Yesterday, Doonesbury weighed in on the issue of voter fraud.
In the strip, radio host Mark Slackmeyer elicits this statement from supposed GOP consultant Doug Chumley: "By mandating strict ID requirements, we can disenfranchise the poor, the infirm, students, minorities — anyone who can't be counted on to vote responsibly!" Mark replies: "Fascinating! So instead of making your tent bigger, the strategy now is to make the Democratic tent smaller?" "Right." The NY Times recently staked out a similar position on recent Republican-led efforts at stricter voter-ID requirements, in an editorial entitled "The Myth of Voter Fraud."
Is either party really in favor of voter fraud? Is either party really opposed to making sure that each eligible voter only casts a single vote? One would think that not, but partisan voices on each side shrilly decry opposing viewpoints. The arguments seem to boil down to this:
Republicans – 1) It's just not that hard to get a photo ID, and 2) voting is important and should be above suspicion.
Democrats - BUT, 1) it is hard for certain groups to get photo ID's, and 2) voting is important, and before a bunch of people are denied the right to vote by voter ID laws, someone should have to show that there's actually a problem (and no one has yet).
R - WELL, it's just not that hard to get a photo ID, there is voter fraud, and even if their isn't any voter fraud, the perception of voter fraud is damaging to our political system.
D - Here are some nuns and grandparents who were not able to get an ID, and were denied the vote, and you still haven't shown us any actual cases of widespread voter fraud. And new evidence shows that one's perception of voter fraud is not related to one's likelihood of turning up to vote.
The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a voter ID law in Indiana, but the Missouri Supreme Court has struck down a similar law on state constitutional law grounds.
I'm not sure where this goes next. I think the next steps boil down to political calculations. It may well be that Republicans will scale back efforts to tighten voter ID requirements because they fear a backlash in the upcoming election. It seems to me that Democrats could make big gains by actually helping voters get satisfactory ID's and then protraying themselves as the party that wants to count every vote.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
It appears to me that the Republicans always have to have something to whip their constituency into a frenzy. It started out with abortion, then went to gay marriage, now it's voter fraud. What's next — a religious test?
I never will understand why the goal is to make voting an act that requires no effort, no forthought , and idiot proof. Voting should be an honor,privledge and right that reqiures some responsibility. If you cant take the time to register, show up at the right place and make sure you filled the ballot out correctly before you turn it in then dont bother.
Voter fraud …. you got to be kidding me. … well documented fraud in Detroit…. ballots taken to nursing homes were pre marked by and for the County Clerk … I realize that IDs were not involved, but fraud does happen
It would be interesting to know details