As everyone not living under a rock is aware, 2012 is a presidential election year.
Come November, we’ll be bombarded by political ads, not just for the presidential race, but also for state and local positions.
Voter turnout during presidential election years is typically 60 percent of registered voters. That’s not very good. Democracy only works if people show up to vote and make their voices heard.
Luckily, for those of you who don’t want unregistered voters using your name to cast their vote, you’ve got the Republican state legislatures looking out for you.
In the past year, 34 states have passed or considered passing stricter photo identification laws in order for voters to access the polls. The most recent states to pass legislation include Kansas, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee and Texas.
Chris Elam, a spokesperson for the Republican Party of Texas said that these laws are intended to “cut down on any (voter) fraud” in the upcoming elections.
The bulk of these laws require government-issued photo identification at polling stations. No longer would a bank statement or a Social Security card suffice as identification.
The proposed Texas law would specifically forbid the use of school IDs from state universities. In Florida, new legislation severely cramps the ability of voter registration drives to register new voters. Same-day registration (on election day) would be no more in Maine. Kansas would require proof of citizenship at the polls — not something one typically carries to work.
The problem with these laws is not that they are arbitrary and I’m not saying that voter fraud is a good thing.
However, voter fraud is exceptionally rare and photo ID laws only prevent voter impersonation at the polls — which is even rarer. These laws are expensive to implement, as the election system and polling stations would require massive updates. Missouri’s law would cost the state $6 million up front, and $4 million per year after that. Indiana would lose $2.2 million.
An estimated 3.2 million voters across the country do not have government-issued identification and would face an undue burden when attempting to vote. These new and onerous regulations disproportionately affect minorities, low-income voters, university students and senior citizens — demographics that typically lean Democratic.
Some have estimated that this might cause enough of a decline in voting among these blocs to give a 3 percent rise in Republican vote totals.
It’s an election year, so obviously every one is a little testy. But to purposefully make it more difficult for voters of the opposing party to get to the polls is nothing short of outrageous.
Decisions are made by those who show up. Keeping voters from the polls doesn’t mean a victory is a mandate, it just means you cheated.
Reach the columnist at skthoma4@asu.edu
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