Federal court rejects Texas voting law

[F3SS]

The DMV may not make house calls but that doesn't stop many poor people from getting all the other government assistance they need in order. Why's getting one more little thing like an ID that they should have anyway such a difficult task?

If one is truly house ridden and beyond a chance of ever one time being able to get a ride to the DMV within the years between election then what would you think the odds are that they are going out to vote anyway?

I wouldn't mind tax money going towards free id's for anyone that needed one. So if ID requiring states provide them free and provide assistance getting them whats the big deal even if fraud isn't so rampant. It makes sense and is a good preventive measure. Why does our federal government have to throw a fit?

[preacherman76]

do they make housecalls? I thought not.

Neither do voting booths.

[Moon Dog]

I am a "poor" man. I am also a vetern. I have been unemployed for 5 years now. If not for family I would be living on the street. I walk the roads picking up aluminum cans, make fudge, do odd jobs; and occaisionally (-2 spelling) fix someones computer. Made $600 last year.

I have been able to maintain a Texas State ID card.

I have to continually prove that I am U.S.A. born and breed.

Everyone else should have to also.

Thank you. Have a Nice Day.

P.S.: To Overloard

Really like your image. Is it something you made or found.

[Idano]

Silly question - what problem, exactly, is being addressed in this law? So far, voter fraud at the polls has been so low that one can't actually claim it's rampant or big enough to spend the millions of dollars in every state to fix... So basically the GOP wants to spend lots and lots of money to force millions of people to go out and acquire specific ID's in order to fix a problem that has yet to be shown to have made any difference in a single election in the last 50 years.

There is a voice of reason out there...here here

Edited August 31, 2012 by Idano

[Tiggs]

I wouldn't mind tax money going towards free id's for anyone that needed one. So if ID requiring states provide them free and provide assistance getting them whats the big deal even if fraud isn't so rampant. It makes sense and is a good preventive measure. Why does our federal government have to throw a fit?

In short, because these laws are in violation of the 24th and 14th amendment, as making someone buy a document (such as a birth certificate) to get a "free ID" isn't "free ID".

From the CNN report:

Judge Tatel emphasized that today’s ruling applied only to Texas’ voter ID law. “Nothing in this opinion remotely suggests that section 5 bars all covered jurisdictions from implementing photo ID laws. To the contrary, under our reasoning today, such laws might well be pre-cleared if they ensure (1) that all prospective voters can easily obtain free photo ID, and (2) that any underlying documents required to obtain that ID are truly free of charge.” He mentioned the fact that the Department of Justice had pre-approved a voting ID law in Georgia which requires each county to provide free election ID’s and allows voters to present a wide range of documents to obtain the IDs.

[+OverSword]

A few places to look :

http://www.brennance...ut_voter_fraud/

http://www.washingto...96c8_story.html

http://www.motherjon...aws-charts-maps

You will notice that every one of those shows voter fraud is extremely rare.

Read 2 of those links couldn't get on the motherjones site. Those stories don't prove it to me. All they said was that in x amount of cases looked into only x amount were fraudulent.

Regardless, the system is not air tight enough for my liking. Go on a few voter registration sites and check it out yourself. There is absolutely no reason why people shouldn't be required to prove thier identification with ID like a drivers license, state ID card, or passport. No reason at all that's worth considering. as far as the very small percentage of people that don't have some form of ID (then how do they cash thier welfare checks?) they will just have to tough it.

[+OverSword]

In the state I live in, you must "register" to vote and they mail you a voter registration card....There has been something like 10 cases of voter fraud in all 50 states in the last...something like 10 years. It doesn't happen as much as the Repubs wanna cry it does. Another tactic to divide and conquer and get the sheep to cry to their herder to save them....

It is purely a tactic to eliminate a certain swath of the population the Republicans feel are "unworthy" of voting...

"And that your Honor....is why I am a Libertarian"...

Argue with this then. If as you say voter fraud is so low, and I'm sure it is, then what's the problem with having to show some form of ID. I don't know what your voter cards look like but in my state I could easily use scan one photo sho it up and print out as many as I wanted. I just don't think there is a good enough argument against. (this not in direct reply to above post) I'm not a republican so I don't understand all of the cries of this being some kind of republican right winged conspiracy. Sounds more like you people are towing the exact opposite end of that line with no good reason other than to be contrary to what you perceive as your enemies "agenda"

Edited August 31, 2012 by OverSword

[questionmark]

The way I see it? If the government demands that citizens have an ID card for any purpose the government should cover all costs.

That is why I agree with the ruling. Nobody stops Texas from issuing free voter ID cards.

[Hasina]

Nobody messes with Texas, y'all! Yeehaw! -gets on her horse-

I have no problem with a voter ID thing. I just find them using the argument of stopping fraud a little silly. My dad defends it by saying 'many places require a photo ID, why not the whole sheebang of picking our next prez?' I switched up a few words...

[Wookietim]

The way I see it? If the government demands that citizens have an ID card for any purpose the government should cover all costs.

That is why I agree with the ruling. Nobody stops Texas from issuing free voter ID cards.

The funny thing being that the bigger threat is with vote tampering rather than having in person voter fraud. There are actually documented cases of rather wide scale vote tampering when it comes to the voting machines and with either paper ballots being "Lost" or suddenly 'Found"... and these voter ID laws do nothing to even begin to think about that.

Instead they are focusing on a problem that has been shown to have happened all of 10 time in the last 12 years... which accounts for something like 0.00000000000027% of the vote.

[questionmark]

The funny thing being that the bigger threat is with vote tampering rather than having in person voter fraud. There are actually documented cases of rather wide scale vote tampering when it comes to the voting machines and with either paper ballots being "Lost" or suddenly 'Found"... and these voter ID laws do nothing to even begin to think about that.

Instead they are focusing on a problem that has been shown to have happened all of 10 time in the last 12 years... which accounts for something like 0.00000000000027% of the vote.

Well, it is one of those "life essential lies" from the GDP that they loose because so many illegal emigrants vote... they had to do something...

But if they do something they should carry the costs.

[+OverSword]

Agree completely, this voter ID would of course have to be free since voting, unlike driving, is a right.

[karmakazi]

If I need an ID to buy cigarettes, buy alcohol, fill a prescription, be seen in a hospital or by a doctor, rent an apartment, buy a car, get a loan, open a bank account, etc, then yes... it should be necessary to vote.

I also feel that presenting a valid birth certificate and social security card could be an alternative. That's what I had to do before I had a license, in order to open a bank account. (of course that was 1996 ish)

I agree that a voter id should be free to people who do not have another state-issued ID. If you have a driver's license you wouldn't need one, and that way it saves some tax $.