Our Views: Vote barriers not that high

As a genuine American hero of the civil rights movement, John Lewis of Georgia could hold an honored seat at either party’s national convention. As it was, speaking in Charlotte to his fellow Democrats, Lewis moved the crowd with the account of his beatings near that city during the Freedom Rides of 1961.

But however revered the congressman’s record for civil rights is, his blistering critique of new voter identification laws was, we think, a bit overblown.

Not that his complaint is without some substance: With voter fraud a rare crime, some Republican-led legislatures around the country have used that excuse to overhaul voting procedures with an eye to partisan advantage.

“They are changing the rules, cutting polling hours and imposing requirements intended to suppress the votes,” Lewis said. “I’ve seen this before. I’ve lived this before. Are things really that dire?

In Louisiana, use of a photo identification for voting has not been an undue burden. Certainly, we deplore the kinds of games that some states have seen this year; in Pennsylvania’s legislature, a GOP leader said that voting law changes were aimed at defeating President Barack Obama.

If there is anything that should be kept from political gamesmanship, it is voting rights, as Lewis said. We hope and expect the federal authorities will step in, under the Voting Rights Act, when state laws seek partisan advantage by restricting access to the polls.

But how many people who are going to turn out to vote in the first place are likely to be without a driver’s license or some other identification? States should issue free voter identification cards, so that even the poorest citizens can get one and then cast a ballot.

The problem with Democrats’ turnout issues — except in some extreme cases, such as in Pennsylvania — lies less with the rules than with the party’s appeals. If Democrats give poorer people a program they can believe in and credible candidates, then a photo ID isn’t going to be an insuperable barrier to getting out the vote.

Comments

1) Comment by nimby? - 16/09/2012

God help us ...

2) Comment by chem - 16/09/2012

With all of the corrupt money flowing into the republican coffers, vastly outspending the Democrats, Team Obama is starting to pull away from mr. magical underwear, romney. Latest polls also show that people favor Dems over republicans in congress. 4 more years, 4 more years, 4 more years!

3) Comment by serenade - 14/09/2012

gman70726 - "Do you know of anyone over the legal driving age that does not have a state ID of some sort? I don't." I lived in Pennsylvania. I knew a lot of people who did not have a driver's license or official commnwealth ID card. PA is a state where most of the cities have actual public transportation, so a lot of people don't bother to get a driver's license (I didn't get mine until I was 20). Older folks give up their driver's licenses, and don't bother to get an official commonwealth ID. There are people with disabilities who can't drive and don't bother to get an official commonwealth ID. When the PA law was challenged in court, the commonwealth couldn't produce a single instance of in-person voter fraud. A voter ID law won't prevent absentee voter fraud. And keep in mind that while laws like this disproportionately disenfranchise people who tend to vote for democrats, a lot of elderly folks are either swing voters or firmly in the red column. They have trouble with ID, too. The Republicans in the PA state legislature could end up hurting themselves with their short-sightedness.

4) Comment by ex-louisianian - 14/09/2012

When proving one's identity entails paying $50 for a state birth certificate (which many elderly black voters don't even have since LA and the other Southern states didn't record black births before the 1940s), then you can make the argument that the voter ID requirements are a stealth poll tax. Like the other intelligent posters have mentioned, vote fraud takes place among state officials at the precinct level, not with groups attempting voter impersonation.

5) Comment by gman70726 - 14/09/2012

Still have no proof Huh? TeaSlayer? Just because DMJ says so I guess it must be true. By the way, do you know of anyone over the legal driving age that does not have a state ID of some sort? I don't. I firmly think you should prove your identity to vote. I would fight the KKK, Black Panthers and anyone else that tried to stop a legally registered voter from casting their vote for their preferred candidate. I guess you guys think if someone shows up at the ballot box just give them the booth no matter what. Does that mean the "Right Wingers" with all of their "Wealth" should be able to drive form voting precinct to voting precinct and vote as many times as they want. We are not discussing voter registration but proof at the booth. Absentee can be counted and checked as well as registration fraud.

6) Comment by Tea_Slayer - 14/09/2012

To gman and Chilter: how can this be put any more plainly. Voter ID laws we're I acted by Republican led states. Voter ID laws do not and will not stop the types of voter and voter registration fraud that does take place. Voter fraud has become the boogie man that the republicans try to scare their constituents with. Voter fraud is very very rare and has NEVER swayed an election. Voter ID laws target a specific, huge bloc of voters. DMJ has already listed other portions of those laws that affect that same bloc besides just getting an ID. So tell me, why is it sooooooo important that Republicans keep pushing this issue? And as for the the other boogie man, the NBPP, I do denounce what those TWO men did at ONE polling place. What about all the "poll watchers" dispatched by the Republicans oa regular basis?

