Usurp The Vote

There's a movement afoot in America against voters, liberal-leaning voters that is, and it's being led by Republicans.  Recently there have been a swath of voting an voter registration laws proposed and/or passed by states all over the country including (but not limited to):

Florida

The Republican led legislature in Florida has proposed to cut the time allotted for early voting in half , from 14 days to 7.  They are doing away with the ability for a voter to change their address at the polling place unless it's within the same county, making it harder for college students changing from their parent's address to their school address.  If a 3rd party group wants to conduct a voter registration drive they must have all registrations delivered to the Division of Elections (or local supervisor) within 48 hours of the time the registration was completed or face fines for EACH registration form that is turned in late.  Prisoners must now wait 5 years (for non-violent crimes) or 7 years (violent crimes) after being released before being able to exercise their right to vote and can only do so after being approved by a clemency board.

Texas

Texas has recently passed legislation requiring a photo ID to be presented to vote unless you were born before 1931 or if you have a concealed handgun license, seriously, but college IDs don't count as is the case for many states proposing voter ID requirements.  You aren't even allowed to present an expired ID even though it would contain your name and picture.

Kansas

Last week Governor Brownback signed a new voter ID law for this state.  This plan was drafted by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach and would require proof of citizenship, US citizenship not just Kansas residence (think birth certificate), for new voters beginning in 2013.  If the name Kris Kobach is familiar it is because he played a significant role in drafting the Arizona immigration law that required American citizens who didn't look American (meaning that they weren't white) to produce documentation on-demand by law enforcement that they were US citizens.

By my last count there are approximately 23 states currently pursuing new voting laws aimed at "reducing fraud."  All of these are being pushed by Republicans.  This fraud epidemic of course does not exist, and the types of fraud that do exist (mailing false information about election dates an polling locations, intimidation at polling sites, etc) won't be solved by instituting narrow voter ID laws nor by placing tougher restrictions on voter registration.  According to the Brenner Center for Justice the rate of ineligible persons attempting to vote in Ohio for 2002 and 2004 was only 0.00004%, this statistic doesn't break out the number of those who actually intended to vote knowing they weren't eligible, if this occurred at all.  I've scoured the internet in a search for voter fraud statistics and can't find any.  Why?  Because there isn't a significant voter fraud problem.

You may be asking yourself why there is a push for stricter voting laws if there isn't a voter fraud problem, it's because the laws being proposed/passed are aimed groups that overwhelmingly vote for Democrats.  The Brenner brief mentioned above (please note that they begin one of their paragraphs the exact same way I began this post, I swear I penned those first few words prior to reading their brief, so please no plagiarism lawsuit!) as well as numerous other studies on this topic assert that voter ID laws prevent millions of otherwise eligible voters from being able to cast their vote and also point out that on average 10% eligible voters don't posses the documents required to vote.  The laws also place an unfair burden on the elderly, minorities, the poor, the disabled, and college students, groups that largely vote for Democrats.  In Florida (as well as other states) new voters and those who participate in early voting are primarily Democrats, hence their new proposed law to curb these activities.

Make no mistake, Republican lawmakers are using narrow voting laws and gerrymandering redistricting methods to their political advantage.  And let us not forget the assault on unions who are the primary "big money" contributors for Democrats. The Republicans are desperate, voters in many Republican controlled states are extremely upset with the agendas they have pushed (note the recall efforts in Wisconsin) and they have constantly taken positions opposite of what their constituents want.  Combine that with an incumbent President who is a very strong campaigner sitting on a stockpile of political contributions (and won't have to spend any for a primary run) and you can see why.  I'm confident that many of these laws will be found unconstitutional as they will be too narrowly written but I urge you to check with you local election board prior to the 2012 elections to ensure that you are properly registered and so you'll know what appropriate documentation with you before get the polls.  There's a movement to usurp the vote in 2012 and we must stay informed to ensure that our voices will be heard.