Since Barack Obama was elected president in November of 2008, Republican legislators have been working effortlessly to pass laws requiring some form of voter ID in order to vote. These very Republicans said such laws were needed to prevent voter fraud, while most Democrats felt it was just an attempt to reduce voter turnout within certain demographics which tended to vote Democratic, namely minorities and women.
Did Republicans hold a legitimate concern about voter fraud? According to statistics, not really. In a comprehensive study published by Loyola Law School professor Justin Levitt of the Washington Post in 2014, it was found that there were 31 credible cases of voter fraud out of one billion ballots cast since 2000 (0.000000031%). In other words, there's a greater chance of me transforming into a werewolf named Jack Nicholson overnight tonight than there is of a credible voting fraud case on election day.
To no one's surprise, the conservative state of Alabama followed this Republican trend of passing laws requiring voter IDs. The state's next move did come as a bit of a surprise, however, and all but dispels the notion these conservative legislators' main intent with voter ID laws is to prevent voter fraud. What has the state decided to do? Close down DMV offices in 28 counties, half of which reside in what is called the "Alabama Black Belt," where at least three-quarters of registered voters are black.
So let me try to understand these Alabama conservative legislators' mindset:
Step 1) They pass a voter ID law to prevent voter fraud, which affected minorities and women more than any other demographic.
Step 2) They take away the places where people can obtain an ID, largely concentrated in African-American-dominated areas of the state.
In other words, these legislators were saying, "Look, if you have nothing to hide and want to vote, you'll need an ID, but if you want an ID, well, we're going to make that as difficult as possible."
Yeah, their main concern was really about voter fraud... This is the epitome of ridiculous. If Alabama legislators want to require residents to showcase some form of ID when going to the voting booths on election day, so be it, but to then strip residents of DMV offices which would provide them with the required ID is insane to the point of being criminal. Either Alabama rescinds the voter ID requirement or keeps their DMV offices open; it's as simple as that. While there have been calls for a federal voting rights probe with regard to this case, we should get involved as well. Some in the Tea Party have liked labeling their supporters as real Americans. To that, I simply say no matter how much one may disagree with another on an issue, real Americans don't try to strip others of their voting rights; we fight to ensure them!
If you want to make your voice known about the matter, go to the following link, sign the petition, and spread the word so we ensure every American's voice will be heard on election day - http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/force-the-state-of-alabama
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/national-spotlight-turns-alabama-voting-rights-controversy
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2014/08/06/a-comprehensive-investigation-of-voter-impersonation-finds-31-credible-incidents-out-of-one-billion-ballots-cast/
Did Republicans hold a legitimate concern about voter fraud? According to statistics, not really. In a comprehensive study published by Loyola Law School professor Justin Levitt of the Washington Post in 2014, it was found that there were 31 credible cases of voter fraud out of one billion ballots cast since 2000 (0.000000031%). In other words, there's a greater chance of me transforming into a werewolf named Jack Nicholson overnight tonight than there is of a credible voting fraud case on election day.
To no one's surprise, the conservative state of Alabama followed this Republican trend of passing laws requiring voter IDs. The state's next move did come as a bit of a surprise, however, and all but dispels the notion these conservative legislators' main intent with voter ID laws is to prevent voter fraud. What has the state decided to do? Close down DMV offices in 28 counties, half of which reside in what is called the "Alabama Black Belt," where at least three-quarters of registered voters are black.
So let me try to understand these Alabama conservative legislators' mindset:
Step 1) They pass a voter ID law to prevent voter fraud, which affected minorities and women more than any other demographic.
Step 2) They take away the places where people can obtain an ID, largely concentrated in African-American-dominated areas of the state.
In other words, these legislators were saying, "Look, if you have nothing to hide and want to vote, you'll need an ID, but if you want an ID, well, we're going to make that as difficult as possible."
Yeah, their main concern was really about voter fraud... This is the epitome of ridiculous. If Alabama legislators want to require residents to showcase some form of ID when going to the voting booths on election day, so be it, but to then strip residents of DMV offices which would provide them with the required ID is insane to the point of being criminal. Either Alabama rescinds the voter ID requirement or keeps their DMV offices open; it's as simple as that. While there have been calls for a federal voting rights probe with regard to this case, we should get involved as well. Some in the Tea Party have liked labeling their supporters as real Americans. To that, I simply say no matter how much one may disagree with another on an issue, real Americans don't try to strip others of their voting rights; we fight to ensure them!
If you want to make your voice known about the matter, go to the following link, sign the petition, and spread the word so we ensure every American's voice will be heard on election day - http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/force-the-state-of-alabama
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/national-spotlight-turns-alabama-voting-rights-controversy
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2014/08/06/a-comprehensive-investigation-of-voter-impersonation-finds-31-credible-incidents-out-of-one-billion-ballots-cast/
Comments
Post a Comment