Voter Suppression Laws

[Temerit]

What is your opinion on laws being proposed and passed in many states by Republicans that would require a voter ID in order to vote?



These bills are being pushed by ALEC and the Koch brothers through Republican state representatives in hopes of disenfranchising racial minorities and the poor that tend to vote for democrats.

 

[Evil Eye]

They're free aren't they?

 

[Temerit]

If it's free to you to acquire a birth certificate, which many older voters who have never had an official birth certificate or those who were born internationally may have a lot of difficulty getting and certainly not for free. Not to mention those in the working class likely don't have the kind of time to deal with these sorts of things, they are worried about putting food on the table.

 

[Bluezone777]

It takes a half hour to put together what you need for a birth certificate. All you need to do is fill out a form and submit a copy of a photo id or a security card and a bank statement along with a money order for twenty bucks. How can one say voting is important then proceed to say that they have better things to do then get what they need so they can vote?

 

[Temerit]

I think providing food for my family and making enough money to do that is more important.



There is no evidence that the only form of voter fraud that these bills could prevent, in-person impersonation voter fraud is even a minor problem.



The only purpose of these bills is to disenfranchise voters.

 

[Fatal Dawn]

Voting is - more than anything - for the purpose of those who are dis-empowered in society. Nowadays it seems like it's only certain people who are motivated enough who can call themselves reliable voters. More people should feel encouraged to vote and not be hasseled at the prospect.



Regardless of how important, not everyone can clear their schedule for the day. Not everyone has access to transportation, internet acess, the ability to take time off from their job(s) to stand in line. Not everyone has a bank account, passports, or original copies of their birth certificate. And forget making multiple trips to the driver service centers. It's easy to some people but not the elderly or the working class as Temerit said.





There is evidence to suggest that voter fraud is not even remotely commonplace. Most, if not all, of the allegations of voter fraud are debunked in this article by The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law

http://www.truthabou...tVoterFraud.pdf

 

[Bluezone777]

I doubt there is a problem with people committing voter fraud so I believe it when they say it's not voter fraud that is the problem hence all these restrictions are vastly unnecessary. I mean who in their right mind would risk jail time for these clowns that we call our government?



However, If i knew there was people there working hard to silence me then I would do everything in my power to make them fail in their attempt to silence me. Why let them have the satisfaction that they are successful in removing my opinion of the people in charge by not voting? When those people realize that a group of people no longer vote then they no longer matter to them at all. Why should politicians care for the needs of a people who will not vote for them in the election? That is what they all will think when they start seeing a pattern of a group of people not voting because it's too hard.

 

[Temerit]

There are types of voter fraud that likely are an issue.



But those types aren't something these bills could prevent. All these bills could prevent is in-person impersonation, which has never been and will never be a problem.

 

[Fatal Dawn]

I doubt there is a problem with people committing voter fraud so I believe it when they say it's not voter fraud that is the problem hence all these restrictions are vastly unnecessary. I mean who in their right mind would risk jail time for these clowns that we call our government?



However, If i knew there was people there working hard to silence me then I would do everything in my power to make them fail in their attempt to silence me. Why let them have the satisfaction that they are successful in removing my opinion of the people in charge by not voting? When those people realize that a group of people no longer vote then they no longer matter to them at all. Why should politicians care for the needs of a people who will not vote for them in the election? That is what they all will think when they start seeing a pattern of a group of people not voting because it's too hard.

I get what you're saying. You are pretty much elaborating on what has been said about the unfairness of the laws. Not everything is about silencing potential voters but discouragement. Weighing out which is more important: making daily wage or voting for a day. If you are poor and struggling, the choice is simple.



I think the best thing they did was make it so that employers can give workers paid time off to vote. However everything comes at employer discretion. Not all employers are expected to follow this regulation and if you're struggling to make ends meet, then you will often find yourself working in jobs like this. Where I used to work, missing time just to vote - however valid the reason is - would have resulted in deducted or missed pay. If you need the money, you are not going to leave your shift and risk a pay cut because you felt it absolutely necessary to vote. There are more variables at play than what you've mentioned.

 

[Temerit]

Honestly election day should be a national holiday.. that makes more sense than anything.