Posted on 10/26/2004 2:03:36 PM PDT by Kokojmudd
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PHOENIX - Voter fraud involving illegal immigrants is rare, with only a handful of people in recent years being prosecuted locally for such fraud, according to election officials.
"If we have one case a year, it's an amazement," said Karen Osborne, Maricopa County's director of elections.
While there is no question that some illegal immigrants vote, immigration experts believe the number is small because people here illegally typically don't want to expose themselves to the government.
"We really shouldn't shoot in the dark here," said Spencer Overton, a professor at George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. "If there's a cockroach, we don't want to use a cannon to deal with the cockroach,"
Still, supporters of Proposition 200, which would require proof of citizenship to vote, insist the initiative is needed to block illegal immigrants from the ballot box.
Backers argue that Arizona's honor-based voter registration system, which requires applicants to check boxes swearing they are U.S. citizens, is vulnerable to fraud given the state's large undocumented immigrant population.
"The system is basically set up to run on the honor system, and I don't think it works," said Kathy McKee, chairwoman of Protect Arizona Now, one of several groups backing Proposition 200.
If the measure passes Tuesday, it would require voters to show proof of their identity at the polls.
Some experts worry that attempting to keep undocumented immigrants from voting through tighter registration restrictions could end up blocking legitimate voters from exercising their rights.
It could invite discrimination and have a chilling effect on the electorate, legal experts say.
"It's important for elections to be fair and honest," said Overton. "The concern and the problem, though, is often those who push voter integrity ... ignore the impact that excessive restrictions may have on political participation by legitimate voters."
If it passes, legal experts say, Proposition 200's citizenship requirement makes it vulnerable to challenge under the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which is intended to prevent discrimination against minorities at the polls.
"This seems to be a statement that not only do we want to disenfranchise non-citizens, but we also want to send a chill throughout the community. It's not a very friendly message," said Jamin Raskin, a constitutional law professor at American University in Washington, D.C.
"Undocumented Workers"? Well, that's another story... Ahem.
"Undocumented Workers"? Well, that's another story... Ahem.
How do idiots like this get to call themselves professors of Constitutional Law? Hey, Prof! You can't disenfranchise non-citizens. They don't have the franchise to begin with. And if that sends a chill, unfriendly message to the illegal community that they aren't wanted here ... GOOD!
How does the fact that few have been prosecuted get them to the idea that it is rare? To me all that says is that few have been prosecuted. It does not speak to the numbers of people doing it.
I take it that the operative word in this propaganda piece would be
"being prosecuted"!!
signed
Loretta Sanchez
Amazing to me would be if anybody believed this ditz...
or accounted her to have an honest attitude..
Loretta was crowned queen by illegal alien voting, then all of a sudden her sister got elected too. Coincidence? Welcome to Mexifornia.
If you don't look frequently you won't notice that your lawn grows every day. The same goes for vote fraud. Frequent inspection is needed.
from the background......."but our budget doesn't permit frequent inspection ......... "
LOL.
cue mariachis: La cucaracha, la cucaracha, ya no puede caminar...
try running anything on the honor system in Mexico, the officials should know better than that
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