"Voter ID, which is going to allow Gov. Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania"

[Blackjack200]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-penn-voter-id-20120718,0,1039470.story

Wilola Lee, a 60-year-old former school employee, has made three unsuccessful trips to the Department of Transportation. She has a small pile of identification cards, including a voter registration card and her former school ID, which is now outdated. She was told she needed to show her birth certificate, but since she was born at home in rural Georgia, she was unable to obtain one.

Frustrated, she joined the lawsuit. "I have voted my entire life. Never missed. And I'm really upset they are trying to stop me from voting this time," she said.

Applewhite also has a thick wad of identification cards, including from Medicare and her bank and a voter registration card. She has a city transit pass with her photo, but it is not deemed acceptable under the law. After many inquiries, she obtained a copy of her birth certificate through the mail.

But she was then told she had a problem because her name on the birth certificate did not match her married name on her other ID cards.

"I never had a problem with voting before this. If they wanted my Social Security number, I know it by heart," she said. She says she is determined to obtain the proper identification, no matter how many times she must travel by bus to the Department of Transportation.

"A lot of people in this building don't have the right ID, and they have given up. I see them in the elevator and I tell them, 'You've got to keep trying,' " she said.

Wow, this is just the most disgusting thing I have ever seen. Transparent effort to block people you're ideologically opposed to from voting. That this is happening in my state makes me want to puke. Elitism at its ugliest, these rich, white, privelaged fucks think they're better than the retired school teachers and activists.

Even if you have policies that favor the wealthy, as a society, you need to give everyone a voice. People that have their vote taken away just might feel the need to be heard in other ways. Just saying.

 

[cubby1223]

Transparent effort to block people you're ideologically opposed to from voting.

Last time I checked, "does not have state identification" was not an ideological position.

 

[hal2kilo]

Last time I checked, "does not have state identification" was not an ideological position.

In your dreams.

 

[MooseNSquirrel]

http://www.npr.org/2012/07/18/156935624/study-many-could-face-obstacles-in-voter-id-laws

 

[cubby1223]

In your dreams.

Oppose voter id laws, advocate against them.

But don't claim the presence or absence of an identification card is an ideological divide.

 

[Jaskalas]

Voter ID only removes fraud. It'll let Romney win closely contested states by keeping the dead from voting.

 

[MooseNSquirrel]

We already went down that path in the other thread, Jaskalas.

No one provided any proof of any substancial voter fraud, by anti-Republican dead people or the dreaded brown skins.

 

[fskimospy]

Oppose voter id laws, advocate against them.

But don't claim the presence or absence of an identification card is an ideological divide.

Except of course that there is direct evidence that people who lack such identification cards disproportionately identify as Democrats as the poor tend to lack them and the poor tend to vote for Democrats.

Interestingly enough a Republican governor recently vetoed an ID requirement for first time absentee ballot registration while his state already has an in person voter ID requirement. Absentee ballots are generally considered to lean Republican. Gee, I wonder why.

Just how naked do these efforts at voter suppression need to get before people will admit objective reality? Not only do you have no evidence for the fraud existing, but you have the party pushing them explicitly talking about how these laws will help them win elections. Your conclusion? Nothing to see here, everything's above board!

 

[TheVrolok]

This really has me upset. It's incredibly disturbing and anti-American. Quite disgusting. A legislative way to block votes likely coming for the opposing party. Absolutely disgusting. I have heard it's reaching the Texas Supreme Court, though? Here's a scary thought, the TSC shoots it down and it gets placed in line for the SCOTUS. The election happens with these state voter ID laws in place, then they are struck down by the SCOTUS shortly following the election. Sickening.

 

[OneOfTheseDays]

Absolutely disgusting.

 

[TheVrolok]

Except of course that there is direct evidence that people who lack such identification cards disproportionately identify as Democrats as the poor tend to lack them and the poor tend to vote for Democrats.

Interestingly enough a Republican governor recently vetoed an ID requirement for first time absentee ballot registration while his state already has an in person voter ID requirement. Absentee ballots are generally considered to lean Republican. Gee, I wonder why.

Just how naked do these efforts at voter suppression need to get before people will admit objective reality? Not only do you have no evidence for the fraud existing, but you have the party pushing them explicitly talking about how these laws will help them win elections. Your conclusion? Nothing to see here, everything's above board!

In PA this is essentially levying a poll tax as you must have a "raised stamp" birth certificate to apply for an ID if you do not have one. To get one of these certificates you need to mail away for it, oh, and it costs 20 bucks.

 

[OrByte]

In PA this is essentially levying a poll tax as you must have a "raised stamp" birth certificate to apply for an ID if you do not have one. To get one of these certificates you need to mail away for it, oh, and it costs 20 bucks.

if this is true, then this is totally a poll tax.

 

[Lithium381]

See, I think we need to force ID for voting purposes because I think there is fraud. See minnisota and people with 4+ ID's. . . . but there should be a simple process for it that isn't overly burdensome such as the cherrypicked ones in this article . .

 

[manimal]

if this is true, then this is totally a poll tax.

