Supporting the Separation of Church and State
Law Requireing ID to Vote Upheld
Categorized: Politics
Tagged: 2008 Election, SCOTUS, Voter Suppression
In a 6-3 ruling (Breyer, Ginsburg and Souter dissenting) the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld an Illinois (doh) Indiana law that requires photo ID to vote. This law was pushed by Republicans who claim that it will prevent fraud. There is little evidence that this is true but one thing that is not disputed is that those who will be affected by this law (minorities, the elderly, and the poor) are overwhelmingly Democratic.
I don’t buy that the Republicans are just concerned about voter fraud considering their history the past two elections in Ohio and Florida. I say that this is just another version of the Poll Taxes that were used so effectively to prevent minorities and the elderly from voting in the past.
My primary concern with these types of laws are a little different than most. I strongly feel that any American who makes the decision to abstain from getting a state ID has the right to do so. If they feel that their privacy or freedom from the government is worth the hassle then the government should not be able to restrict them from their basic rights. And Yes voting is a basic right.
William ~ WWJV4.com
3 Comments
Posted On: April 28, 2008
I am a progressive blogger, web developer for Edward Rayne, and proud husband and father to the best family a man could ask for.
3 Comments
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gmknobl
I agree.
Why should I need to find my birth certificate (which many people have lost) or why should I have a drivers license?
And why should I loose the right to vote if I choose not to vote?
All these are consequences for the citizens of Virginia.
Here, if you don’t vote in so many elections, you must show a birth certificate. How many people have that lying around? I keep mine in a safety deposit box but if you go out into the country, you’ll find people who may not have one at all. Should they be actively prevented from voting? Of course not. You should have your name on the residence roll. That’s about it. Voter fraud has not existed in significant quantities for many years. Manipulation of votes once cast has existed more and more in the last two elections as evidenced by Florida and Ohio. And that is made easier by electronic voting machines. Sad and as apparently Luddite as it is, paper voting is where we should go now.
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