Another Oops!

It seems that voter fraud is the new Republican hot button. All across the country, Republican legislators are enacting laws requiring voters to have a government issued photo ID to prevent the “wave” of voter fraud that has been “sweeping” the country. Apparently Tennessee has not been immune to the inundation of faux voters as the 2012 elections will require voters to prove their identity with government issued photo IDs (including gun licenses) but this law excludes IDs issued by government entities such as schools, colleges, and universities. Photo ID’s issued by employers are also not considered proof of one’s persona as well. In an interesting paradox, the most recent conviction of voter fraud would not have been prevented by the display of a photo ID. In fact, the identity of the fraudulent voter was never in question. In Indiana, another state that recently enacted this idiotic legislation, the recently convicted fraudulent voter was none other than the elected Secretary of State. On Saturday, a jury found Charlie White guilty on six felony counts, including theft and voter fraud — a crime he was supposed to prevent as the state's top election official. The irony is that White has been an outspoken defender of controversial voter identification laws, which are purportedly aimed at stamping out the kind of fraud he was found guilty of committing. To date, there have been no convictions in Tennessee, but there has been no history of voter fraud in Tennessee to justify the inconvenience and the expense of this legislation. Perhaps the reasons for legislation of this nature is not the prevention of crime but the suppression of voters. Is it possible that Republicans might have ulterior motives in mind when enacting legislation. Oops...