The right to vote is the cornerstone to American democracy. Your vote is meant to count just as much as that neighbor you hate so much, and their vote counts just as much as the president.
Every American has the right to vote, so why is it so difficult?
Texas in particular has garnered much criticism over it’s voter ID laws, which many proponents claim are “common sense” measures to protect voter fraud.
On paper, it makes sense. If you want to vote, you just need some form of identification to prove you’re who you say you are.
The problem is, this actually leaves out a significant number of people. When Texas’ ID law was passed in 2011, it was reported that at least 500,000 people who were registered to vote in Texas could not vote because they lacked the necessary identification.
While President Obama was in Austin for South by Southwest, he said the U.S. is one of the only advanced democracies in the world that “makes it harder for people to vote.”
This is true. Voting laws disproportionately affect minorities and poor people.
If you’re an immigrant, you might not have proper documentation needed to get the proper identification. If you’re poor, you probably can’t afford the $25 fee needed to get a proper birth certificate or renew your expired driver’s licence.
These laws do nothing but place unnecessary hurdles to voting, and simply make less voters turn out to vote. It’s also a little too convenient that nearly all of the states with these harsh laws are Republican. A vast majority of minorities and poor people vote Democrat.
But what about voter fraud? That’s what the law was put in place for, anyway, right?
Gov. Greg Abbott responded to Obama’s statements by saying that voter fraud is “rampant,” and Texas is “committed to cracking down on voter fraud.”
Fact checking website Politifact gave Abbott a “pants on fire” rating for this statement.
Justin Levitt, a law professor at the Loyola Law School, Los Angeles said of 1 billion votes cast, there were only 31 confirmed cases of voter fraud. So the claim that voter fraud is “rampant” is completely false.
Some of it doesn’t make sense. Why would someone wait in line for potentially hours just so they could fake being someone to cast one single vote that probably wouldn’t make any difference? It’s just silly.
In Texas, you can’t register online. You have to physically mail in the form needed to register to vote. Also you have to send it in 30 days before election day, and if you miss the deadline you’re screwed.
It’s also a problem that election day is always on a work day. If voting is a right, it needs to be as accessible as possible.
Some states allow people to vote by mail and register online and some even allow you to register the day of voting. These are all measures meant to increase voter turnout. Texas ranks 48th in the nation in voter turnout, so why can’t we do the same?
Too many people feel politics is corrupt, and all this does is reinforce that sentiment. If you want more people to vote, make it easier for them. Don’t make it harder for people just because they might not vote for you.
Opinion editor Anthony Torres is a political science junior and may be reached at [email protected]
First, this is a Republic not a democracy. Were the author to go back and study the beginnings of this Republic, he would learn that not every citizen would or could vote. It was intended for those who contributed to society, they owned land. They had a reason to be responsible with their privilege of voting.
Second, reporting that 500,000 couldn’t vote in 2011 is very different from that number being factual, as are the bogus arguments about costs for a particular ID. As to numbers of fraud cases being reported, of course that number is low because those benefiting from it turn a blind eye and a deaf ear.
>Were the author to go back and study the beginnings of this Republic, he would learn that not every citizen would or could vote.
errr…no, every citizen could vote. Not every human being was considered a citizen.
>Second, reporting that 500,000 couldn’t vote in 2011 is very different from that number being factual, as are the bogus arguments about costs for a particular ID. As to numbers of fraud cases being reported, of course that number is low because those benefiting from it turn a blind eye and a deaf ear.
Republicans turn a blind eye to votes for Obama cast in Texas?
I frankly don’t give a rip about who anyone votes for as long as they are legitimate registered and legal voters as defined by the State, which is what the Constitution states. It does not state the federal government created by the States gets to decide.
Who said anything about the federal government? If they can force voters to register, then they can force firearm owners to register. It’s just one scary step down a path towards a totalitarian government.
At some point you right-wingers need to wake up and realize that it’s not the liberals who are trying to take your freedom. It’s the conservatives.
Who do believe enforces the unconstitutional voting rights act and associated regulations, if not the federal government. And who do you believe keeps trying to force Gun registration, if not confiscation? The totalitarian government is already here and it’s face is liberal.
>Who do believe enforces the unconstitutional voting rights act and associated regulations, if not the federal government.
The irony of this position always makes me laugh. The constitution itself says that the definition of ‘constitutional’ is ‘that which has been upheld by the Supreme Court.’ The VRA has been upheld by the Supreme Court. Ergo, constitutional.
>And who do you believe keeps trying to force Gun registration, if not confiscation?
No one. No one has proposed such a law in Congress in decades. Conservatives meanwhile force you to give the government your address, name, age, race, and a photo of you to vote. Imagine if they did the same thing for you to own a firearm.
Citing activist court decisions doesn’t make a law constitutional any more than saying Gun registration/confiscation proposals haven’t been made in decades. Democrats try this every session of Congress.