I was unaware of this. Does anyone have a link for confirmation?

 

[a777pilot]

Good fucking Lord! Didn't we just do this in another thread?

 

[jruchko]

I was unaware of this. Does anyone have a link for confirmation?

I know I needed it when I got an ID card back in 2005.

 

[blankslate]

Last time I checked, "does not have state identification" was not an ideological position.

Ignore the fact that people who live in cities (and generally are more likely to vote for a Democratic nominee than a person who lives outside of a city) are less likely to have a driver's license.

Except of course that there is direct evidence that people who lack such identification cards disproportionately identify as Democrats as the poor tend to lack them and the poor tend to vote for Democrats.

Interestingly enough a Republican governor recently vetoed an ID requirement for first time absentee ballot registration while his state already has an in person voter ID requirement. Absentee ballots are generally considered to lean Republican. Gee, I wonder why.

Just how naked do these efforts at voter suppression need to get before people will admit objective reality? Not only do you have no evidence for the fraud existing, but you have the party pushing them explicitly talking about how these laws will help them win elections. Your conclusion? Nothing to see here, everything's above board!

This^


Additionally PA's voter ID law might render almost 600k active voters unable to vote.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_...d-law-in-pa-could-prevent-750000-from-voting/

Even if voters are classified as "inactive" with 100 percent accuracy, however, that leaves nearly 600,000 "active" voters who lack driver's licenses and may not be able to cast their votes on Election Day.

So Pennsylvania is going to pass a law which can prevent hundred's of thousands of people who are eligible to vote in order to catch at most a possible few hundred illegal voters?

Sorry doesn't pass the smell test unless you're supporting candidates who might benefit from the effects of this law...

If you're so worried about illegal voters increase the penalties for this felony and pass a law that will also require expedited deportation of non-citizens who vote in our elections

 

[TheVrolok]

I was unaware of this. Does anyone have a link for confirmation?

As a Pennsylvanian, I'm familiar with the process.

http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms/fact_sheets/pub195us.pdf

List of ID required for obtaining a DL/ID card.

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/birth_certificates/14121

How to obtain a raised seal cert. I was incorrect about the fee. I believe I was thinking of the CCW fee which is 20, apparently the poll tax, excuse me, BC fee is only 10 bucks unless you're active military in which case it's waived.

 

[techs]

Has anyone considered what will happen if a state goes narrowly for Romney and its the margin of victory and there are a large number of voters turned away at the polls for not having the new I.D.?

Could another Florida like election occur?

Could we have riots and massive civil disobediance?

Could the very fabric of our society break?

Could the recent efforts to enable unlimited secret donations, voter suppression and laws the favor the wealthy break the belief in America and turn us into a country not only in ideological war but a war in the streets?

 

[soundforbjt]

Look what they're doing in Nevada, Repubs scared of Romney getting beat by "none of the above". LOL!!

http://news.yahoo.com/nevada-none-fearsome-foe-gop-062218860.html

 

[TheVrolok]

Has anyone considered what will happen if a state goes narrowly for Romney and its the margin of victory and there are a large number of voters turned away at the polls for not having the new I.D.?

Could another Florida like election occur?

Could we have riots and massive civil disobediance?

Could the very fabric of our society break?

Could the recent efforts to enable unlimited secret donations, voter suppression and laws the favor the wealthy break the belief in America and turn us into a country not only in ideological war but a war in the streets?

My biggest fears are these; either Romney wins outright with multiple narrow victories in places significantly impacted by these new voter ID laws, or neither candidate gets 270 and the House decides on Romney. Either way, could be really ugly.

 

[blankslate]

Voter ID only removes fraud. It'll let Romney win closely contested states by keeping the dead from voting.

Talking point...

 

[berzerker60]

The saddest thing is that it's not remotely unamerican, it's just reflective of the part of American history we like to ignore - that in which systematic violence and domestic terrorism was used to keep a huge section of the population from voting for literally hundreds of years, including decades after we fought a civil war over it and gave them the legal right. Clever semi-legal tactics to keep blacks from voting is as American as apple pie, it's just we would all like to pretend we're in an age where that wouldn't be possible anymore. Of course it is, we just don't outright say it.

There are very large swaths of the country that would wholeheartedly support poll taxes, 'literacy' requirements, and other voter suppression measures of the past. There were BS justifications for those too, and we even STILL hear some of those today. "People who don't pay to taxes clearly aren't invested enough in society and will only vote to give themselves money! Have a poll tax!" "People too ignorant to pass a literacy test simply won't decide as well as us educated business types! Have a literacy test. We'll administer it by having a nice friendly business type decide whether you've correctly interpreted this law or not."

 

[Tom]

Oppose voter id laws, advocate against them.

But don't claim the presence or absence of an identification card is an ideological divide.

but it is. its the difference between wanting everyone who is eligible to vote the opportunity to vote, and trying to limit voting to those people who are like "us".

"us" being people who have driver's licenses becasue its the "normal" way to live.

 

[Infohawk]

We need national ID connected to a database that allows for voter registration in one location at a time.