New GOP Sponsored "Voter Fraud Prevention" ID Laws Reek Of 2012 Voter Suppression Tactics Aimed At BLACK & HISPANIC Constituents.
Its Obvious GOP Lawmakers On Capitol Hill & Some GOP Governors Are Laser-Focused On Paralyzing The Black American Community's Power & Wealth By Any Means Necessary!
As I've Mentioned Before I'm Vehemently Opposed To Straight Ticket Voting Because It Encourages Politicians, Especially BLACK Politicians To Be Lazy.
If BLACK Politicians Think Their BLACK Constituents Are Going To Support Them Regardless Of How They Are Represented, Than Why Should Those Same BLACK Politicians Fight For Or Look Out For The Best Interests Of Their BLACK Constituents?
Thus My Dislike Of The Straight Ticket Voting Process Still Stands.
However To Suppress BLACK & Hispanic People From Being Able To Vote Is A Whole Different Ball Game!
Voter Suppression DOES In Fact Take America Back To The Days Of Jim Crow, Poll Taxes & Pre-Voting Literacy Exams.
And....
Its ILLEGAL!!
A Direct Violation Of The Voting Rights Act Of 1965!
When The U.S. Supreme Court Ruled In 2008 That States Are Allowed To Control Their Own Voting Laws, The Court Did NOT Grant Permission For States To Violate Or Ignore The Voting Rights Act Of 1965.
However That Is What Exactly What GOP Lawmakers Appear To Be Doing.
By The Way Where Is The Outrage From BLACK & Democrat Leaders Over This Injustice?
Recently When DNC Chairperson Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-D) Spoke Up & Called Out What The GOP Is Doing As It Relates To Voting Rights Violation, She Was Slammed By The Mainstream Media.
Do Such Public Rebukes Mean The Mainstream Media Actually Supports Voter Suppression Of BLACK & HISPANIC Voters??
I Say Its Time For The U.S. Dept Of Justice To Also Speak Up On This Critical Issue, Just As Debbie Wasserman Schultz So Boldly Spoke Up.
How Can We Save Ourselves From Being Led Back To Jim Crow?
Stop Complaining & Fighting Among Ourselves.
Let's Unite, Mobilize & Re-elect Pres. Barack Obama By Any Means Necessary!
Don't Let Nobody Turn You Around!
Don't Allow Anyone To Silence Your Political Voice In 2012!
As A Legal American Citizen, Of Legal Age, YOU Have The Right To Vote!!
So Get Out & VOTE FOR OBAMA IN 2012!!
Republican ID laws smack of vote suppression
To many Republicans, it is an article of faith that minimalist government works best.
Except, that is, when Republicans want to impose tighter rules for their political benefit. A case in point is the flurry of states —six so far this year— rushing to pass laws requiring voters to bring government-issued photo IDs to polling places. All have Republican governors and GOP-controlled legislatures.
Supporters say this is necessary to prevent voter fraud. But the operative question is: Why, at a time of economic distress and state budget shortfalls, is this such a priority? The answer has less to do with prevention than with suppression.
In theory, there isn't anything wrong with requiring photo IDs to vote, just as they are required to drive, board a plane or cash a check. The Constitution gives states broad latitude to run their elections. And a 2008 Supreme Court ruling upheld an ID law in Indiana, giving other states a green light for their own laws.
So states clearly can impose these requirements. The question is whether they should.
Scratch just gently beneath the surface, and these new measures appear unnecessary at best. Voter fraud is rare and consists largely of the types of actions that IDs would not correct, such as vote-buying and voter intimidation. Fraud is already kept in check by elections officials, poll watchers from both parties, and acceptance of alternatives to photo IDs, such as utility bills.
One study in Minnesota, done after an extraordinarily close Senate race in 2008, found a grand total of seven suspicious votes, out of nearly 3 million cast. No charges were filed that year. Those seven cases were exceeded by the dozen or so elderly nuns in nearby Indiana who were turned away from the polls for lack of picture IDs.
The nuns were exercising a surprisingly common choice. An estimated one in 11— do not have government-issued photo IDs. This, of course, is an option they should be free to exercise. They also have every right to participate in elections, and the government has an obligation to allow them reasonable access to the polls.
So does it make sense to place roadblocks in front of them in the name of policing a crime that barely exists? And does it make sense to try to issue IDs to millions of people who apparently don't want or otherwise need them? Many libertarians see this as a route to a national ID card system, which they deeply oppose.
There is also ample reason to doubt the sincerity of states that say they will provide IDs. When Georgia imposed an ID law in 2005, courts barred the state from charging for them, calling such fees a poll tax — an unconstitutional tactic once used by segregationists to keep blacks from voting. But given the true motive behind such laws, it's likely that states will find other ways to make the IDs hard to get.
Just as Democrats try to help their cause by making it easier to vote through expedited registration and early voting, Republicans see a benefit in lowering the turnout among certain voters. The people most likely to be dissuaded by the hassle of obtaining an ID card — the old and infirm, the young and the poor — tend to vote Democratic. Shouldn't Republicans be looking for ways to expand their appeal to these groups, rather than throwing obstacles in their way?
While both parties are guilty of self-interested behavior, the national interest of addressing the USA's deplorably low election participation rates clearly falls on the side of making it easier, not harder, to vote.
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Sources: CNN, Politico, TV One, USA Today, Wikipedia, Youtube, Google Maps
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