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Voter ID laws in TX, GA, SC (history of voting rights discrimination) concern Dems
Houston Chronicle ^ | June 29, 2011 | PETE YOST, AP

Posted on 07/05/2011 1:11:38 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife

WASHINGTON — Sixteen Democratic senators want the Justice Department to look into whether voting rights are being jeopardized in Texas and other states that require photo identification in order for people to vote.

The lawmakers wrote Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday to express concern that millions of voters do not have a government-issued ID - particularly older people, racial minorities, low-income voters and students.

The senators say the photo ID requirements have the potential to block millions of eligible people from exercising their right to vote.

Justice Department spokeswoman Tracy Schmaler said the department is monitoring, as it routinely does, this type of legislative activity in the states.

"We urge you to protect the voting rights of Americans by using the full power of the Department of Justice to review these voter identification laws and scrutinize their implementation," the senators said in the letter to the attorney general.

The 16 senators include.......

"Many of these laws effectively disenfranchise thousands of eligible voters," Bennet said in a statement.

The senators are seeking vigorous enforcement of the Voting Rights Act and federal civil rights law, which bars different standards from being applied to individuals within a jurisdiction. Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act gives the Justice Department significant authority to review laws before they are implemented in states with a history of discriminatory voting practices. Three states subject to Section 5 - Georgia, Texas and South Carolina - require a photo ID in order to vote. Texas and South Carolina enacted their laws last month.

(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; Government; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 2012; aliens; congress; democratcorruption; democrats; election; elections; voterfraud; voterid
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

“Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act gives the Justice Department significant authority to review laws before they are implemented in states with a history of discriminatory voting practices.”

This is a breathtaking usurpation of our Constitution. An agency of the national government gets to review State Law before implementation?

Not only is there no such power, but our Framers considered and rejected Congressional veto of State Laws. IOW, the States considered granting this power to the national government and refused to do so after long debate.


21 posted on 07/05/2011 4:36:01 AM PDT by Jacquerie
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To: Jacquerie

The 1964 “Voting Rights Act” was to have expired but the Left keeps resuscitating it and the Republicans won’t stand up to them!


22 posted on 07/05/2011 4:43:38 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: eaglestar
If liberals are so concerned about disenfranchisement, they should have shown this concern when they were rejecting overseas military votes the past few elections.

Yes! Yes!

June 24, 2011 RE: Legislative Implementation of the federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act and the Impact on the Texas Election Calendar

23 posted on 07/05/2011 4:48:54 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: NTHockey
as I recall, the party in power who was doing all the discriminating and vote fixing and rights deigning as the DEMOCRAT party, the party of slavery and segregation.
24 posted on 07/05/2011 5:04:47 AM PDT by Rumplemeyer
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

But those millions of people that do not have ID have plenty of time and nothing but themselves to prevent them from getting ID’s
Their fault not the laws...........


25 posted on 07/05/2011 5:05:36 AM PDT by SECURE AMERICA (Where can I sign up for the New American Revolution and the Crusades 2012?)
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To: HiTech RedNeck

“thought voting versions were being issued for free.”

I’m not sure about the other states, but GA will issue them for free and that is one reason the GA law should hold up in the courts.. Unfortunately, for the democrats, one must be a LEGAL citizen to vote and this does leave out the tens of thousands of ILLEGALS who reside in GA. THIS is what’s torquing off the whiners who wrote the letter.


26 posted on 07/05/2011 5:06:33 AM PDT by freeangel ( (free speech is only good until someone else doesn't like it)
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To: SECURE AMERICA
.....Their fault not the laws...........

Now you're blaming the "victims." Usual conservative, knee-jerk reaction. /S

27 posted on 07/05/2011 5:07:56 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

what needs to be done, is be finger printed, and have the the machine scan your prints and turn on only if you have not voted...this will keep the dead people from voting...


28 posted on 07/05/2011 5:10:59 AM PDT by jrd
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To: HiTech RedNeck

How do you get registered to vote without ID?


29 posted on 07/05/2011 5:30:04 AM PDT by Scotsman will be Free (11C - Indirect fire, infantry - High angle hell - We will bring you, FIRE)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
...millions of voters do not have a government-issued ID - particularly older people, racial minorities, low-income voters and students.

Other than this letter being totally ridiculous, every student ID I've seen has their picture on it.

As the article mentions, we just passed a Voter ID law here in South Carolina. (Governor Nikki Halley - YES!!)

I've been working the polls for years. 95% of voters are already using their driver's license for ID. SC has a state ID that looks like a driver's license and some voters use that as well.

When the ID law was being debated, the RATS said, "These people have no money to pay for an ID!" So the law has a provision that those folks can get a taxpayer funded (the RATS consider that "free") state ID. Then the RATS said, "These are poor people. How will they get to the DMV to get their free ID?"

RATS are mentally ill.