Ah the old conservative trope of denying reality. Wishful thinking does not law make.
>Democrats try this every session of Congress.
Citation needed.
I’m an occasional volunteer for “True the Vote” and I have been a Poll Watcher in 3 major elections. The problem with your conviction statistic is that it does not cover the type of “Fraud” we see constantly at the polls. I have had to step in and advise Poll Workers about their handling of voters at least a dozen times. Most are happy to comply, they just didn’t know or were hoping I didn’t know the rules. I’m not there to try and get someone arrested, I just want to make sure the rules are being followed.
I would advise the author to volunteer as a poll watcher for the 2016 election. Get the training and go through the process. See it from both sides with boots on the ground and not just from an ideological point.
I can assure you will see various forms of fraud that will make you cringe. One of the most common ways (remember, “politics is local”) fraud happens is when people come in to vote and they ask for assistance with the voting machine. You will be shocked how often they are encouraged to vote “Straight Ticket.” That is fraud. Yet, you are unlikely to see that crime become a conviction unless they slip out of the role of friendly poll worker who didn’t know better.
One (of many) example(s) of this happened during the 2012 election. An elderly woman came in and said, “I’m here to vote for Obama.” She obviously drew my attention because most people don’t enter a polling station and shout out their preferred candidate. I watched the worker step in to help. “Mam, are you going to be voting for anyone else today?” The elderly lady continued, “No, I just want to vote for Obama.”
The worker then broke the law and said, “You know Obama is a Democrat, right? Would you like to vote for other Democrats?” My eyes widened, but there is nothing Poll Watchers can do about this until after the voter has left (we are not allowed to interfere in any way). The elderly lady really just wanted to vote for Obama and that was it, but the Poll Worker pressed on, “You can vote for Obama by pushing this button for straight Democrat, and you won’t have look at the rest of the candidates.”
Now you see, that is the worst kind of fraud and I assure you I saw it every single time. I always step in and asking the poll worker if they know what they did was wrong. Of course, they always apologize.
Other areas of fraud are the “paper ballots.” They come wrapped in plastic in packs of 100. Once the seal is broken those ballots are up for grabs. As Poll Watchers, we stay till the end of the night, and ensure those ballots get repackaged and secured. In the past (prior to 2008), the poll workers could just fill them out straight ticket in seconds and drop them in the box. There is no name or log. Think how often small races are won by just a few votes.
Plus, you have to remember, Poll Workers (not watchers) are paid as part time workers. To step back another level, most of the time in Texas (as I understand it), the polls are handled by the party in power in that precinct. This means the party in power hires their friends and others in their circle to work the polls. So, you can understand gentle nudging here and there for extra votes. And it is all done at such at a wink-wink level you will see very few arrests for this type of fraud.
Another memorable fraud story was a mother brought in her son, I would have bet he was 16 years old. Back then (2012), all you needed was a “utility bill” for an ID. He had a Reliant Energy bill, and there was nothing we could do. Now, I have no proof here, but you can tell when a mother is dominating a young child, doing all the talking for him, etc. Maybe he was 18 and had his own place, but this is just an example how so much fraud goes on that never shows up in a court room.
Voting by mail is another weak area. No one can say how that vote was taken. Did a children of an elderly parent coax them into voting a certain way? Are “dead” people voting by way of others getting ballots sent them as though the right person were still alive. Even if this happens once it really matters. One bad vote is too many.
Before True the Vote, the precincts were being handled without on-site oversight. Now, we have a leader in place to balance out the person in charge at the voting site. Plus, we have poll watching volunteers there to balance out the poll workers. And let me tell you it is hard work. You get there at 5:30 – 6:00 in the morning and you are not done until about 10 at night. It’s a very long day of standing, and you log everything by pencil in hand. That doesn’t include the meetings, and training sessions you do prior to election day. However, it is very rewarding knowing you have a hand in voting integrity.
As for 500,000 voters without IDs, send them here (it’s FREE and after 70 years old you never have to update it). http://www.dps.texas.gov/driverlicense/electionid.htm
Seriously, if you know one of these 500,000 please help them get qualified for this ID. Show them, drive them, do whatever it takes to get them up to speed with their ID requirements. In 2012 there were 13,594,264 registered voters, so I say do your civic duty and pick one of these “disenfranchised” ID-less people and help them join the millions of others who are ready to roll this November.
Meantime, check out True the Vote. They are great bunch of people who have the same passion you do about voting integrity. https://truethevote.org
It’s interesting to me that the cases of alleged fraud you mentioned (by the way, it was election judge abuse, not voter fraud), none of them are relevant to the law at hand. Further…you are mostly complaining about the way the voter is making their decision. Because a person says something to you before casting your vote is not explicitly fraud, it’s bad manners and probably against election rules but it’s not up to you to decide if a person wants to be induced to vote for Rick Perry or not. Frankly, the government shouldn’t be telling anyone what to say when, even in a voting booth.
