this an issue? This is only an issue to democrats....they want the illegal votes....they know it will be the only way King Obama is re-elected....voter fraud....
Duh...
Make it a law you have to present and get scanned a legal state-issued ID to buy beer and cigarettes or to rent a video, or to collect a form of welfare redistribution, and all of the sudden everyone has an ID, but to vote, then miraculously, too many "poor and minority" don't have (and can't get) an ID. ID requirement laws are selectively a problem only when they may make it more difficult on libs to rack up some extra votes.
Nope. Not a single bit of evidence of voter fraud anywhere. But don't let the facts get in your way.
The only one who got elected illeagally was G W Bush.Remember 2000.
It never fails to amaze me as to the lengths members of the right wing lunatic fringe will go to nuture their paranoia. Take dixie girl for example - she's afraid that illegals will come out in droves to vote for Obama. Never mind that illegals want to remain under the radar - they will not register or vote out of fear of being investigated and deported.
You want voter photo IDs? Fine with me. But it's a solution to a non-problem. And it won't change the outcome of the upcoming election, given the line-up of clowns the GOP is currently fielding.
stexan, i work at the election polls in tennessee. you're not just screwing the people you want with this as MANY seniors don't have a license with a picture as they have never gotten one. they still use the old licenses that have no picture. this is in an extremely republican state and will be a factor in the elctions as the elderly probably won't hear about this till election day.
cbrown
How about these examples??
Back in April, in a story that did not receive the attention it deserved, a Tunica County, Miss., jury found Lessadolla Sowers, who have been identified as a member of the executive committee of the county's NAACP chapter, guilty of 10 counts of fraudulently casting absentee ballots in the name of others
The date of the article is July 29,2011.
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/peter-roff/2011/07/29/despite-what-democrats-claim-voter-fraud-is-real
LAKE COUNTY, Ill. - An illegal alien from the Philippines was arrested Thursday morning on a felony complaint charging her with 17 counts related to voter fraud in Lake County. The state charges resulted from a joint investigation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Lake County State's Attorneys Office. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) also provided assistance.
Maria Azada, 53, of Grayslake, Ill., was arrested March 17 by ICE HSI agents and a Lake County State's Attorneys special investigator. Azada faces 17 felony counts in Lake County Circuit Court of perjury, mutilation of election materials, and tampering with voting machines in connection with illegal voting by a non-U.S. citizen.
The investigation began in February 2009 when Azada admitted to a USCIS officer during an interview for an immigration benefit that she had voted in an election. It is illegal for foreign nationals to vote in national or state elections in the United States.
A subsequent investigation revealed that Azada allegedly voted nine times in primary, general and consolidated elections between 2003 and 2009. According to the arrest warrant, Azada allegedly falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen on two Illinois Voter Registration applications.
Notice if you will that this is from ICE.gov
http://www.ice.gov/news/releases/1103/110317lakecounty.htm
Then there is this one.
TROY — The arrests of seven Democrats in a vote-stealing scandal topped the year's news in a city in which political wrangling amounts to a sport.
The headlines kept on coming and culminated in December, when City Council President Clement Campana, who had earlier dropped his candidacy for mayor, Councilman John Brown and two party operatives were charged with helping forge 49 ballots in the 2009 Working Families Party primary to benefit Democratic candidates.
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Vote-rigging-scandal-rocks-Troy-2429705.php
The former mayor of the tiny municipality of Vernon and his wife were convicted Friday of voter registration fraud and fraudulent voting.
Leonis Malburg, 80, who had been mayor of Vernon for more than 50 years before resigning this summer, and Dominica Malburg, 83, did not live in Vernon, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Johnson found in a non-jury trial.
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/-Local-Politician-Convicted-of-Fraud-78576127.html
Do you want some more???
Rich - Gore was trying to cherry pick which counties in Florida he wanted recounted, which was the only illegal aspect, as evidenced by the Supreme Court ruling. Expand your knowledge.
It's time to scrap the electoral college and elect the President by popular vote only.
hatr
How did those Seniors who don't have a photo ID get their SS Check? When I applied for my SS I had to show a PHOTO ID. How did they apply for their SS Check??
STexan you know why they don't have an ID. They haven't paid their child support and are on the Attorney Generals list. Soon to be picked up so they can explain in court why you and I should be supporting their kids instead of them. If they make an arragement with the Attorney General they can get that ID tomorrow.
Veteran - Which other parts of the Constitution do you want to disregard? The electoral college is the only thing that got this republic formed.
So where is your evidence of illegal voters? C'mon, not some parroted nonsense you heard from Rush, but an actual link showing these illegal voters. You know you can't.
Colorado, the Constitution is a living, evolving document. It can be ammended. It was ammended almost immediately after it was first written by the Bill of Rights.
The electoral college has outlived its original purpose and its usefulness. In the same way as slavery, only allowing the vote to male land owners, prohibition and other tenets that were once part of the Constitution.
I thought you did have to have a government issued ID to get booze/smokes/welfare. I got carded last week to buy a can of WD40 for my squeaky ceiling fan, so I'm surprised so many people get along so well in the world without some form of legal ID, considering how much you need it for. How do you cash checks? Open a bank account?
To..slodan""
#3.7
bring it on ...
2. MANIPULATION OF VOTER REGISTRATIONS and PURGES:
Did 308,000 cancelled Ohio voter registrations put Bush back in the White House?
by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman
February 28, 2006
It turns out, we missed more than a few of the dirty tricks Karl Rove, Ken Blackwell and their GOP used to get themselves four more years. In an election won with death by a thousand cuts, some that are still hidden go very deep. Over the next few weeks we will list them as they are verified.
One of them has just surfaced to the staggering tune of 175,000 purged voters in Cuyahoga County (Cleveland), the traditional stronghold of the Ohio Democratic Party. An additional 10,000 that registered to vote there for the 2004 election were lost due to "clerical error."
As we reported more than a year ago, some 133,000 voters were purged from the registration rolls in Hamilton County (Cincinnati) and Lucas County (Toledo) between 2000 and 2004. The 105,000 from Cincinnati and 28,000 from Toledo exceeded Bush's official alleged margin of victory---just under 119,000 votes out of some 5.6 million the Republican Secretary of State. J. Kenneth Blackwell, deemed worth counting.
http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2006/1832...
Ex-GOP operative tells cautionary tale about 'how to rig an election'
Oct 22,2008
Allen Raymond went to prison for jamming phones of N.H's Democratic Party Operation also prevented local firefighters from helping senior citizens get to polls Raymond called scheme ingenious i
in an "evil genius sort of way" Democrats insist phone jamming operation had national implications
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (CNN) -- Allen Raymond is living proof that political dirty tricksters do exist
The former Republican political operative went to federal prison after he pleaded guilty to charges of phone harassment. He jammed the phone lines of New Hampshire's Democratic Party on Election Day six years ago.
"The concept was to disrupt lines of communication. That's a fancy way of saying, 'make it so the phones didn't work,' " Raymond told CNN recently. "No calls going out. No calls going in."
http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/22/rigging.election/index.html
Drinking the ACORN Kool-Aid: How Cries of Voter Fraud Cover Up GOP Elections Theft
Robert F. Kennedy Jr and Greg Palast
October 28, 2008
Virtually the entire mainstream electronic media drank ACORN Kool-Aid this month brewed up by the Republican National Committee. Almost no one seriously challenged John McCain's comical assertions that ACORN, a grassroots voter registration group, "is now on the verge of maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history in this country, maybe destroying the fabric of democracy."
While the Republicans had the distracted media searching for links between Obama and ACORN, RNC operatives were busily completing one of the most massive voter suppression and purging efforts in American history, stealing hundreds of thousands of Democratic votes across the embattled swing states and striving to arrange chaos and endless lines at the voting booths next week.
First the facts about ACORN.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr-and-greg-palast/drinking-the-acorn-koolai_b_138390.html
HATR_HURTER
Then someone should tell them (a mailing by the state) and they should get a replacement ID with photo if they want to vote.
Exactly right dixie girl, and it was those same Democrats that threw the election in Florida to get Bush elected in 2000. <sarcasm off>
Seriously? This is just more of the same Jim Crow old south GOP trying to co-opt the election process.
Since most people who get Federal help have automatic deposits, there is no reason to have an ID Card. You don't need one to ride the bus, walk or ride a bike. You need one to drive a car, buy alchohol or tobacco, but the majority of people getting Federal help (SS, SSDI - this is NOT State Aid) do not have a need for valid ID. If you know your Social Security Number, and can answer the questions on the SSA phone system (it's not as easy as it seems, BTW) you can get direct deposit. You no longer need to get a check, or cash it. You can, also, change your address and phone number through the phone system.