7) Comment by Chrilter - 14/09/2012

Wow, tea-slayer, that article really puts it into perspective, Even if young voters are able to pull the necessary documentation together, the extra steps they must take to get an acceptable ID might prove discouraging, Cohen said. "They have to find the appropriate office, bring the needed paperwork and pay the required fee, all to get an ID many don't know they need," she said. "It turns out that significant numbers of young people don't even know about these new photo ID requirements." That seems SO difficult. This is ridiculous. The reason they say this will affect them is because they will not do anything about it. How about FOLLOWING the law? and if they are so excited about voting and so bummed about being disenfranchised, why dont they just go down and get an ID? This is about laziness. I jump through hoops just the my satellite dish transferred from my old place to my new place. The article says 700,000 may be unable to vote because of new voter ID laws. When, in essence, it should say, "700,000 people are unable to vote because they are too lazy to do what the rest of us already do." Anyone that truly wants to vote will be able to vote.......wait.....tea-slayer....did you just read the first few sentences and space out on the rest of what i wrote? I agreed that, AND I QUOTE "any sensible person can agree that those laws passed this year ...weren't aimed at curtailing voter fraud"......READ tea-slayer before throwing out more useless chatter...Bottom line: Democrats will always throw out disenfranchisement to voter fraud laws regardless of when they are enacted because they think the other party is "always out to get their constituents" when in reality, we are simply trying to preserve the integrity of the voting process. Meanwhile, the minorities in the Justice Department, who are tasked with prosecuting those who impede on a US citizen's right to vote, refuse to prosecute when the victim is not a minority and pander to those minorities who have clearly violated the voting rights of americans through intimidation and threats of physical violence AT A POLLING PLACE. .....and yet, I did not hear anything from the disenfranchisement crowd about those abuses. SHOCKER!!

8) Comment by gman70726 - 14/09/2012

TeaSlayer-The analysis by Cohen and Rogowski was released this week by the Chicago-based Black Youth Project, a nonpartisan effort launched in 2004 to examine the political participation of African-Americans aged 15 to 25. NON-PARTISAN? From the University of Chicago and the Black Youth Project. Let's do a little better. I can only imagine what your remarks would be if a "Right Winger" used the University of Southern Missippi and the NAAWP. If it is so important, please someone please tell me what is so hard or why someone of voting age does not have or want to get a drivers license or state ID to vote? I can only a surmise criminal background and a fear related to that. If there are other conjectures, please enlighten me. I will listen.

9) Comment by ex-louisianian - 14/09/2012

Legalized vote suppression is entirely expected from the GOP inheritors of the old Dixiecrat Party.

10) Comment by Tea_Slayer - 14/09/2012

Not meant to disenfranchise? And Chrilter, why should we appease lawmakers who are intentionally misleading the voters about the intent of voter ID laws? A new study on the effects of voter ID laws on the November election. http://tinyurl.com/9tpuqq8 . The true intent is to ensure that the election goes their way; Chrilter, you are being obtuse if you don't see that. As I have stated and you obviously didn't understand is that voter ID laws will not and could not prevent the types of voter fraud that occur.

11) Comment by Chrilter - 14/09/2012

DMJ.....did you just equate the New Black Panther party with fictional characters? apparently you didn't read the report I posted the other day so I shall post it again http://www.usccr.gov/NBPH/USCCR_NBPP_report.pdf.......1) please stop saying that there are were only 120 instances of fraud or whatever small number you found. ITS CALLED FRAUD for a reason. Fraud is committed by those who are trying not to be detected. 2) Any sensible person can agree that those laws passed this year regarding voter ID weren't aimed at curtailing voter fraud (Thats a common sense argument, why wait until 9 months before an election if its that important). and 3) This is the United States of America. Modernize the registrar of voters. Let citizens know well before an election that they need a photo ID (which will be provided free of charge) to every citizen (or if they can prove that they physically can't make it, some arrangement could be made to get an ID to them if they want to vote) but FOR CHRIST'S SAKE, Democrats - quit rallying aganist common sense solutions that would appease the other side. and Republicans - quit trying to disenfranchise voters by passing these laws and making them take effect too soon. Done, solved it.