30 posted on 07/05/2011 5:58:13 AM PDT by upchuck (Think you know hardship? Ha! Wait till the dollar is no longer the world's reserve currency.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife
What they're misrepresenting is a driver's license not being attainable for various reasons for certain people (language..age..etc) when in fact, you can obtain an ID card which is not a driver's license from the DMV. Anyone can obtain one of these ID cards when you produce the correct documents. My son did this when he was 10.
31 posted on 07/05/2011 6:11:11 AM PDT by lahargis
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To: FreedomPoster
GA has more counties than most states, a relic from when they made counties small enough that a farmer could get to the county seat in a day’s ride.

Many native Georgia residents tell me that it's a state constitutional requirement.

The "constitutional requirement" story is a myth according to this lengthy but interesting explanation of why only Texas has more counties than Georgia. According to the history, not only is the "constitutional requirement" a myth, but "convenience of the people" is generally a myth, too. Georgia has so many counties because of politics and political spoils.

Georgia had only 89 counties in 1835. By the 1870s, there were 137. Splitting an existing county or counties to create a new county merely required legislative vote in those days. According to the article I linked above, the creation of new counties was often for political spoil:

In some cases, influential legislators from a “lesser city” were able to divide their county in two, making their hometown a prestigious new county seat. New counties also meant a slew of new jobs, not just for sheriffs, deputies, judges and clerks, but jobs for constructing new government buildings, running telegraph stations and the like. County seats also attracted railroads, which meant hotels and taverns and shops. Since Georgia was largely rural at the time, a new county could also bring things like police protection and court services much closer to home.

Sometimes petty squabbles were involved: when the voters of Clarke County voted to move the county seat from Watkinsville to Athens, miffed Watkinsville residents created Oconee County so that their city would remain important.

It wasn't until 1877 that the Georgia Constitution froze the number of counties at 137. Then there were a couple of constitutional amendments to increase the number of counties. Finally, during the Depression, almost-bankrupt Milton County and bankrupt Campbell County voted to merge with Fulton County.

But I digress, and Georgia has 159 counties, second only to Texas's 254.

Perhaps Georgia has as many counties as it does perhaps more because of a system of political spoils than to make things convenient for farmers and other Georgia residents.

32 posted on 07/05/2011 6:18:05 AM PDT by Scoutmaster (You knew the job was dangerous when you took it, Fred.)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

I’m sure Holder will take a very close look at this. Black Panthers standing outside a polling booth with baseball bats: Holder says no problem, nothing to see here, move along. Requiring a simple photo i.d. to vote: discrimination! Let’s sue another state like we did Arizona!

By the way anyone on food stamps / welfare / unemployment assistance at any time during the 12 months before the date of an election should be barred from voting in the first place, period. Conflict of interest.


33 posted on 07/05/2011 6:32:11 AM PDT by crusader71
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To: NTHockey

Pass a constitutional amendment allowing poll taxes. $50 to vote in any federal election, and tie it to the consumer price index. The Rats will still pack buses of their welfare constituents to take them to the polls, but at least it will cost the DNC a ton of “street money” that they would have otherwise used on their candidate.


34 posted on 07/05/2011 6:32:16 AM PDT by crusader71
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To: Cincinatus' Wife

EJ will make somebody a good houseboy one day.


35 posted on 07/05/2011 6:47:37 AM PDT by Niteranger68 (Jared Lee Loughner - Disciple of Michael Moore)
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To: Niteranger68

He’s a parasite.

When the Left owns it all, E.J. will no longer be useful.


36 posted on 07/05/2011 6:58:43 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: crusader71
I’m sure Holder will take a very close look at this. Black Panthers standing outside a polling booth with baseball bats: Holder says no problem, nothing to see here, move along. Requiring a simple photo i.d. to vote: discrimination! Let’s sue another state like we did Arizona!

Because Holder told us, (paraphrasing) "Historically, you have not been oppressed, so I will not protect you like I do my people."

37 posted on 07/05/2011 7:00:49 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: Scoutmaster

Your summary is quite probably so. In any case, getting a voter ID if you don’t have a DL is trivial and free, and the only reason for all the objections is voter fraud.

On a related note, all this extended voting / easy absentee voting needs to come to an end as well. It drives up election costs (something few governments can afford) and increases the opportunities for shenanigans.


38 posted on 07/05/2011 7:10:36 AM PDT by FreedomPoster (Islam delenda est)
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To: Cincinatus' Wife; Georgia Girl 2

Here you go Georgia Girl 2. We knew it was coming.


39 posted on 07/05/2011 7:16:50 AM PDT by Arrowhead1952 (zero hates Texas and we hate him back. He ain't my president either.)
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To: Scoutmaster
Think of all the money GA could save by reducing the number of counties to between 30-50.
40 posted on 07/05/2011 7:17:19 AM PDT by W. W. SMITH (Islam is an instrument of enslavement)
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