State aid (Medicaid, Food Stamps, WIC, etc.) do require an initial ID, but not afterward. It is not necessary, nor should it be. If you know someone who is getting benefits illegally in someone else's name, turn them in. That is the best way to stop the few who cheat the system.
Those who are insisting that everyone HAS to have an ID are barking up the wrong tree. You don't.
Yes Slodon would like more examples, as this is what I find:
See more about the link between voter fraud and restrictive ID rules here and here.
Colorado man, how many states were there when the electoral college was established? Was there even electicity, or telephones, rapid transit, any way to get from A to B in less than a day, by foot or horseback?
In todays United States of America, the only reason for such an anachronism is because the power lovers in Washington, D.C. don't want the actual VOTERS, the people that hire them, to actually be able to determine who the head power monger is.
With modern technology, there is absolutely no need for those foolish, greedy, irresponsible cretins in that city to determine OUR voting patterns. It is time the people actually have that right to place THEIR votes directly for the person they choose.
I've seen this taken even further, by eliminating ALL party caucuses, primaries, and party discussions, and just have one election, nationwide, and no reporting goes to any media, until the last polling places close. Of course, that would have the effect of putting a lot of people on unemplyment, mostly big money lobbiests, as they couldn't buy the votes of EVERYONE that might vote, instead of the 400-500 votes they buy now. Just think, no more PAC's, super PAC's, or other influence peddling creeps.
Just think, if you wanted to run for that highest office, as long as you meet the legal criteria, you could, unlike today, when it is the person with the most money that gets it. And before you go off on that tangent, look at the advertising money that is being spent by ALL the contenders for that job, and see who has one of the biggest election campaign chests going today.
Here in Massachusetts you now have to show a photo id to buy cold medicine. So I guess it alright for the state to make me show id to prove your over 18 to buy cold medicine but asking to see an id to vote is wrong. I wonder how all those indvidual without id buy cold medicine in this state. Maybe all you libs show be up in arms over the state of Masschusetts dening citizens cold medicine since they don't have an id.
slodon, i don't know, i don't follow them home and go through their business. i just know at elections they can't come up with one or choose to lie and not show one. until last year they didn't have to have a photo one.
The claims that voter ID laws unfairly target minorities is usually BS. Most states that pass these laws also have cheap ($25 at most) or free State ID cards. As to why many of them don't allow driver's licenses, aside from being easily and frequently faked, there's the simple fact that YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A CITIZEN TO DRIVE.
And you call it jumping through hoops because you have to keep records of your name changes? Compare that to how the left is restricting gun purchases in D.C., Chicago, and other places. Requiring numerous licenses, permits, and registrations, requiring taking training often not legally offered in the city, passing tests, surrendering identity information such as fingerprints, frequently result in 6 months or a year and upwards of $500 added on to enjoy one right, while the Reps are merely requiring a few hours in line, a decent record of your identity (name changes), and MAYBE a $25 fee to enjoy another.
There have been A FEW proposals that have been abusive, but these extremes were the exception, not the rule.
You're actually complaining that paying for the right to vote is OK but having to pay for costs associated with gun ownership are unjust? The SCUSA was abundantly clear that gun ownership is a right but that such is subject various restrictions. The right to vote is an extension of right to speech and petition one's government. As for gun ownership, four words-- "a well regulated militia..." Keep handing over your fingerprints and as far as I'm concerned we'll have a well regulated militia.
Any requirement that a fee must be paid in order to vote is, in effect, a poll tax designed to prevent those who have little money from being able to vote. Since there is little doubt that proportionately, there are larger numbers of poor in minority groups (blacks, hispanics) than in the caucasion populations, the voter id requirement is meant to disenfranchise these minorities. While overall the number of white poor is greater, the proportion of poor to the ethnic group is much smaller.
The goal, of course, is to prevent minorities from voting since they have, historically, voted for Democrats.
Having to pay a fee for ID is not a poll tax. But maybe they are not used to paying for anything.
If you can afford a Driver's License that's all you should need to vote, a valid driver's license. One question, why do people say this is a ploy to keep minorities from voting? There are a lot of rich minorities and a lot of poor majorities in this country folks.
So $25.00 is nothing to you. But to most of us out here, $25.00 is all we have to live on till next pay day after paying the rent, utilities, groceries, gasoline etc. Especially the poor and elderly are affected by this unfair and UNNECESSARY law. We are not to PAY for our voters rights. They are guaranteed to us. Voter rights have no comparison to your petty complaints about gun registration. I love to fish and I have to pay for a fishing liscence each year. I think don't think that's unfair.
The main issue to me is that there is no reason for what the Republicans are doing other than to stack the deck in their favor and voter suppression.
So $25.00 is nothing to you. But to most of us out here, $25.00 is all we have to live on till next pay day after paying the rent, utilities, groceries, gasoline etc. Especially the poor and elderly are affected by this unfair and UNNECESSARY law. We are not to PAY for our voters rights. They are guaranteed to us. Voter rights have no comparison to your petty complaints about gun registration. I love to fish and I have to pay for a fishing liscence each year. I think don't think that's unfair.
The main issue to me is that there is no reason for what the Republicans are doing other than to stack the deck in their favor and voter suppression.
consider-it (and please do),
As far as I know, every state that demands an ID will issue one for FREE to anyone who wants one.
Perhaps it's a minority opinion here, but I'd be quite as happy if people who don't care enough to get an ID didn't vote.
merten
Yes the words "A well regulated militia" are the first words of the Second Amendment. Now as to the meaning of those words. "Regulated" as used in the 18th century can pertain to a DISCIPLINED OR TRAINED militia,NOT a regulated militia as in restricted. I suggest you read the Federalist Papers. Number 29 I believe it is.
Militia can be 1 of 3 meanings.
Notice the 3rd meaning. See the word "eligible"?? Doesn't that mean NOT IN THE MILITARY??
Sorry for the font. That's just the way it appears. I don't know how to change it.
My 87 year old mother had a State ID card issued by Texas that didn't have an expiration date. It cost $5 at the time but was needed for check cashing, and many other services. The drivers license when scanned in Texas will pull up whether or not you are a citizen as will the state issued ID it is the same format issued in the same place by the same people who will also send your voters registration in. The only difference is where it says driver license instead it says identification card. And I can think of 12 million reasons for requiring an official ID.
Consider it - How are you paying for your internet access if $25 is so much for you? Your whining is so transparent...
Consider it..., if you can not afford an ID you can not afford Internet... or are the rest of us paying that for you as well? You have to have an ID to get unemployment benefits... cash a check... or just walk around town; I have to carry one... what makes you so special?
consider it - why are you paying for gas if you don't have a driver's license?
Colorado-Man: >>How are you paying for your internet access if $25 is so much for you?
It is very likely that if they are posting here and don't have internet that they are using facilities for free at a library. A lot of people do you know.
The entire point of these proposed laws is to create obstacles to a class of voters. The current system of checking a person's name and address at the polls has been working just fine for years. Any change is unnecessary.
Or more likely they are simply full of it and being argumentative for the sake of being so.
I do believe however that any state that tries to enforce this kind of legislation should make the required picture ID free of charge and not just to those who plead poverty.
you have to have an ID to use the computer at the library...
using the computer in the library is not a constitutional right.
From: Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law
OBAMA IN 2012
70+ SEATS FOR DEMS IN THE SENATE
CONTROL OF THE HOUSE
Put JOHN "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a SCOTCH AND TONIC today" BOEHNER, "CANTDO ANYTHING" CANTOR, AND MITCH PEABODY MCCONNEL ON A SLOW PINK BUS TO CHINA...
@ldo:
Unfortunately no becuase Teapubs keep exposing their racist and women hating agenda. So NO ldo we can not yet move on. This is why we need a strong Republican Party.
We need a strong Republican party but right now, that just doesn't exist, and it's not good for either side. Right now, we have a Republican party usurped by loons and goons whose only goal is to bring down President Obama, regardless of the cost to the country, regardless of the damage. Oh, they have a few other ulterior motives, like imposing an authoritarian religious regime on the country, and controlling womens access to reproductive healthcare services.
Repairing our badly damaged and crumbling roads, our airports, bridges, dams, levees, schools, hospitals, national parks, our electrical and water grids? Creating badly needed jobs and strengthening an economy teetering on the edge of collapse?
No, that’s not even a blip on their radar, too busy preaching tax cuts for the rich and “austerity” and “sacrifice” for everyone else, like a fat man telling someone dying of starvation the way to get better is to eat even less, OR die quickly.
And as a result, we have a Democratic Party gradually starting to lose its way as well, rife with DINOs and Blue Dogs and the incompetent or lazy or co-opted. Without an honorable opposition, we have very little with which to keep our parties honest.
