Florida

by Jeremy Leaming

During his early morning re-election speech, President Obama took note of the difficulties scores of voters faced in casting ballots this year, such as standing in lengthy, slow-moving lines for hours. Something we have to fix the president said. 

Many of the problems for voters this election year, as noted often on this blog, were created by lawmakers in a string of states apparently bent on making voting a more difficult procedure, though they cloaked the intentions in language about protecting the integrity of the vote. But a closer examination of the actions taken by those lawmakers – limiting early voting hours, clamping down on voter registration drives and implementing onerous voter ID requirements – revealed political efforts to keep certain people away from the polls, namely minorities, college students, low-income people and the elderly. See the ACS Issue Brief by Loyola law school professor Justin Levitt on many of the restrictive vote measures, which he concluded made for poor and potentially unconstitutional policy.

The Washington Post editorial board in “Repairing America’s elections,” highlighting voting difficulties in Northern Virginia, noted in part, “Poorly trained poll workers get confused by constantly changing laws and procedures. Voter registration and record-keeping are getting more high-tech, but there are still many kinks. Many states lack policies that could take some of the pressure off, such as early voting.”

The editorial reports that some in Congress, such as Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.) and Rep. Gerald E. Connolly (D-Va.) are pushing a measure similar to the Obama administration’s educational “Race to the Top,” initiative. That measure, in part, would “dangle the possibility of grants to states that put together election reform programs” that include expansion of early voting and “more flexible registration rules ….”

by Jeremy Leaming

Ten states with ridiculously restrictive voter ID laws could keep millions of people from participating in this year’s general election, The Brennan Center for Justice reports in an extensive study.

The majority of the restrictive voter ID laws also would likely have the harshest impact, not surprisingly, on low- income individuals, the elderly, and minorities. Right-wing law makers in Florida are also defending a restrictive voter ID law. In Pennsylvania, one of the states included in the study, a Republican lawmaker said the law is aimed at helping the Republican’s presidential candidate carry the state.

The report, “The Challenge of Obtaining Voter Identification,” says that “nearly 500,000 eligible voters do not have access to a vehicle and live more than 10 miles from the nearest state ID-issuing office,” which has limited hours of operation. Moreover the study reveals that 1.2 million black voters and 500,000 eligible Latino voters “live more than 10 miles from the nearest ID-issuing office,” again with limited hours of operation.

If states are going to require IDs for voting, which is more than a privilege, it’s a constitutional right, they must offer free IDs. But as the Brennan Center study notes, the restrictive voter ID laws are making it a major, and often costly, undertaking to attain those IDs. That is likely the intent behind those laws. This nation has a tawdry history of disenfranchising voters, and that tradition is being carried on.

The states included in the study are: Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.

One of the more disturbing parts of the Brennan Center study is the potentially devastating impact these laws will have on the nation’s poorest.

“More than 1 million eligible voters in these 10 photo ID states fall below the federal poverty line and reside more than 10 miles from the nearest ID-issuing office,” a press release about the report states. “These voters can be particularly affected by the significant costs of the documentation required to obtain a photo ID. Birth certificates can cost between $8 and $25.”

“By comparison,” the statement continues, “the notorious poll tax – outlawed during the civil rights era – cost $10.64 in current dollars.”

In a recent speech before the NAACP, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder blasted the restrictive voter ID laws, such as the one in Texas, likening them to those poll taxes. His comment riled the right-wing governor of Texas, Rick Perry, who has complained about Holder’s critique.