12) Comment by gman70726 - 14/09/2012

Something so simple to bring so many conspiracy theories. the sky is falling. First, elected officials to investigate voter fraud-let's get the cat burglar to investigate the robbery. Remember, vote early and often, not a fallacy. We require ID's by law for everything a minor can not buy for proof of age but not to elect the people who determine those laws. Each state should set voting time periods for themselves and those be consistant throughout that state. Show me with proof where states vary there voting times for political gain. Here's your chance Tea-Slayer to do what you condemn others not doing. Prove it. Twinkie, you can't find your way around a registration place but can get to the ATM and extract money without any problems? Give me a break. Not to mention that most people get a driver's license at an early age and is renewed every 4 years at a place with everyone working in the building familiar with the process and willing to help. Run Chicken Little.

13) Comment by nimby? - 14/09/2012

as observed in New Orleans the democratic political machine makes sure its' voters get to the poll . the election is Tuesday , November 6 ; this was known almost four years ago . having four years to prepare for something and not doing so , lame excuse , just my opinion ....

14) Comment by DMJ - 14/09/2012

It's not just ID laws, nimby. It's cutting back on early voting in states like Ohio. Certain districts (red ones) get to keep their extended early voting, whereas other ones (blue ones) have a shorter early voting period. Poor people are more likely to work on Saturday, when the actual election occurs. They're also less likely to be able to get off work whenever they want to early vote. They're also more likely to vote Democratic. If voting restrictions are supposedly non-partisan, as you claim, then why don't Republicans have a problem with it? Because only Democrats engagne in voter fraud??

15) Comment by Tea_Slayer - 14/09/2012

DMJ, every time I have this discussion with a right winger, I ask them to show me evidence of widespread voter fraud. They invariably give me anecdotal evidence, second hand conversations, etc. Not one single instance of widespread voter fraud can be found that could have been prevented by voter ID laws. Heck, they even try to bring up irregularities at Louisiana polling places that occurred after we had enacted the voter ID law in Louisiana.

16) Comment by nimby? - 14/09/2012

haven't noticed any wording that only democrats need to show ID . this law applies equally to everyone . I never leave home without some form of identification , common sense . I'm a little slow , please explain how requiring all to do the same puts some at a disadvantage ? no one is blocking any doors ....

17) Comment by DMJ - 14/09/2012

Tea Slayer, it wouldn't. Springer is not smart.

18) Comment by Tea_Slayer - 14/09/2012

Springer, educate yourself. How would voter ID laws have prevented fraudulent absentee voting?

19) Comment by Duckyluve - 14/09/2012

This country has gone crazy. Who cannot afford $16.00 for a state issued I.D.? I bet most are smoking, drinking and talking on cell phones though.

20) Comment by Springer98 - 13/09/2012

Lessadolla Sowers, a member of the Tunica County, Miss. NAACP Executive Committee was convicted & sentenced in April on ten counts of voter fraud for fraudulently casting absentee ballots, including for four dead people!! Great case for voter I. D.'s!!!

21) Comment by Tea_Slayer - 13/09/2012

Until you educate yourself on the difference between voter fraud and voter registration fraud, the ignorant should refrain from commenting. As for supposed firsthand info from a "supervisor of elections", all I can say is that's not firsthand. If you witnessed it yourself, that is firsthand. Hearing it from someone else is called second hand, or hearsay in a court of law. Just more ignorance.

22) Comment by chem - 13/09/2012

But it is more than just having a photo ID. The republican-led state houses also curtailed voter registration drives, eliminated election- day and same-day registration. in general, they are trying to disenfranchise people who mostly vote for democrats. The spineless weasels can't win on ideas so they try to rig the system. How pathetic.

23) Comment by nimby? - 13/09/2012

walk into any store that sells tobacco or alcohol , there is usually a sign saying , 'WE I D , IT'S THE LAW" . this law . if I'm not mistaken , is saying everyone must have photo ID , not just this or that group , everyone . excuses , not reasons are being given . if you don't posses a photo ID I'm sure the same person willing to drive you to the polls wouldn't mind helping you in this matter . you've had almost years to prepare ....

24) Comment by DMJ - 13/09/2012

I knew it was just a matter of time before someone brought up the Black Panthers. I also heard Captain Hook and Voldemort were intimidating voters as well.