We need a strong, healthy, honorable Republican Party to stay strong, healthy and honorable ourselves. The Republican Party was once a champion of civil rights, personal responsibility and a regulated government, and engendered people like Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower.
Today, Mitt Romney’s father would not recognize the Republican Party his son would like to head, Ronald Reagan’s son says his father would be furious with what the Republican party has become - a party utterly dominated by the rich, the religious fanatic, the psychotic, and the jingoistic bigot. The last remnants of the decent, honorable Old Time Republican party are either senile or dead, what’s left is vitriolic, mean-spirited and downright stupid.
OBAMA IN 2012,
70+ SEATS FOR DEMS IN THE SENATE,
CONTROL OF THE HOUSE,
Put JOHN "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a SCOTCH AND TONIC today" BOEHNER, "CANTDO ANYTHING" CANTOR, AND MITCH PEABODY MCCONNEL ON A SLOW PINK BUS TO CHINA...
Really Ron!?..., the Dems couldn't pass a budget when they had control of the House, Senate and the Presidency..., if you get your wish we will be bankrupt in a month or less. Take a good look at Greece... I'm not sure that isn't the President's plan for us anyway.
"If you don't have 25 dollars how are you using the internet?" Derp derp derrrrrrrp. It's called free wifi at Starbucks and about a million other places.
Republicans want to win at any cost. Whether it's rigging electronic voting machines, hanging chads not counted by the presidential candidate's brother, or obstructing the vote for anyone who won't vote for their candidates.
All factual claims, people. Tell me, if a party truly believes in democracy why in the world would they do those things?
About the 2nd Amendment: SCOTUS clearly held in Heller v. D.C. that the "well-regulated militia" preface to the 2nd Amendment didn't allow the government to prohibit personal gun ownership and, in particular, struck down a handgun ban. Heller allowed reasonable restrictions on gun ownership, if I remember correctly, though what's reasonable isn't yet well-defined. If you think guns can be restricted to the military or law enforcement, SCOTUS disagrees and with good reason; it's far too easy for a strong central government to oppress people if it knows it can keep weapons out of their hands, and that's part of why the 2nd Amendment was formulated.
But back to the topic at hand. I don't think this is a partisan issue. I think it's an issue of basic fairness and good order for people to prove they're eligible to vote, so long as the guidelines are neutral and no more than necessary to establish identity, citizenship, and residence and the process can be completed at no more than minimal (and probably waivable) out of pocket expense. I could change my mind if you made a good case of unjust discrimination, but simple laziness or lack of proof of citizenship doesn't seem like an appropriate objection to me. As others mentioned, we have to show ID for all kinds of things; these requirements don't sound unreasonable and a person should only have to go through the process once. After that, one would think that a driver's license should be enough.
5 deleted, Hugh Jorgan writing that:
You're suspended for a week for violating #1 of the Code of Honor.
...
Under that, virtualgd called them a moron. Don't.
You're suspended for a day for violating #1 of the Code of Honor.
These same people that it seems would have a problem with presenting some form of identification in order to vote, don't seem to have a problem with coming up with identification when it comes time to apply for their welfare money. I mean, I hope our government isn't just handing money out to anyone that walks in the door. I would hope that they are at least verifying that the person is who they say they are.
I just have to reply to all of you stupid idiots asking me about my finances. First of all, like just about everyone I know, my Internet is bundled with my telephone and cable service. YES I dare to enjoy these things. I work my ass off so I deserve it. Do you really believe you have a right to tell me that I don't? Typical right wing arrogance. Your stupid questions are just rude. Of course this is what I expected from right wingers. You even assume that I don't have an ID. Dummies. I've had a driver's license for 45 years! Yeah. THAT'S why I'm daring to spend money on gasoline. I have to get to work you know. Include myself with "most of us out here" because I consider myself a neighbor and sister of all the rest of Americans trying to have a good life even against the tide of right wing assaults on the middle class. Yes. The middle class. There has always been a middle class in this country. Your Republican politicians would like to convince you that this is a new thing, class warfare they are calling it. But I've been here all my life and lived in the middle class the whole time. We've always been referred to as the middle class. You people are really fools. So easily misled. Even with this whole voter registration business. They've convinced you that it's a result of rampant voter fraud. When the right wing did their own research they proved that there have been nothing more than about 350 cases of it in the past couple of decades! AND many of the frauds voted for REPUBLICANS. You worry me. Really.
The only question is whether the wingnuts are actually ignorant of history, or are pretending to be.
There is no question that they are racists who back a blatantly racist agenda.
It is the fact that there was no talk about voting fraud, and voting IDs during 1999-2000, or thereafter -- until a man had the gall to be elected president While Being Black.
Exactly as there weren't teadupes until that occurred.
If they are going to make a photo ID a "requirement" to vote, then they should provide photo ID cards free of charge. Maybe pay people for the time it takes to stand in line... My time is just as valuable as any of these Repuks...and standing in line is probably more than any of them have gotten done during the past 3 years... Every citizen of this country has the right to vote... regardless of a "Photo" ID... Kick the GOP/TP out...OBAMA 2012.
Driver's Licenses aren't free, but that's all you should need to vote, no ADDITIONAL type of ID. If you don't drive a state issued ID card is available. You don't HAVE to get those to vote, but you need them for everything else in your life, so just use THAT to vote.
Nearly very citizen is required to have a Social Security card. Is that unreasonable?
Tim you don't drive or drink or smoke or cash checks if you do any of these in Texas you need that ID card or the drivers license. You can't fly on a plane without one. I have a bank account but besides my acct # if I want money back I need two forms of ID my DL and my Debit card or SS card will do. You are supposed to have two forms of ID to apply for a job in the US it is a requirement on the I-9 form.
To note, Social Security cards don't have pictures on them so under many of these new laws, they would not apply. Also, you have a SS number, you don't actually have to have the card with you. Take some of those that are homeless for example. They have an SS number, but it's very unlikely that they have their card.
The problem here for people posting is that they seem to be under this mistaken idea that when a state passes a voter ID law, any form of ID they might keep in their wallet would work. Unfortunately, this is not the case. When setting up a voter ID law, the state can use whatever requirement they happen to pass. This could be something to the tune of "a driver's license will do". Or, it could be something to the tune of "you have to stand in this 4-6 hour line to get an additional ID card that specifically says "Voter ID Card" on it" and pay a fee. The first may seem reasonable, while the second is not.
Ask yourself these questions. How much voter fraud happens? Does a voter registration law reduce voter fraud more than it disenfranchises those that are legally allowed to vote through mistakes? Recall that the election is not put on hold while you're sitting there trying to get some state employee to get you your ID card in time to vote.
If you can't actually answer these two questions with data to back up your claims, then you really have no reason nor right to impose such a law. Unfortunately, as is the case in many countries. Laws get passed all the time without an accurate assessment of the benefit vs. the problems it creates. It's how we get things like SOPA, the Patriot Act, or DMCA. I do find it quite amusing but not surprising that Republicans, who claim to be against such things as governmental interference with fundamental rights, would support a measure that's likely to remove fundamental rights from individuals by mistake....
indelible ink..., just like in the rest of the third world countries.
Tim + numbers my sentiments exactly. Give everyone a voter ID card free, if you really want to address the problem.
"you have to have an ID to use the computer at the library..."
But in some states -- that's NOT a valid voter ID.
@Economan:
Not sure if a SS card is required by law but its darn near impossible to get about without one. I work for an insurance plan and there hundreds of members on our plan that do not have a SS card, and a vast number of them are caucasion not of hispanic decent.
http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10002.html
I think it's a very good idea to show some I.D. this way it cuts down on voter fraud. This way dead people can not vote in 2012! You have to show an I.D. all the time, so whats the big deal!
Because over 11% of eligible voters DON'T have those ids. Many are seniors, poor, etc. Why would you want to keep eligible voters from voting over a NON-EXISTENT problem? I'm sick of this subversion of democracy. I hope this comes back to bite republicans in the ass when some of the old teapubs can't vote.
Throw me a bone here people...I must be dim witted, and to my knowledge my state is predominantly a Democratic State...but every time I've ever voted I've been required to show ID before they cross my address off on the resident list. I would be worried and skeptical of the entire process if they didn't. If you cannot show some sort of ID you should not be allowed to vote. If you are homeless you cannot be paid to go around and vote repeatedly like was done in the 1840's elections. That is why you need an ID. Period!
Depends on the State or County you are in Glen. They used to do that in Washington State to and then they went to a mostly "absentee ballot" where everyone gets their ballots mailed to them. So I think they really need to move to a National Voting method for all States and have a Universal rule for every one. It would be easier to control and keep track of.
