Burnt Orange Report: The Stupidest Argument Republicans Made About Voter Suppression

No actually the photo ID fight is not over (5.00 / 5)

This bill has still not been heard in the house. And if you listened to the debate last night you heard there will be very high costs for this bill. So just providing one piece (the free photo ID at DPS) does not make it free for people who can not afford the additional pieces of identification they need to get their "free photo ID".

The other thing we learned about the GA voter ID law is that DOJ made them submit the plan twice. Their first plan had lots of things they needed to add, primarily their plan for voter education on the issue. We learned that in GA that voter education piece cost about half a million dollars. GA is a much smaller state than Texas. So expect that Texas would pay 2 or 3 times as much on that plan for a state our size and with many more media markets.

Then of course there is the cost of preparing for the request for DOJ pre-clearance and the litigation that will surely follow if it passes.

by: sonia @ Wed Mar 11, 2009 at 12:07:45 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Transportation to the DPS office (4.50 / 6)

is not free, particularly for rural residents where the closest DPS office may be dozens of miles away. Taking time off of work for people barely earning enough to survive is not free. Providing the documentation necessary to prove financial eligibility or even identity for free IDs is not free, nor even possible for many poor and elderly.

And none of that addresses the suppression effect of matching requirements of ID and voter registration content. The Asian American Justice Center documented numerous instances in the 2008 primaries and general election of Asian American voters turned away from the polls in states with Voter ID laws because of minor discrepancies in their names. For Asian Americans with names transliterated from non-Roman alphabet utilizing languages, it's extremely common to have slightly different spellings on different documents, either because most regular people aren't familiar with transliteration standards used primarily by scholars and so must do their best to transliterate their own names when filling out documentation or because typos are made more frequently by government employees who are not used to dealing with uncommon names transliterated from a foreign language. As the naturalization process is extremely long, many people slightly alter the spelling of their names on various official documents over time, either because they cannot remember how they first spelled it years ago or because they have discovered that alternate transliterations are more accurate or easier for others to pronounce or spell. For Chinese Americans and Korean Americans who often have a two part given name, hyphenation frequently varies from document to document, which was a particularly problematic issue in voter ID states last year. Not to mention that many immigrants adopt "American" names for day-to-day use, and they may have different names on different documentation. For example, my cousin's name on her passport is Kai-Hsin Fang, but her name on her drivers license is Kathy Fang.

The poor also tend to be transient. My clients at Legal Aid typically changed residence every few months. Getting new ID every single time they moved would be highly problematic. Volunteers can help them register to vote before an election, but we wouldn't be able to get their IDs for them.

At first glance, the idea of providing a photo ID doesn't seem like a big deal. But for those of us who have worked extensively with low-income populations, we have learned just how difficult having photo ID is. Over half of my clients at Legal Aid had no photo ID. Because of their difficulties maintaining housing, they also lacked the government documentation with their address that has been offered as a way to get an ID. Bank statements and such are meaningless for them because very few of them had accounts. Certified birth certificates cost quite a bit of money and take weeks to procure AND they require you to have a photo ID to get it! - I know because I had to get one for a security clearance for a government job. Imagine how much more onerous all of this is for homeless people.

It's also common for the very poor and the homeless to have unpaid tickets (often issued for essentially being homeless), which makes them afraid to go to DPS offices.

And even if all the above only affected a fraction of a percent of people, it still wouldn't be justified in light of the fact that there is absolutely no existing problem that such a policy would solve. There have been NO documented cases of voter impersonation for many years (despite millions of dollars spent by General Abbott to find one). Only an idiot would risk the massive fines and prison time to cast one freaking extra vote in an election, and any operation that could actually affect the outcome of an election would be on such a scale as to be easily noticed. Virtually all voter fraud (what little of it there is) is done through absentee ballots, which would not be affected at all by voter ID (and most absentee ballot fraud is inadvertent, e.g., people filling out a ballot for an elderly neighbor and mailing it for them, not knowing that this is against the law).

This is a law designed PURELY to suppress the votes of the poor and minorities. The Republicans know this and freely admit it behind closed doors; some have even said so publicly. Allowing such a law to pass is an affront to American values and a de facto violation of the 15th and 24th Amendments.

"In this world of sin and sorrow there is always something to be thankful for; as for me, I rejoice that I am not a Republican." - H.L. Mencken

by: PI Lawyer @ Wed Mar 11, 2009 at 13:42:54 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Check the 26th Amendment as well (3.00 / 1)

It discriminates against the elderly on account of age. Any provision made to adjust the requirement for the elderly would discriminate against those aged 18 to 75 or so.

The amendment did more than allow 18 yearolds to vote. It bars discrimination on account of age for those 18 or older in all elections.all elections, using the terms "shall not be denied or abridged." Think hindered in any fashion. Like not having a concealed weapon permit or Driver's license. The fact that a concealed weapon permit is authorized as substitute proof astonishes me, though at least this time they left out the private pilot's license. I'd love to see Abbott even attempt to defend against this. It clearly shows the class of persons they intend to favor.

Abridgment would require an extremely low level of proof, and the abridgment is expressly barred by the plain language of the amendment.

Amendment XXVI
Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of age.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Logic and an open mind are more useful than common sense.

by: othniel @ Wed Mar 11, 2009 at 13:56:51 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Outstanding Post. (0.00 / 0)

PI Lawyer,

Outstanding post.

You captured the key points to the "what's the big deal" question that some trickle-down Democrats have been asking and some that simply have not been properly educated on this issue have been asking.

I don't know who "Romeojd" is that wrote the initial response above. I'll give him/her the benefit of the doubt that s/he might simply not be properly educated on this critical issue. This blog string is a fine example highlighting that many Texans have been fooled by the creative "fraud framing" that Abbott and other Repubs have accomplished.

Shameful that we're so late to frame this issue properly.

Anyone still asking the "what's the big deal" question, please spend a few minutes watching the ACLU video (which includes Rep. Rafael Anchia) at http://aclu.tv/vote

David

by: David Kobierowski @ Thu Mar 12, 2009 at 03:53:06 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

The Stupidest Argument Republicans Made About Voter Suppression

by: Phillip Martin

Wed Mar 11, 2009 at 09:28 AM CDT