>One bad vote is too many.
I feel like the proper attitude for anyone who really loves freedom is not “one bad vote is too many” but rather “one person denied their fundamental right to vote is too many.” I would much rather err on the side of a few dozens falsely cast votes (for which there are literally weeks to spend time auditing after the election) than to deny someone the right to vote. Every other crime we take a post hoc approach, but for voting fraud the only way to ensure we are secure is if the government decides who is allowed to vote and isn’t? It seems like post hoc enforcement is the only way to do this fairly…and it’s entirely possible to do it.
>As for 500,000 voters without IDs, send them here (it’s FREE and after 70 years old you never have to update it).
It’s not free, you need to provide yourself with transportation to and from DPS and the time required, plus update it when/if you move, plus register your name on a government list with ID – so that you can vote. Voting is an inalienable right, it’s fundamental. You don’t have to register to own a gun, you don’t have to register to speak freely…but you have to register in a government database with a picture ID to vote? What business is it of the government’s where I live? Why do they need to know where to find me?
>Seriously, if you know one of these 500,000 please help them get qualified for this ID. Show them, drive them, do whatever it takes to get them up to speed with their ID requirements. In 2012 there were 13,594,264 registered voters, so I say do your civic duty and pick one of these “disenfranchised” ID-less people and help them join the millions of others who are ready to roll this November.
The point isn’t that ‘it’s easy to do’ – the point is that it – much like a poll tax or a literacy test – is designed to create a barrier for hard working people to vote. The government derives its power from my personal political power, which I exercise by voting. The government should have absolutely zero say in how I go about doing this, and it certainly should not have a photo ID of me. The only rational reason for doing this is for voter intimidation – so that the government can track down people who voted after the fact.
The argument presented by Anthony Torres is so elementary … and it shows that Torres and his ilk think we are all stupid dunces.
India has hundreds of millions more voters than the US, and all of them have proper identification for voting.
But one thing that will solve this Anthony is biometric identification (i.e. – fingerprints) and purple ink. Now we know that the 500,000 poor people that Torres spoke of … who can’t spare a few dollars out of their Welfare benefits to purchase an ID …
… but I believe they can afford … THEIR FINGERPRINTS.
***TROLL***
Du, du, duh, ***DAVID*** … you survived Spring Break … hope you enjoyed your time in your super safe Safe Space.
I agree Bobcefus, and yet the governments in Texas etc went with the ID anyways. Why? Why not just go with the completely free fingerprinting method?
Could it be to create a barrier to the ballot?
Voting should also happen only once per election but that doesn’t keep dead people from voting…. Maybe voter “turnout” is low because you are beginning to see a reflection of the actual numbers… Critical thinking is a must Torres
The ties to these voter ID laws and ALEC are well known and established. Discussing them as inconvenient is very much beside the point. Yes, they’re inconvenient; they are also a deliberate form of voter suppression, but the who and the why of that suppression is what deserves our attention and serious media scrutiny. Those who support them, want minorities suppressed. It’s just that simple. The CMD has done excellent work demonstrating how these corrupt voter suppression laws work using documents supplied to them by an ALEC whistle-blower some years ago.
Conservativism is the ideology of deceit.
They pass tax cuts which have the proven effect of providing huge welfare payments to corporations and wealthy people…and then tell people it’s to grow the economy.
They pass abortion regulations which have the proven effect of endagering women’s health and reducing access to abortion…and tell people it’s about improving women’s health.
They pass voter ID laws which have the proven effect of preventing people from voting…and tell people it’s about preventing voter fraud.
The kicker is, the exact same arguments for why guns shouldn’t be registered/entered into a national ID database for gun owners apply to voting. When you apply for a voter ID the questions they ask you are “picture, race, age, height, weight, hair color, eye color” – the only possible reason the government needs this information in a database is so that they can find you. So the government is building a database of your appearance so that after you vote, they can hunt you down. I wonder what possible reason they would need this for?
In the past the ability to change the structure and makeup of a government was limited to those who could build up an adequate force to forcibly overthrow the system. This was known as feudalism. In such a system, those who wielded the force had privilege to exercise the decision of the body politic.
Much like capitalistic trade has replaced thievery and domination, democratic elections has replaced violent overthrow. However I believe the danger of extending the right to use ideological force (The voting Franchise) to those with no stake in the system is misplaced. Many people believe those who are educated, or who are smart should only be allowed to vote. Many believe property owners should only vote (this was how it was at the onset of the nation). However it is my belief that only those who put their lives on the line with great hardship and risk should be allowed to use the system that has replaced force. Because they know how to wield it, know the risks and are more likely to put the ideas of the country ahead of selfish self ambition. Therefor I suggest a mandatory period of service to those wishing to have the ability to vote. It must be service of great hardship and risk, (military, testing medicines and machines).