I notice people complaining about the fee's to get a Driver's License. Note: Not everyone can have a drivers license. My 85 year old BLIND father couldn't have one, and he lost his SS card decades ago and birth certificate probably half a century ago. It took me over a year just to get him and ID card from the State of Washington and I had to pay for it myself. He lived on a small pension of $1200 a month SO THE $10. for the ID card was a big deal to him. A VERY BIG DEAL. I paid for the ID card so I could get him on a plane.
But case in point these type of rules that the Republicans are coming up with aren't for the better control of voting it is to eliminate voters from the polls. And, it specifically targets the poor voters who cannot afford ID's or what not, (LIKE MY FATHER). This is a way that the Republicans have used stinky practices to control voters from voting, against them.
Remember the US ATTORNEYS that all got fired, because they wouldn't allow the Republicans to tamper with voters? This really is all about the lack of integrity that these Republicans have, because if they can't WIN THE VOTE, they will just make sure that the minority's who likely will vote against them CAN'T VOTE. This is straight out of a Karl Rove playbook.
Anyone of You who says there is no voter fraud need to have your head examined. My god have You not watched elections over the last 40 years, and the lies that are told to get elected, and then never full filling these lies ? Yet You don't believe they would stoop to cheating ? Think about that one before You open Your pie hole !
In order to obtain a free voter ID card in Indiana you must surrender your driver's license. That is the law writ large and clear and the state charges various fees for address changes, renewal, etc. Also, this so called free voter ID requires you purchase a birth certificate, plus show 2 of the following: a credit card, utility bill, bank statement from the past 90 days. Free my a.... Of course it is meant to keep those of lesser means out of the voting picture.
Well if you have a Drivers License.... You have a picture ID.
Also surprisingly you need to bring in some proof who your are before they give you a document verifying who you are... hum sounds plausable.
It took me a total of 15 min on a Saturday in Indiana and got my card free.
Your DL is the ID card in your state if you drive thats why. that is also why you can't have DL's from multiple states anymore.
if you can not afford an ID you shouldn't be on the Internet..., even the library requires you to have an ID to use the computers for free.
If a state wants to insist on a Voter ID, they should be required to make it free and simple for everyone to get one. I.E. they should pay for every birth certificate required, make it simple to obtain, including getting one from out of state. If the state does not do this, their new laws amount to nothing more than a poll tax, and those are illegal.
Throw me a bone here people...I must be dim witted, and to my knowledge my state is predominantly a Democratic State...but every time I've ever voted I've been required to show ID before they cross my address off on the resident list. I would be worried and skeptical of the entire process if they didn't. If you cannot show some sort of ID you should not be allowed to vote. If you are homeless you cannot be paid to go around and vote repeatedly like was done in the 1840's elections. That is why you need an ID. Period!
if this is such an issue for repubs, let them pay for those new Ids. Send the bill to anyone in congress who has voted for Id.
Problem solved,,
I am amazed that at any attempt to keep the fraud from the voting booth it's the left ALWAYS fighting to keep reforms that could stop it from happening... Then again look who gets nailed for voter fraud the most often...
What's in a name? "liberalthinker"....yeah that's obvious....
How about a yearly fee and ID card for all of our rights? I'd say about $3000/yr should do. After all, we don't want illegals, felons or the mentally ill using such rights to further their own interests against those of the country.
P.O.ed person.
Maybe I'm missing something but could you tell me why asking for ID to vote is suppressing any groups? Honestly, I don't get why it's harder for some people to provide Identification then others. Serious question.
It creates a constitutional conundrum. The rights guaranteed by the constitution are supposed to come without any strings attached. That's why poll taxes are illegal (never mind their purpose, you can't charge person one cent to invoke a constitutional right). Therefore, if someone does not have an ID (specifically, the kind of ID a state might require to vote), you would have to spend time to get one (the level of hassle would likely be looked at by the SCOTUS and evaluated on a "rational basis" level which is an easy-ish standard to meet), but also they have to pay for it (which would likely be evaluated under the "heightened scrutiny" which is harder to meet).
Beyond that, there are practical conundrums. A college student, for example, might have the right to vote in the state they go to school in, but may keep an out of state driver's license. The new laws create a situation where they are not allowed to vote anywhere (as their home state won't always allow them to vote if they don't physically exist there) unless they get a new ID for the new state. This is a problem because it can jeopardize their residency and any associated health insurance they get from being a dependent from their parents.
So, all this trouble for stopping a problem where the only example that has come up recently is a republican group in NH committing voter fraud to demonstrate that it can be done. No other issues have been seriously raised. Anything else I can answer?
Eloquently stated and rational. Thank you for your input.
One has the right to vote in the district in which he lives. It's hardly unreasonable to require proof of residency (via an ID of some sort) in order to cast a vote.
Anybody want to argue that people in California should be allowed to vote in Arizona's primary?
UofC Student
Then why are my Second Amendment Rights so RESTRICTED??
University of Chicago student: Haven't you ever heard of an absentee ballot? You can send it to the state your folks live in and not have to worry about voting in state you go to school in.
I think Chicago states wouldn't have a problem with using your Illinois ID. In Texas technically only the state issued ID card and DL are acceptable for buying alcohol but we let your grandparents do it all the time with their Illinois DL's not to mention kids like you.
If they have no ID, stick their thumb in indelible ink so that we all know that they voted just once... and not a dozen times; then watch for an absentee ballot to arrive, and then arrest them if they vote twice.
Wake Up, do you know how difficult it is for someone to vote using someone else's name? First they would have to know if that person was registered, then they would have to know that person is not able to vote, and if it is someone dead, they would have to know that person has not been removed from the rolls. You wingnuts think it is so easy for anyone to just walk up to a voting station and vote.
slo, how are you "second amendment" rights restricted?
slo, how are you "second amendment" rights restricted?
Rad, in Washington State all that they have to do is pick up their neighbor's mail and vote for them... or vote for the invalid that they are caring for... or their aged parent; it is all done by mail. How do you think Patty Murray got re-elected?
Came across an interesting article that the Senate Democrats had a proposal that would require all workers in the US to carry an ID card. I know this might be a little off topic, but I thought the talk about voting cards being racist against minorities, poor, and elderly people had some similarities to this article since there was talk about workers always having IDs was racist on the same ideas. The ACLU weren't to happy about it and were successful in stopping it. Just found it interesting that the ones who are crying wolf could be the wolf themselves. Found the article @ www.upi.com with the headline "ACLU blasts national ID card proposal".
For the last 10 years I could have voted twice if I wanted to. I bought a house and when I went to vote my first time since I bought the house I was asked my name and address no ID since MA doesn't ask you for an ID. I notices on the list under my address was the name of the previous owner of the house. I told the person at the voting booth that her name needed to be removed that I now owed the house. They told me to call the town hall which I did. Yearly I get a form from my town listing who live in my house and who were registered voters. The previous owner name didn't show up on this form but she still was listed every time I went to vote under my address. ItT took 10 years to get her name of my address. So please don't tell me how hard it is to vote for someone else. I chalked it up to union state employees incompetency which I'm sure helps lead to voter fraud.
raddave
I have to show a PHOTO ID to purchase a gun. I have to register that gun. I have to get a permit to carray that gun. I have to be finger printed to get a Concela Carry Permit. I have to go to a class to get a permit. I have to SPEND MONEY to do all these things. Now if I can't afford them,I'm being denied my Second Amendent Rights! Just like a POLL TAX!!! Remember them??
Maybe nobody's told the Republicans that voter suppression is illegal.
Maybe nobody told you voter fraud is illegal.
Hey, maybe nobody told Obama and his a**hole Attorney General, Eric Holder, that voter suppression is illegal. They haven't done a thing about the Black Panthers intimidating white voters back in 2008 preventing them from voting. So STFU.
The Black Panthers thing was debunked. There is no voter fraud in the US, widespread or otherwise.
That is not true in fact they found that several people voted illegal including one person where the Black Panthers were stationed at voted for Obama ten times and he admitted it, so that is a lie, Voter fraud is alive and well, and if the Black Panthers which is a racist group are allowed to intimidate voters then I hope the white groups return the favor and stand outside the polling places just like the Black Panthers did and will do again. I personally do NOT approve other either horrible group, but if it is good for one then is good for another. The only thing hate groups produce in more hatred, and they all stink.
That is a lie.
There was a case in FL quite a few years back where 2 black candidates were running, so it wasn't about race. The votes were analyzed after noticing some election irregularities and one candidate had 100+ votes from dead people, people who had always lived out of the district, and those who voted using another's name. So the complaint that fraud doesn't exist is a lie.
Also, I have NO problem with the state providing free picture ID cards for those who don't have them. You can't buy alcohol in most states without a photo id, so why should our election system be any less sacred?
