(You've gotta) fight for your right (to vote!)

For most Americans, being asked to show ID is not a big deal.  If I were asked to show my driver's license at my polling place, it wouldn't be a problem. It can be difficult to even imagine living without government-issued identification.  But according to a study by the Brennan Center of the NYU School of Law , as many as 10% of Americans do not have such IDs, and in a growing number of states they run the very real risk of not being able to cast a ballot.  Some say the solution is simply for these people to obtain an ID prior to Election Day.  But IDs are generally not free; therefore a person who otherwise has lived without government-issued identification must now essentially pay for the right to vote...otherwise known as a poll tax, illegal in all federal elections.  But the voter ID laws keep coming.  The number of states with laws requiring voters to show identification quadrupled in 2011.  Perhaps not surprisingly, only one of those states (Rhode Island) passed such a law with a Democratic legislature.  Random fact: in Texas, a conceal-carry gun license would be considered a suitable ID for voting, while a college ID is not.   

At least 15 states have introduced legislation that requires proof of citizenship (birth certificate or passport) in order to register to vote.  Having a passport, or having a birth certificate handy, is even more rare than having an ID among some segments of the population, and trying to track down a copy of one's birth certificate can be an onerous task, and again, can cost money.  Arizona's proof of citizenship requirement was just struck down on April 17 by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which said that the requirement was in violation of the National Voting Rights Act.  The court upheld, however, the requirement to show ID at the polls.  The plaintiffs can appeal to the U. S. Supreme Court, which, if they take the case, would be a pivotal moment for the future of voting rights.

There are other changes being made to the voting process that could potentially affect people's ability to register or to get to the polls.  Lawmakers in half a dozen states made changes to the voter registration process in 2011.  These include laws restricting community voter registration drives.  Why?  Again, the claim is that these changes will reduce voter fraud, but there is no evidence of registration drives leading to increased fraud. Applications for voter registration are checked for accuracy before being entered into the registration system, and most fake applications are caught easily (i.e. applications from Jimmy John and Ben Dover will likely not be accepted).  What these laws most certainly do, however, is make it difficult for community organizations to help low-income and minority citizens register to vote.  In fact,  African Americans and Hispanics are twice as likely to register to vote through drives than are white voters. If these people do not have or intend to get a driver's license, the "Motor Voter" laws are of no help. Even the non-partisan groups League of Women Voters and Rock the Vote have suspended their voter registration drives in Florida for fear of violating the law and being subject to stiff fines.

Fortunately, many of these laws are coming under extra scrutiny, thanks to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Section 5 states that the Department of Justice must  "preclear" any attempt to change “any voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure with respect to voting..." in any "covered jurisdiction".  Covered jurisdictions are states, towns, or counties with an egregious history of discrimination against minority voters.  Newly enacted voter ID laws in South Carolina and Texas were blocked by the Justice Department under Section 5.  The law in Florida limiting registration drives, although not blocked, was challenged in court, and the Justice Department has stated in a court filing that the law may have a discriminatory intent, because it disproportionately affects the registration of minorities.

The fact is, most election fraud does not take place at the ballot box.  It happens at the ballot processing or counting stage.  Voter impersonation is very uncommon, yet it is the reason bandied about by all of the legislatures that have passed these voter laws.  It might or might not be a coincidence that every one of these new laws disproportionately affect the ability of minorities and low-income people to vote, but that will be up to the courts to decide.  The point is that the National Voting Rights Act prohibits any voting practice or procedure that has any discriminatory result. The 1982 amendment to the Act provides that proof of intentional discrimination is not required.  If it limits  access to the electoral process to any minority group, it can be prohibited.

Voting is a right granted to all citizens, not all citizens who have a driver's license, or all citizens who happen to have a copy of their birth certificate, or all citizens who can find a place to register.  We should be encouraging more people to vote, not making it more difficult.  The repressed voters just might vote out all of the officials who tried to keep them silent on Election Day.

 

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