25) Comment by [e-mail] - 13/09/2012

All of that nonsense is as clear as a bell no matter how they try to obfuscate it with their blather; I didn't hear from any of them when Black Panthers blocked voters during the last election. Thugs intimidating voters, physically blocking the polls, and frightening people into not daring to even try to vote is real but that doesn't bother Lewis or any other of his ilk, including the Obama justice department.

26) Comment by tradewinns - 13/09/2012

my prior comment should have stated this happened in jacksonville, florida.

27) Comment by tradewinns - 13/09/2012

sometimes things are not what they seem. there is a difference in what is reported and what actually transpired. i know for a fact, told directly by the supervisor of elections at that time, that there were over 40 voters in the just finished election that voted twice in the same election. once at their polling place and once at the super's office (which they could do then i don't know about now) on the same day. as there was no way to know they had done so until after the election and absolutely no way to "back their vote out" of the total, they counted. he stated that the over 40 votes were democrats and he didn't want to cause further partisan bickering nothing was done. that is only one county in the 68 counties in florida alone so to state there were only 120 instances of voter fraud in the nation is not truly accurate. there may have been only 120 REPORTED but the rest went unreported and uncounted.

28) Comment by chem - 13/09/2012

All of these so-called changes in voter rules are there for one thing and one thing only — to disenfranchise as many voters as possible. It is no mere coincidence that all of these laws were passed by republican controlled state governments. There have been numerous studies and investigations over voter fraud and the incidence is almost nil. Earlier this year in Wisconsin, after the republicans lost control of the senate in a recall, they were screaming that voter fraud was rife. After a thorough investigation by responsible authorities, some headed by republicans, do you know how many instances of fraud were found? None! Zero!

29) Comment by DMJ - 13/09/2012

The Bush Administration conducted a 5-year investigation into voter fraud and guess how many instances they found.....120.....in the whole country. This is a solution without a problem. It's a cynical ploy to restrict the vote of the poor, minorities and the young....people who tend to vote Democratic. Let's not pretend it's anything else. And it's not just about IDs; in Ohio (which will probably decide who becomes president), they're rolling back early voting....but only in certain districts. Guess which ones.

30) Comment by DMJ - 13/09/2012

Art, you do realize that voter ID laws can't prevent absentee voter fraud, right? And the Acorn thing was about voter registration fraud, not voter fraud. Mickey Mouse never voted. You're 0-2, bub. Care to take another crack at it?

31) Comment by DMJ - 13/09/2012

Lie, cheat, steal. The ends justify the means, right Republicans? It's worked before (ahem...Florida, 2000) and that worked out great for everyone, right? "Voter ID, which is gonna allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania, done." - Mike Turzai, Pennsylvania House Majority Leader (R). Well...at least he admits that voter ID isn't about combatting fraud.

32) Comment by Art Vandelay - 13/09/2012

The "there is no voter fraud" mantra is a crock. My neighbor still receives an absentee ballot for her dead husband even after having told the registrar about this mistake...I can assure you that that is only the tip of the iceberg. Remember the shenanigans of Acorn registering Mickey Mouse to vote?

33) Comment by twinkie1cat - 13/09/2012

What now: You are being your prejudiced self again. In case you are unaware of it, disability and retirement checks now come on a benefits card. If you have a bank account they are direct deposited . Therefore, if you can use an ATM you can also access your money without the need for identification.

34) Comment by twinkie1cat - 13/09/2012

I think the good people and Christians of Louisiana need to stand up against Republican instigated voter ID laws because they are clearly partisan efforts to affect the vote and access to the polls. I disagree that requiring photo ID has not been a problem in Louisiana. In order to get state issued identification, one has to have a birth certificate. Getting one can be both expensive and difficult for an uneducated, poor or elderly person who is living paycheck to paycheck. That $20 could be feeding the family instead. Then there is the cost of the identification card and of gas or a ride or bus fare (if the Republicans have not prevented public transportation in their community). Even finding the place where one gets the identification can be confusing for an elderly or semi-illiterate person. Missing work and having to sit for hours in an unfamiliar building full of uniformed officers can be especially frightening for an elderly person who remembers the jackboots of segregation with trepidation even today. Voter ID laws are blatant attempts to deny the vote to the poor and elderly. The Republicans, once again, need to be stopped in their tracks and put in their place. They are trying to turn back the clock to the 1950s in order to stay in power. Louisiana is already behind. It needs to move up to, at minimum, the 1980s in this important area of civil rights.