Apparently no one told the Republicans that vote counting fraud is illegal either.
Mitt Romney will be the nominee because the GOP establishment has already determined he will be the nominee.
If there is any doubt of Republican vote fraud, you need only look at their caucuses.
Except for those dead people in Chicago they vote religiously.
Toasty..., nobody like the Black Panthers? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and you are so brainwashed you wouldn't know the truth if it landed on your face and wiggled.
How is voter ID, voter suppression? What do you have to hide? The democrats stand to lose the most (illegal aliens) and that's why they are against voter ID, not because it is unconstitutional. They don't care about the Constitution anyway.
I am looking forward to the November election! I expect when whatever imbecile the right wing lunatic fringe props up as their feckless candidate loses miserably, their sniveling and raving will sound like early christmas carols!
Will this be a great election year or what?
Fulready, it is voter suppression because no state requires anyone to have an ID to begin with. Therefore not everyone who has the right to vote has an ID. On the other hand, many people who are non-citizens of this country do have ID, should they be allowed to vote? A state is not allowed to restrict someone's constitutional rights without due process and requiring an ID is not due process.
David, they were standing outside a predominately black voting station. They did not scare anyone away. And, it was the Bush Justice Department that decided not to pursue criminal charges against them.
Maybe nobody told you voter fraud is illegal.
But Republicans can't find any voter fraud. They just talk about it. It's a lot like cutting spending and less government -- all they do is talk about it.
Well, I was going to respond, but it looks like Rad and Charlie did my job for me.
Voter ID is a good thing, and most maybe not all already have pictured ID's, they need ID's to cash checks, they need them to drive and they need a pictured ID to buy liquor, you need an ID to fly, so why are the Democrats so afraid of requiring proof of ID for voting, is it because they will NOT be able to vote illegally. And we personally believe that any ILLEGAL should NOT have the right to vote in America. ILLEGAL being the important word, they broke our laws and came in illegal, they should NO rights at all.
Specifically, non-citizens can't vote. Even legal aliens can't vote till they are granted citizenship.
Many states have done away with the laws they had that prevented convicted felons from voting.
For your practical questions, I would say you underestimate the number of truly dirt poor people that live in this country and don't partake in those activities. Otherwise, I understand you.
UofC Student
So explain how those "dirt poor people" apply for Welfare,Food Stamps and HUD housing? You are REQUIRED to show a PHOTO ID to apply for those benefits.
Well unless you all want to live in towns like the one I lived in, the poll watchers were related to 80% of the people in town and personally knew the other 20%, we will have to figure out something. As it is because I live in Texas I'd just settle for an old style voter's registration card. This redistricting mess means the election boards haven't been able to issue the 2012 voters cards yet.
For Slodon. Many of them actually don't apply for such things as you mentioned. They often rely on non-government related shelters and charity to survive. Those are the ones likely to be disenfranchised by enacting such a law. Assuming that everyone that would be classified as poor is on some sort of governmental assistance shows a lack of understanding of both the system and the amount of work one must put in to actually get on governmental assistance....
Here is a link to a study on poverty and how changes in various programs have reduced participation without actually reducing poverty. http://www.urban.org/publications/310455.html
You should pay particular attention to the sections covering how complication in government programs reduces participation.
Why is it that conservatives keep wanting to solve problems that do not exist. There has been virtually no existence of voter fraud. (unlike extensive voter disenfranchisement) Why do conservatives want to restrict voters? Maybe it is because the fewer voters there are the better they do?
Why is it that conservatives love electronic voting machines with no paper trail, of which there is much indication that they don't accurately record votes. Conservatives have constantly opposed a paper trail. Why?
You are either for everyone who is eligible voting, or you are for the conservative circus.
You have to show a government ID for all sorts of things; cashing a check, opening a bank account, picking up a prescription, getting your kids in school, getting a marriage license, etc. So what's the big deal about showing a government issued ID. Hell, most states have laws requiring that you carry a drivers license or state ID card at all times.
When Democrats oppose this it appears that they favor voter fraud for political gain.
you hit nail on the head
I know Iowa does they almost arrested a friend for not having one on her.
Because none of those thing you mentioned are constitutional rights. No state requires anyone to carry an ID at all times. There is very little voter fraud committed in this country.
Maybe because Democrats care about the integrity of the voting process and the integrity of our Constitutional rights? Why don't Republicans ever do anything that will help the economy, or help create jobs? The only initiatives they seem adamant about are controlling what segments of the population votes, and controlling women's access to pre-natal care and birth control, not to mention their ability to make decisions about their own bodies.
Oh, I forgot the other thing Republicans care about. Starting war after war after war. You'll hear all about their plans for Iran if one of their nutjobs gets elected through voter suppression and fraud with electronic machines changing votes, or perhaps hanging chads again. Does Mitt or Santorum have a brother in Florida who can help them out? I'm sure they'll think of something. Something easier than proposing effective ideas to help people and the country, thus giving them a legitimate reason to vote 'R'. Because that's not as easy as dirty tricks.
From a technical standpoint is a bank embezzler who steals money any different than a person who fraudulently steals a vote that could changes the outcome of an election that effects everyone else's life. Why would any honest rational person democrat or republican not want to fix that kind of a problem, since no one has stepped up to offer a better solution other than to whine about other folks being racist or how some voters would be disenfranchised. Maybe its Bush's fault, after all he created all the other problems our country has, if you don't believe it ask President Obama or the DNC Debbie Wasserman Shultz. How about spending your time educating people who can't figure out how to get voter I.D. and maybe helping those that need help. Maybe a help hot line or action committee, but stop with the demonizing and the whining. Unfortunately there is a more serious problem with voter fraud thanks to the SEIU and ACORN than there is with disenfrachised voters. I think both problems cas be fixed, but the criminal activity has to be given priority. This not a partisan problem so the democrats need to stand up and be accounted for whats right.
What howe71 meant to really say:
From a technical standpoint is a bank embezzler who steals money any different than a
person who fraudulently steals a vote that could change the outcome of an
election that effects everyone else's life. Why would any honest rational
person democrat or republican not want to fix that kind of a problem, since no
one has stepped up to offer a better solution other than to whine about Acorn,
or voter fraud, when there is virtually none.
Maybe its Obama's fault, after all he created all the other problems our country has
(never mind that all these problems were far worse before he even took office),
if you don't believe it ask any right wing nut job or the GOP presidential 3
ring circus.
How about spending your time educating people who can't figure out that the GOP is dedicated to voter disenfranchisement. Maybe a help hot line or action committee, but stop with the disenfranchisement
and the fallacious whining about voter fraud when virtually none exits.
Unfortunately there is a more serious problem with voter disenfranchisement thanks
to the GOP and Koch Bros. than there is with voter fraud. I think both problems
can be fixed, but the criminal activity has to be given priority. This not a
partisan problem so the conservatives need to stand up and be accounted for
what is right.
"Ron in Seattle-2190928-2190938
OBAMA IN 2012,
70+ SEATS FOR DEMS IN THE SENATE,
CONTROL OF THE HOUSE,
Put JOHN "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a SCOTCH AND TONIC today" BOEHNER, "CANTDO ANYTHING" CANTOR, AND MITCH PEABODY MCCONNEL ON A SLOW PINK BUS TO CHINA..."
Ron, Ron, stop smoking that dope all day and get a job. No matter how many socialists are elected you are going to have to get a job and work for a living.
Seems the Republican'ts feel the only way they can win is by suppressing the vote via Jim Crow laws. Why is the Teabag state of Tennessee exempt from Section 5? Its got to be the most racist Jim Crow state in the entire union!!! And its gotten worse since Fuhrer Haslam stole the election
Magnum, you do not know what you are talking about. Until recently Tennessee issued a drivers license (and voter registration) to anyone that had an electric bill. After years of doing this, they routinely found 40 to 30 people that had received drivers license and were supposedly still living at the same address... and voting; this is a real problem. And I can assure you that I have to carry an ID everywhere that I go; I can not even pick up a prescription without ID.
Jerry he can't get a job he needs two forms of ID for the I-9 form.
Wake up, you are NOT required to carry an ID everywhere you go.
Rad, you are naivete... just another liberal lemming.
At the rate that Harry Reid is holding up job legislation that has passed in the House and is sitting on his desk in the Senate for the last five months ( over 30 bills), my guess is the Senate will go republican in Nov 2012 and the House will stay republican by a slimmer margin, but Obama will lie and deceive his way to another 4 years. The gridlock will continue when Obama starts using his veto power if he doesn't like the legislation if he is re-elected, so I guess the fools who vote for him will allow a failed President to stay in office. This ideology battle will continue until bankruptcy occurs for the nation, then we can hit the streets and riot like Greece. The irony of financial distress is the entitlements will be reduced or stopped, but try to get that across to the fools who are not engaged in what's really going on. We have to preserve the free market system to survive with the marketing structure of small and large business's being what they are.
howe71,
the gop has not presented any jobs bill. Just because it says jobs in the title does not mean that it has anything to do with jobs. The conservatives are experts in miss-information, you being a prime example of a misguided fool.
