Posted on 11/04/2013 5:38:27 PM PST by Tailgunner Joe
A federal trial to determine whether Wisconsin's controversial voter identification law discriminates against minorities is scheduled to begin on Monday in a case seen as a possible precedent for similar laws in other states.
Voter ID laws - which require government-issued identification before voting - have become a political and racial flashpoint across the United States. Democrats generally oppose the measures and many Republicans back them.
The trial in Milwaukee combines two federal lawsuits filed on behalf of dozens of individual voters by several organizations including the League of United Latin American Citizens, Milwaukee Area Labor Council and the American Civil Liberties Union.
"As the leading democracy of the world, the U.S. should work to keep our voting system free, fair, and accessible to all Americans," said Penda Hair, a director at the Advancement Project, an organization that helped bring the suits to be heard by the federal court. "Yet we are witnessing the greatest assault on voting rights in decades."
About three dozen U.S. states have passed laws requiring voters to show identification at the polls. Supporters say the measures prevent election fraud while critics contend the laws make it harder for low-income and minority citizens to vote.
In August, the U.S. Justice Department sued Texas, accusing state lawmakers of denying racial minorities the right to vote. During the same month, an appellate court blocked Pennsylvania's voter ID law on similar grounds.
The Wisconsin measure, passed in 2011 by a Republican-controlled legislature, requires voters to present photo identification such as a driver's license at polling places for federal, state and local elections.
Supporters say it prevents voter fraud by requiring would-be voters to prove that they are citizens and are registered to vote.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
I’d be surprised if there is a country in the world aside from this one where you do not establish your identity before voting.
Go Packers beat them Bears
Asians are much more minorityish than our traditional minorities, yet I have never heard a single argument that this law adversely affects Asians.
She won't talk politics with me any more.
Ping.
My husband, 2 sons and grandson are at the game tonight. Poor me, I wasn't invited so I have to stay home in a warm house with my 2 dogs and go to bed at halftime :-)
.... a "disenfranchisement" that NOBODY in the media has mentioned in connection with Obamacare, where you're required to provide ID, SS number and income information. The libs are strangely very silent on this.
It’s time for Americans to put their foot down and tell those racist bass turds at the DOJ they we are fed up with fraudulent “elections”. WE ARE WE THE PEOPLE AND WE WANT VOTER I.D. WHAT’S WRONG WITH TRUST BUT VERIFY ANYWAY?
I have a solution to the voter fraud problem.
Every county in the country gets one vote. The majority of votes in the county gets one point. Most points in the state wins the state.
This way if the county that Philly is in over votes by 600% they still only get one point. End of voter fraud.
can I ask a stupid question?
Since the Supreme Court has already upheld voter ID laws, why do we have to have continual lawsuits over and over on the same subject?
Why aren’t federal judges throwing these suits out, based on legal precedent already set by the Supreme Court case???
In fact, not only is not having to present a valid photo ID before being allowed to vote not a constitutionally enumerated right, but there is nothing in the Constitution prohibiting the states from requiring voters to pass a basic constitutional proficiency test before being allowed to vote. Such a test would emphasize the federal government's constitutionally limited powers.
In fact, passing a basic constitutonal law test should not only have been a requirement for millions of immigrants to become citizens imo, and I'm not trying to be racist by saying this, but it should have been a requirement for former slaves to vote imo.
And if immigrants and former slaves couldn't handle a written test then they should have been given an oral test.
The bottom line concerning voting privileges is this. It makes no sense to add new voters to the system in a constitutional republic when such voters likely don't know anything about the federal government's constitutionally limited powers.
Commercials are so expensive.
The cheap way to win the presidency would be to bus 25.000 people from state to state to vote.
Let's see, what is "controversial" about showing identification to vote, or are we to assume that only blacks and other minorities try to vote without being registered, or maybe voting more than once?
Does this preclude racism?????
Of course, I know what the writer is trying to claim that only non-minorities ever have identification; that only whites have identification and are accustomed to use it and would never attempt to vote in the wrong precinct, locality or state.
The reality is that more dead white people vote in Chicago than in many small towns across the U.S!
Have to look a bit deeper into this repeated argument that voter ID requirements negatively impact poor and minority voters (or not).
I don’t recall seeing any sort of empirical evidence either way, although I believe it makes a lot of sense to confirm an identity when casting a ballot.
Time to do some digging.
I would make the opposite argument
Not requiring an ID means that it is easier to commit voter fraud. What is there to keep all those racist Whites from effectively disenfranchising blacks by voting multiple times?
You want to see the demonrats stand up for clean elections then start doing what they do. They will never agree to honest elections until they have trouble stealing elections
Wisconsin Voter ID set for trial!
FReep Mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.
I think it is.
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