The Republican Party has proven before that it will do anything to win elections -- redistrict illegally (Texas, 2003), jam phone lines (New Hampshire, 2002), create a false sense of hysteria in order to stop votes from being counted, challenge every voter of color to intimidate the minority vote, and use local elected officials to render partisan decisions (all in Florida, 2000).In recent years the GOP has also employed another strategy: getting states to pass laws that require citizens to show government-issued identification when voting. The ID law in Indiana has been challenged by Democrats and others, and today the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case.
It seems likely that this conservative Court will uphold the law, but it should not. This is a bald attempt by Republicans to deprive American citizens of the right to vote, a most sacred action in our democracy. Forcing people to show ID may seem innocuous, but there is a part of the electorate that may be intimidated by such a process, may not have IDs and/or may be unable or unwilling to fill out the form necessary for their vote to count if they don't have an ID with them. Those people will generally be elderly, young, poor or minority -- all core Democratic groups.
Cases of voter fraud that the proponents of this law claim to be concerned about are minuscule, and no one in Indiana has ever been convicted of voter fraud. Make no mistake: Such laws are attempts by Republicans to increase their chances of winning office by depriving some Americans of their Constitutional right. It is a despicable strategy.
1 comment:
I don't think it's so outrageous to require folks to furnish some type of identification when they head to the polls. In a day and age where we as a country are struggling to maintain a foolproof documentation system that terrorists and others cannot circumnavigate, it seems like a simple request to have folks present an ID in order to be able to vote.
Post a Comment