Why is it that the GOP has stood in the way of every true jobs bill. Then they call all indentured servitude bill a jobs bill, the conservatives truly hate the middle class and believe that the only reason that workers exist is to enrich the 1%.
All the regresioinst lemmings that vote for the GOP have bought into the lies of the GOP.
If every GOP congressman is not defeated then the gridlock will continue as they have stated that their only objective is to defeat Obama, not solve any national problems, or to server the public. Go figure.
howe71, you have been truly duped and fooled.
Stop for 2 seconds and think for yourself, turn off faux snooz.
I don't understand why this is an issue.
If you want to vote you should have to show ID. PERIOD
NEXT....
Observer, voting is a RIGHT.
A RIGHT that only CITIZENS and NON-FELONS may exercise.
You need photo ID to drive, to purchase alcohol, etc...
So how is it suddenly racist or discriminatory to ask for photo ID to vote?
I don't get it. Is it because by seeing your ID we will see what color or nationality you are? um... hate to break it to you but we can already see this when you step up to the table.
And no, an ID shouldn't be another government hand out... we are BROKE. What part of broke don't you Liberals get?
Because driving isn't a constitutional right. Buying alcohol isn't a constitutional right. Just what part of that isn't sinking in with you guys?
No ID, no vote.....so simple even a Demonrat can understand......well most of them......
Maybe the Republican Party should lead by example and have voter picture ID during the Republican primary campaign only. It probably couldn't hurt since there have been some major voter problems in Iowa, Nevada, and Maine, during this Republican primary/caucus season.
I am a Republican and where I live I have to show pictured ID, so you see Republicans are not the bad guys here. We do lead by example, maybe Obama should try it some time , instead of lying all the time.
I have been in line in elections in Texas where poll watchers have challenged voters because they knew that person hadn't lived in town for years and they wanted to vote for the mayor. Maybe the reason you haven't found the fraud is you don't really know what to look for. People routinely kept their old cluster box when they moved because the post ofiice didn't have any open. So the mailing address was Port Isabel but they lived in Laguna Heights
lonerep,
Hearsay, there have been many many investigations into voter fraud and the instance of voter fraud is virtually non existence.
Quit lying!
Dems will do just about anything to let ANYONE vote.
And Republicans will do ANYTHING to make sure only Republicans vote!
m, no... Republicans want to make sure that only Americans vote... and not Mexicans. But it sounds like you would rather let 20 million Mexicans Vote legally in America... why? would you rather live in Mexico... Mexicans vote in Mexico.
If someone breaks into your house are you going to let them decide what is for dinner and determine the family budget? Maybe the law should require that... I'll bet they could use an increase in their allowance.
Wrong, that would be the Democrats.
@mshare
So what you are saying it that it just too much to ask likely Democrat voters to produce an ID when they go to vote? I knew they were lazy but I didn't know how lazy.
Wake Up, first of all there aren't 20 million Mexicans in this country illegally. There is a total of about 8-12 million illegal immigrants in this country and they aren't all Mexicans. There have been no cases of Illegal immigrants voting illegally in this country.
Wake Up, first of all there aren't 20 million Mexicans in this country illegally. There is a total of about 8-12 million illegal immigrants in this country and they aren't all Mexicans. There have been no cases of Illegal immigrants voting illegally in this country.
Wake Up, first of all there aren't 20 million Mexicans in this country illegally. There is a total of about 8-12 million illegal immigrants in this country and they aren't all Mexicans. There have been no cases of Illegal immigrants voting illegally in this country.
and not only vote once, but several times. Just like in Chicago.......!!!
And yet when someone asks for a documented example of voter fraud, for some reason nobody responds...
You want an example? Several employees of Southeastern Wisconsin Chapter of ACORN were charged and convicted of felony voter fraud (I believe 25-30 counts) related to actions taken during the 2008 presidential election. Specifically, the charges stemmed from making payments to induce individuals to vote, falsifying registration records, and facilitating individuals voting multiple times. (See the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) They were convicted and I believe are still serving their terms.
What blows me away is how reckless we all appear to be with protecting this privilege. You need and ID to buy alcohol, tobacco, cash a check, use food stamps, board an airplane or access many state and federal buildings. Heck, I had to show mine three times today while traveling. Why not to vote? It will protect the birthright of all legal and legitimate voters.
SanneinMadison,
You need to get your fact straight. There ws zero, that is ZERO, "ZERO" voter fraud. You need to get out a bit more and stop listening to the drug addled minds on Faux snooze.
All the incedents of voter "rgistration" irregularities were reported by Acorn.
The funny thing is that never has Mickey Mouse voted. Of course the sheep keep regurgitating the talking points brainlessly. Can these folks not even engage their own brain and realize they are being played.
Silly question, as they continually blame Obama for things that happened in the 2000 to 2008 time frame and then lambaste him when he talks of history. Of course these are the same folks that want to rewrite history and take science out of schools.
You have any citations for that, Sane? I know you won't like hearing this, but if you actually informed yourself on the issue, you'd see that the articles you're going to look for saw quite the opposite.
Voter fraud! what a joke! The fraud is the fact that the Republicans are losing the demographics battle of angery old white men and rednecks. So lets go after the poor young and the minorities and the old!!! Absolutely... Everyone knows that the poor, young, the minorites and old Control Washington D.C!!!!
Our Founding Fathers would throw out each member of Congress out of the Government when they would see how completely corrupt the American Congress is! Yeah now that the War on The Middle Class is over!!! The Middle Class is extinct!!! Lets go after thoses little old ladies and poor kids... Yeah !!! It all their fault! REALLY ...WHEN DOES IDIOT PARADE STOP! Now we stop Americans from voting!!! REALLY... Lets bring back a Poll tax!
Yes they'd throw out Democrats and Republics alike.
Voter fraud is alive and well, ever been to Chicago. Start there.
Hell them dead people been voting for years in Chicago. The rest of us used to laugh at Chicago.
the was before Florida edged them out on the idiot scale...
Let me guess, LoneReb... Those citations and credible sources backing up your claim mysteriously got lost when you tried to post them?
You need ID to drive, to drink, to buy a gun, to write a check, why not to vote?
Because drinking, driving, and owning a firearm aren't individual rights, while voting is.
Check your Constitution: Owning a firearm IS an individual right, regardless of how some want to twist the meaning of the second amendment to say otherwise.
Voting is a right only to those who are eligible to exercise it. Non-citizens do not have a right to vote. Convicted felons do not have a right to vote.
So why do people have this issue with taking a simple step to simply prove they are who they say they are? We do this to make sure that the person whose name is on the check is the only one who gets the money, so why not on something so important as our vote?
Most of the opposition to this is due to years of hyped up rhetoric and nothing more. If you're so sure there is no fraud in the system then what harm does a law like this do? Isn't an ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure? Why not nip it in the bud? If you have nothing to hide then what's wrong with some sunlight?
No, it says very clearly that the right is for well-regulated militias, Dave. It's right in there. Voting on the other hand is an explicitly individual constitutional right.
Your reading comprehension is wacked.
"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
Rights are for INDIVIDUALS not groups of people.
If the 2nd Amendment was a right for a militia all the guns in this country would be locked up in state run wards that would only be distributed in a that event of a national emergency. But since you are wrong about who this right applies to, the INDIVIDUAL people own and possess the guns...as it SHOULD be.
You may put forth the idea that it is exclusively republicans who are supporting laws(qualifications) for voting....and you may equally put forth the idea that it is exclusively democrats who are supporting that there be no laws(lawlessness)(no qualifications) for voting.....What a crappy attitude by democrats, leftists, media socialists that consider lawlessness a better system....How can you talk sense to such an ignorant group???
You should half to show ID to prove that yo are a legal to vote that is how the democratic won the last election from voter fraud
mrm-Prove it! Any facts links...crickets.......
They have proven voter fraud, but the person who got cheated was Hillary Clinton.
You need to take a course in writing. There are such things as periods, capitalization, and spelling that you would benefit from knowing.
But by all means, keep thinking that the Democrats won the 2008 election by means of voter fraud even though there has been absolutely no proof that any voter fraud took place.
And for those of you who want to raise the ACORN bu//$hyt, ACORN was in the business of Voter Registration. Voter Fraud is not the same thing as Voter Registration Fraud. They are two completely separate things.
