Voter Fraud or Republican Fraud?

Republican controlled State Houses around the country have enacted legislation requiring voters to have “approved” photo ID in order to vote. To date, 31 states have enacted legislation changing various requirements for voting in person. The reasons argued by Republicans is the elimination of “voter fraud”. However, when this issue is investigated it has been determined that virtually all voter fraud has nothing to do with voter impersonation. Consider this, if an individual is not registered, that individual or anyone claiming to be that individual cannot vote. It is the responsibility of local election commissions to ensure the registration lists are accurate and up to date. Maintaining these lists are not affected in any way by photo IDs. The voter registration list does not have a photo for comparison so what good is a photo ID? More importantly, photo ID will not prevent the type of fraud most recently in the news. A jury from Hamilton County, just north of Indianapolis, deliberated for 13 hours before convicting Republican Secretary of State Charlie White on six felony charges. Among other things, White was accused of lying about his address on voter registration forms. Charlie White is the top election official in the State of Indiana. He, more than likely, had photo ID when he committed voter fraud. The reasons for these laws are obvious. It is the intent of Republicans to suppress the vote by preventing minorities, African Americans, the elderly, and the young from voting for the re-election of Barack Obama. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative organization linked to corporate and right-wing donors, including the billionaire Koch brothers, has drafted and distributed model legislation, obtained by Campus Progress, that appears to be the inspiration for bills proposed by state legislators this year and promoted by Tea Party activists. In a recent interview trying to justify this legislation in Alabama, a state senator claimed the requirement was because of three cases of voter fraud over the past three years. In other words, in Alabama, three of nine million voters committed fraud so every other voter has to be inconvenienced. What is even more illuminating is the three cases cited were committed by voting officials not voters! If you believe in democracy and the need for every eligible voter to make his or her views known you will do everything in your power to see photo ID legislation is repealed. Those who would suppress votes may not suppress your vote today but what is to say your vote will be counted in the future.