35) Comment by Whatnow - 13/09/2012

There is plenty of evidence of voter fraud if you look for it. Saying it doesn't happen doesn't make it go away. I guess it depends on which party or which media you believe. There are facts out there if you search. I guess the people who have been arrested for voter fraud should be allowed to go free since it doesn't happen. I'll bet all those poor sick people who forgot to register when they move or whatever, find the resources for I.D. to receive their monthly government checks. It's called priorities and responsibility. Dirty words, I know.

36) Comment by twinkie1cat - 13/09/2012

John Lewis was my Congressman for many years. He represents Atlanta Georgia and I met him several times. He is a congressman who has served completely without impropriety and he has consistently stood for racial equality, not racial superiority, but equality. His concerns come from reality. I remember the Freedom Rides and seeing pictures on the news of him being beaten for wanting equal rights

37) Comment by nimby? - 13/09/2012

dday198 , "Perhaps it is time to bring back literacy testing? i'm for that would surly knock out half your tea-party voters' , yes , lets' . how many democrats would that eliminate ?

38) Comment by LSUinVail - 13/09/2012

Look at it this way. Places you ARE required to present valid ID: the DMV, airports, the pharmacy, donating blood, banks, gun shop, writing a check, adoption agency, liquor store, social security office, pawn shops, using a credit card, court, union elections...but NOT to vote! Really? Heck, you had to show valid ID to get into the DNC, talk about hypocrisy!

39) Comment by Noel Hammatt - 13/09/2012

@Tea_Slayer: I was busy posting while you were posting your comment. You hit the nail on the head! And there I was writing a story. Perhaps each will reach different people. Thanks!

40) Comment by Noel Hammatt - 13/09/2012

Beware of the magician who draws your attention to the Jack of Hearts while slipping the Two of Diamonds (the card you actually drew out of the deck) into your coat pocket. The Advocate Editorial writers missed the boat on this one. If you carefully examine the state laws and policies, and the implementation of the laws, you find a few commonalities. First, there is the truth that "any voter fraud is too much voter fraud" without ever showing any real evidence of voter fraud. Doesn't matter, any more than it matters which card you draw out of the deck. The magicians in the legislatures then draw your attention to all of the things that "could happen" and what we need to do about it. That is like the handkerchief drawn over the cards after the Magician showed you the Jack of Hearts. (Too much like pulling the wool over your eyes? I guess the recent session here in Louisiana is still too much on my mind.) Anyway, they pass a requirement that voters have to show ID. I'm actually with The Advocate on this, it is not too great a hurdle, in my mind. BUT WAIT, along with the ID you have to bring to the voting booth, you also have to check addresses on the ID, and you get a voter "up-date" card mailed to you, but you missed it, or moved to an apartment right down the street, or you mistakenly thought you didn't have to do anything with the card. Next thing you know, you are purged. You go down to the voting booth, and are told, sorry, you are not on the list. This, unlike the fraud for which we have almost no evidence at all, actually happens. And it happens more often to people who are ill, people who are living in poverty, and people of color who don't have the same resources of those who have more stability. You are burying your head in the sand if you think that those who promote these voter ID laws aren't aware of this. Some of the comments below just prove the point. Read history. "Perhaps it is time to bring back literacy testing? I could go for that." Really? Either "Attila" does not know how these tests were used, historically, or he does. Either way, THAT is the real problem.

41) Comment by Tea_Slayer - 13/09/2012

Perhaps the "voter ID debacle" is merely a reaction to the true straw man, the supposed widespread voter fraud that these voter ID laws are meant to curb. Unfortunately, voter ID laws would not prevent the types of voter registration fraud that is occurring. The tea party repubs know this. Attila being a good puppet may not.

42) Comment by Bighug - 13/09/2012

If ID is a problem, just issue a cheap digital camera to one person at each voting place. Take a photo of anyone without the ID and have that person sign a paper with his/her address on it and an explaination of the penalties for violation of the law.

43) Comment by dday198 - 13/09/2012

Perhaps it is time to bring back literacy testing? i'm for that would surly knock out half your tea-party voters

44) Comment by Attila - 12/09/2012

AT LAST! A sensible editorial from the Advocate. The photo I D debacle is a straw man of Democrat Party, Voting is much more than a "right". It carries with it a RESPONSIBILITY. A responsibility to know the issues, the candidates, and their positions on the issues. Sadly, a large percentage of today's voters do not have a clue as to any of those issues. Perhaps it is time to bring back literacy testing? I could go for that.