So, if you have proof of voting fraud from any previous election by all means post your link to said proof. Otherwise we all know that this VOTER ID requirement is nothing more than a Jim Crow Poll Tax dressed up in 2012 clothes.
You cannot vote unless your name is the voting roll for the district where you are trying to vote. You get on the voting roll by proving your eligibility at the time when you register. This eliminates voting by those not legally qualified by citizenship and residence. If your name isn't on the voting roll, you don't get a ballot. The only fraud ID requirements would block is if someone tried to vote in your name before you reach the polling place.
Has anyone ever heard of a person being turned away because an imposter had already voted in their name?
Robert
How about this example of voter fraud using Absentee Ballots?
Back in April, in a story that did not receive the attention it deserved, a Tunica County, Miss., jury found Lessadolla Sowers, who have been identified as a member of the executive committee of the county’s NAACP chapter, guilty of 10 counts of fraudulently casting absentee ballots in the name of others
The date of the article is July 29,2011.
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/peter-roff/2011/07/29/despite-what-democrats-claim-voter-fraud-is-real
And how do we know that the person standing in front of us saying he is John Smith in actuality is John Smith. Or in my area which Jose Garcia out of six is the guy standing in front of me. When since the post office hasn't gotten new boxes put up in years two of these guys are cousins with the same mailing address but they live in two different towns.
Some people can't believe that a black man could win in America so they make statements like yours. President Obama won by votes from every nationality and ethnic vote including the white vote. Voter fraud is not a problem just unethical minds and projection. You people put up all kinds of fake information to make it appear that you know what you are talking about. Some have no clue as to why people can not afford to get an ID. Everyone is not on welfare that is poor.
The liberals aren't going to say much about this push for voter ID because they also think its necessary, but on the other hand they cant win if the election is fair. Liberals are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
If the Democrats are so very sure that they have the tiger by the tail then why are they afraid of VOTER id for? Is it because all the illegals wont get to vote, and but they will vote they just steal others ID's.
Again, thick headed individuals like yourself just don't get it. Most of the people who don't have the requisite ID don't have the documentation required to get it.
If you cannot pay for a certified copy of your birth certificate, or pay for a copy of your divorce decree, or pay for any other type of documentation that is needed to get the ID then how do you go about getting one?
If ID is the issue then why are students College ID's not being accepted?
It's not solely about the ID. It's about a specific type of ID that is not easily obtainable by those who are poor, rural or elderly.
By the way, there are far more Republicans from rural areas that fit the category above than there are Democrats from urban areas.
Sayit..., that is because they are here illegally or running from the law.
As for the elderly my 89 year old mother had no trouble getting an Id. In fact the city judge and JP set up a program to help the elderly when Id was suddenly needed for some state program. If the dems want to get these people IDs you can drive them to the office. All the groups who are so worried can earmark funds to help obtain forms. I had 2 choices of places to get a certified copy the city bureau was cheaper by $20 bucks than the county so I sent for that one. Believe me rural gets around real good if they don't get to town the don't get groceries. Or like that Iowa guy they took his Dl away so he drove his lawn tractor from western Iowa to western Wisconsin to visit his brother down the shoulder all the way.
Sayyaaintsodumb seems to be quite ignorant on the issue of how ID's work in America. First of all you can't enroll in college without an ID, secondly the Federal and State governments require ALL citizens (unemployed, poor, rural, elderly and minority people) to have a Social Security card and valid ID in order to apply for those redistribution payments. All you need to do is go to the State and Federal websites and see for yourselves.
All 50 States have FREE ID !!!! Those that wish to argue that it's a burden on the poor are simply full of it and will always say what they're told.
There is no excuse for someone NOT to have an id! The libs just know that everyone is on to them and the illegal voting practices! When a lib can't defend their point of view they play the race card.
See that comment is just uninformed. You should think about your comments before you post you know? Because not every one has or can have a Drivers License.
My 85 yr old blind father did NOT HAVE AN ID CARD. It took over a YEAR for me to get him even a simple ID card so I could put him on a plane...........Not everyone can have a drivers license, and it isn't EASY for the elderly to find their birth certificates or SS cards........
And pray tell patriot-777797 where are all these free id's for senior citizens. I moved my Dad through several States and none of the ID cards were FREE.......
Sheesh people get your facts straight before you post........
what a bunch rightwing racist teapublican scumbags on this site. you righties have been stacking the deck against democracy for the last 30 or so yrs with thier state and federal far right leaning judges to key positions to push thier rightwing agenda. hell they`ve even stacked the supreme court 5 to 4 they`ve made it a corporate world. when you have supreme court justice`s going on free vacations and koch brothers political events payed for by koch money. you have the wife of one that heads a tea party koch bros funded pac. you`ve got newt making poor kids janitors so you can get rid of the bad union workers, and black people should demand work not food stamps when there are 3 times as many white people on food stamps then black. romney don`t care about poor people cus his plan will raise thier taxes and give a huge tax break to the rich. and the bible thumpin home schooled f@#@#@# lieing idiot who wants to get rid of public education and all universitys, kill womens rights gay people and anybody that ain`t a bible thumpin lieing whack job like he is or ain`t from the 14th century. and more money being spent in states that have teapub governors, house, and senate majoritys who`ve led thier attacks thru BS lies on the poor the elderly and the unions. so even when its as plain as day and staring you right in your rightwing face you still refuse to see the truth and your to stupid and brainwashed to think on your own.
This is a blatant attempt by the GOP to steal this election! AGAIN! There's little doubt tht there is some voter fraud. However, they seem to be targeting areas where the potential Democrat vote would be strong and where it might be the most difficult to get a picture ID! It's so transparent!
The stakes are high for the GOP!They created a debt crisis deliberately so they could privatize SS and Medicare. They have admitted as much. The ONLY way they can eliminate the debt they ran up is to accomplish that goal, thereby removing the entitlement money from the budget and thus eliminate the debt! They arent in position to do that yet, they still have Democrat opposition which they must CRUSH in order to pursue their agenda. Remember, they dont give a patootie about Joe America because they are bought and paid ( yes, the judges too) for by the moneyed and corporate elite, wo whom they are joined at the hip! Actions speak louder than words. So dont listen to what they say. Take a look at what they've done and continue to do!
We can NOT allow them to do this, unless we want to return to the early 20th century where the corporations and wealthy ruled the country and the rest of the country had no chance to share in the country's wealth! Dont let them do it!! Get out and VOTE and repudiate these who would destroy all that this country stands for! Do you want your future determined by those who crashed the economy??? Didnt think so.
Proof please, not demagoguery.
You wouldnt beliEve it if I posted all the "proof" I have read. Why dont you google" STARVE THE BEAST" The information is all out there for anyone who cares to look.
You dont think the raygun/bush/bush deficits were accidents do you?? They DID sign twenty of them to the tune of over $11T!
And Obama is going to pass all three them combined all by himself!!
Some of these posts are incredible.. Junk in writing..
We have last count by the Government, 11 million illegal people in this Country.. They are not legally
able to vote, but yep, they will be in line..
This is one of the main reasons, plus the dead that vote is horrendous...
Check the stats on Voter Fraud, then write an educated post.
If the Republicans are trying to stop voter fraud, how do you figure they are after the obama?
What does it have to do with being Black? If people of Color don't have an ID then get one..Most people have an ID..
You can't drive, shop, write a check, use a debit card or collect welfare if you don't have an ID.
Just another lame excuse to cover up voter fraud...Think about it..
but you know the righties don`t care about facts or the truth. they will spin a lie or they create a boogie man to instill fear and lies on the elderly and the idiots on the right who vote against thier own best intrest everytime and then complain about it i think if your to stupid to think for yourself then you shouldn`t be able to vote that way the rest of us don`t have to suffer because of thier own brainwashed stupidity
Get off it, how many actual instances of proven voter fraud have happened in the US, it's like 350 in 15years, so do the math people. 50 states 15 years. For the elderly and the poor, this is a unnecessary burden. But the Republicans know they are gonna lose!
Most elderly me included can't cash their SS checks without ID. And don't try to stop them if they want to go somewhere you are better off saying ok grandma. Most senior programs will help them with anything they need from tax help to obtaining forms to going to the store. If I couldn't have taken my mom to Brownsville clinic appointments the driver for Amigos del Valle would have been sent to take her. Paid by the city. Only city people don't know how much the local churches do to help seniors and the poor with these kind of problems in rural areas. In the religiously oriented meat packing plant where I worked the on staff chaplians helped their people who weren't able to understand the forms they got from the state and county and feds. the help is there if you look.
The elderly have to have an ID.. They can't get S/S without an ID.. That is a bogus
stupid excuse..
hummmbird, check your stats.. You have no idea how much voter fraud there is..
