Voter ID laws, a bad idea
The argument one often hears from proponents of voter identification laws is that one needs a photo identification to board an aircraft so why not require one to vote? The short answer is that not all adults need to fly, but they sure should be able to vote if they so desire. Flying is not a protected right, but voting is. Voting is a foundation of democracy where the freedom to vote in an election should not be impeded by one’s race, color or gender. The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution gave African Americans, indeed former slaves, the right to vote in 1870. Sadly, this right did not come into practice until the Civil Rights movement and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Discriminatory laws by states against minorities’ voting is a well reported fact of U.S. history. It was only in 1920 that women were guaranteed the right to vote by the 19th Amendment.
Beware of those guardians of the ballot box who are claiming to protect us good people from rampant voting fraud. Big surprise. There is little voting fraud in 2016. We have had our share of fraud in big cities at the turn of the last century and in Chicago precincts through the 1960s thanks to Democratic party machines. But in current day North Carolina and Texas the push for new voter ID laws has been linked to one thing — legislatures seeking to put obstacles in the way of minority voters. From 2000 until 2013 North Carolina made it easier to vote by allowing people to vote earlier, register the day of voting and to vote outside their precincts. In 2013 the Republican dominated state legislature, “requested data on the use, by race, of a number of voting practices,” and then changed voting laws disproportionally discriminating against African Americans. The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals made this ruling.
Is it any wonder that the U.S. Department of Justice, the NAACP, and other advocates of non-discriminatory voting laws are opposed to voter ID laws? What a coincidence that voter ID laws became more common in southern and other red states once the Supreme Court, Shelby County v. Holder (2013), struck down the formula which placed more scrutiny on voting laws in specific states.
Texas, too, has been energetic in attempting to impose voter ID regulations. “In July, U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed lower court rulings that the 2011 (Texas) law, considered the nation’s strictest, violates the federal Voting Rights Act. In a 9-6 ruling, the conservative court agreed that narrowly tailored requirements disproportionately affected minority voters — those who were less likely to hold one of seven types of photo ID. Those include: a state driver’s license or ID card, a concealed handgun license, a US passport, a military ID card, a US citizenship certificate or an election identification certificate. Experts have testified that more than 600,000 Texans lack such identification, though not all of them have necessarily tried to vote.” (The Texas Tribune, 9/23/2016).
Those likely to be adversely affected by photo ID voting laws are seniors, Latinos, African Americans, and low-income citizens who lack transportation, information, and fear government regulation. Thus, it is a wonder that The Imperial Valley Press editorialized in favor of a voter ID card in the September 18 edition.
In California, register 15 days prior to Election Day. If one has recently moved and does not have proof of current residence such as a utility bill or received mail at the current address, that citizen can complete an affirmation of current residence at the offices of the Imperial County Registrar of Voters, 940 W. Main St., Suite 206, El Centro, CA 92243; phone 442-2651060 (it’s a local call). An affirmation can even be completed on election day.
U.S. citizens have become less likely to vote. It’s your country so get in gear. Call a friend and share a ride to your voting place. As for state governments, they should be facilitating voting, not placing obstacles in the path of a constitutional right.