Check your stats then come back in..
You know what, African-Americans are only 13% of the population. Even if ALL of us voted, our impact would not be able to shift the tides in either direction. So why is it so important to stop us from voting. Let's keep in mind that in 2008 the American people were so upset with what the last administration had done, that they voted in this Black guy with the middle name Hussien! 13% cant do that, so what does that tell you? Numbers don't lie. So I say, go ahead and try to stop us. But what are you going to do about everyone else?
As long as you have an ID, you shouldn't have a problem. Why people try to connect good-faith voter id laws with discrimination is beyond me.
The only ones I see squealing are those liberals who think that these id-laws keep them from stuffing the ballot boxes. I deal with a lot of elderly and minorities. I never hear of them missing their id (as they need it for transportation, financial transactions, etc.)
Well Catholics are only 20% and you'd think the pope was going to take over the country tomorrow from what half these idiots post. To truly affect your life we would all have to move to your state and vote as a block.
Traceman, its going to be hard but try and do this...Why having an ID would make the black people not vote is ridiculous...Why would you even think this? Is it because the left is telling you this?
Can't you think for yourself.. An ID is something all people should have and if you don't, then for heavens sake, GET ONE...
If your walking down the street and the Police stop you, they ask for an ID...
If you get a decongestant at the pharmacy window, you show proof if ID, if You buy a beer, you show proof of ID, if you get on a plane you show proof of ID, if you get a library card, you show proof of ID.
Why is it such a big deal to have positive ID to vote? Demomarxists want to steal elections, period. They are trying to make identifying who you are a human rights issue. This is utter crap. Republicans are right on this one - I want my vote to mean something, don't you?
You are 1000 percent right, when I heard Obama say that college kids of voting age would be hurt by this law I about puked, every college person I have ever known drinks, and that requires pictures ID to purchase liquor.
Yes, but their ID is out of state. Some can't vote in their home states without being physically present, and they can't vote in their new state unless they get an a new ID which would jeopardize their residency and associated health insurance. Does this make sense to you?
It's the requirements of getting an ID, you numbskull! I can show an out of state ID to buy beer and to fly, all I have to show is residency to get a library card (public service bill), but to GET a voter ID, some states are requiring more than what it takes to get a d@mn passport. Wake up!
Ever hear of absentee ballots? You can send in your ballot to your home state and not have to worry about your new state Id REquirements.
Chicago, you are wrong; every state... every single one... offers absentee ballots for college students. There is absolutely no excuse for not having an ID... you have to have one to do anything... unless you are in a hospital with a plastic band around your arm. Maybe you would prefer us using indelible ink like the third world countries use; they don't have ID.
But I'm sure if they can vote in Austin with proof of residence every voting location would have Budwiesers book of ID cards from Canada to Mexico. They wouldn't even have to buy them Bud gives them away free. We spend more time checking out of state IDs here than Texas ones. Your grandma needed it at HEB to pay with check the first two weeks she was here. By the way you need an ID and vehicle registration to get mail at all those trailer parks your grandparents are staying in. A HSD requirement.
I don't mind requiring an ID, but it should be free. It shouldn't cost money to vote, turnout is low enough as it is, so any eligibile voter should be able to easily obtain one and duplications would be easily spotted. Truly, I am more concerned about results being affected by manipulation of voting machines - a larger threat left poorly guarded.
Why fix something that is not broken?
.... because we all know this is not about fixing anything except future elections, by preventing large numbers of non whites, minorities, the elderly and democratic voters in general from voting. Sure just simply explain it away with the usual IGNORANT "I don't see what the problem is, if you are a legal voter" response, and to clarify this response just go ahead and say "I am a racist and support the republican party solely because of their racist policies and place this vote knowing full well, that it is not in my families or my own best interest because we are not millionaires and suffer from these self inflicted hardships caused by republican policies, in order to steadfastly support racism in America."
Say it...it will make you feel better!
Ever here of absentee ballot. If its good enough for the military what's wrong with college kids requesting an absentee ballot from thier state?
What if college students want to vote and affect elections in the area where they live 8-9 months every year, rather than where their parents/family live? I don't have a problem with voter ID laws in the abstract, but there has to be a reasonable amount of flexibility, to guarantee that the right is not interfered with more than necessary to achieve the state's aims.
To Pissedoffperson are you kidding me here? <b>Its sad when you need to surpress voting on one group of voters to try to win election. There is not a voter fraud problem in the US so why are these laws being pushed?</b> What group of voters are being suppressed? (Please note the correct spelling of that word too BTW) Illegals? Why shouldn't they have to have an ID? I need an ID if I get stopped in my car, cash a check, use my credit card etc. Why is it that when a Latino is asked for one the race card is tossed out each and every damn time? EVERYONE should be required to have an ID period. It's really quite simple. Why do you have a problem with it? The only people that seem to are the illegal supporters. Maybe you have a relative in hiding here? HMM? Get a clue - no ID no vote!! I am so sick of all of this RACIST crap I could puke. I didn't base my vote in 2008 on anyone's race, to imply such is in insult to an intelligent person. But that's the reason he was voted in for alot of blacks I am sure. Hope and Change? Yeah well I gave up hope for any GOOD change a long long time ago. And just an FYI here - I am not a racist, his white side disgusts me too.
@mxcape21...You must be retarded. <---@!$%#! I'm really sorry, I meant to say you are very mentally challenged. I need a photo ID for just about everything legal that I do. Work, Banking, Credit, license, package store, etc. These people have had 4 years to get their photo ID, that's since the last election. They can sure find a way to get their welfare checks, free medical, the grocery store, etc. I see plenty of minority families, usually 3 generations all together with their own free food cards at the registers buying tons of meat and poultry I can't afford. They don't even need ID's to get free services working people pay for. That's part of the reason there is so much welfare fraud. No ID? You shouldn't be allowed to get or do anything. Voter fraud is easy without proving who you are. The U.S. has even required every person in the U.S. that is from Puerto Rico to get a new provable ID from Puerto Rice to prove who they are because of fraud. Some people here get assistance under 3,4,5,6 different names all because they don't have to provide a photo ID. It would be easy enough to go to several different voting stations and vote again. Wake up America before it's to late!
Just when you thought the poll tax was a relic of the past, here comes the GOP trying to resurrect it under another name, but with the same sinister motive intact. Keep those of lesser means from showing up to vote by throwing up obstacles.
This is NO poll tax, and I should no because my mother-in-law lived in Mississippi at that time, and according to her and her father whom was attacked were Southern Democrats. My mother-in-law is 92 and remembers very well, so will every one quit calling the Republicans racist this is a lie that Obama's people are spreading, and the whole world does know the KKK was an awful invention of Southern Democrats, not only did the southern democrats have a poll tax they also has a law called peonage which also punished blacks, and guess what when they were caught and brought this to light again it was the southern democrats, and if history is correct then Abraham Lincoln whom was a Republican ended slavery, not he southern democrats.
Well, nobody has ever accused the Republican party of being forward-looking or progressive. Conservatism, by its very nature, aims to move ahead by standing still (or even by going backwards). The fact that most Republicans just don't get the paradox is one of the reasons they are gradually losing credibility with the mainstream American electorate.
BTW, stclaire-3822173: Lincoln was probably the last progressive Republican to sit in the White House...and he would be turning in his grave if he could see the outrage his "Grand Old Party" was trying to perpetrate on the American people.
"You can't fool all the people all the time."
Not true, I am a Republican and as far as I am concerned if you are QUALIFIED to be there then yu are okay by me, then I would support you to the very end, why because discimination stinks, and if they take your rights away how long would it be before they come after my rights?
Einstein, Please live up to your name...You all have ID's you just don't want to use them.. You just want to argue about something that will help our Country.
Of course the left doesn't want an ID, they continue the fraud with illegals and the dead.
Check the stats people.
Put your proof where your mouth is: Name one single instance of significant voter fraud -- that is, other than jeb-bush's little disenfrancisement scam in Florida 2000.
For a party that is running on "austerity", you would think they'd be looking NOT to impose any kind of costly programs that have no statistical rational for being necessary in the first place....
But, this is the t-GOP we're watching now -- racists -- and I and others have saved tens of thousands of pure 100% racists remarks and blog postings these racists have made for the last 3-years...
The t-GOP is a racist party, and it can be proven... and, the closer we get to November, that proof will be published, nationwide, for all to see again for themselves.
(That's right kkkarl boy, we've been working more diligently than even your sick, twisted, treasonous, brain could possibly imagine)...
Watch this video in it's entirety for your proof.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVTXbARGXso
Nuff said...nothing has changed...and the GOP primaries so far have proven that fact.