Voter ID Laws Could Block Thousands From Voting

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When Edward and Mary Weidenbener went to vote in Indiana's primary in May, they didn't realize that state law required them to bring government photo IDs such as a driver's license or passport.

The husband and wife, both approaching 90 years old, had to use a temporary ballot that would be verified later, even though they knew the people working the polling site that day. Unaware that Indiana law obligated them to follow up with the county election board, the Weidenbeners ultimately had their votes rejected – news to them until informed recently by an Associated Press reporter.

Edward Weidenbener, a World War II veteran who had voted for Mitt Romney in the Republican presidential contest, said he was surprised by the rules and the consequences.

"A lot of people don't have a photo ID. They'll be automatically disenfranchised," he said.

As more states put in place strict voter ID rules, an AP review of temporary ballots from Indiana and Georgia, which first adopted the most stringent standards, found that more than 1,200 such votes were tossed during the 2008 general election.

During sparsely attended primaries this year in Georgia, Indiana and Tennessee, the states implementing the toughest laws, hundreds more ballots were blocked.

The numbers suggest that the legitimate votes rejected by the laws are far more numerous than are the cases of fraud that advocates of the rules say they are trying to prevent. Thousands more votes could be in jeopardy for this November, when more states with larger populations are looking to have similar rules in place.

More than two dozen states have some form of ID requirement, and 11 of those passed new rules over the past two years largely at the urging of Republicans who say they want to prevent fraud.

Democrats and voting rights groups fear that ID laws could suppress votes among people who may not typically have a driver's license, and disproportionately affect the elderly, poor and minorities. While the number of votes is a small percentage of the overall total, they have the potential to sway a close election. Remember that the 2000 presidential race was decided by a 537-vote margin in Florida.


A Republican leader in Pennsylvania said recently that the state's new ID law would allow Romney to win the state over President Barack Obama.

Supporters of the laws cite anecdotal cases of fraud as a reason that states need to do more to secure elections, but fraud appears to be rare. As part of its effort to build support for voter ID laws, the Republican National Lawyers Association last year published a report that identified some 400 election fraud prosecutions over a decade across the entire country. That's not even one per state per year.

ID laws would not have prevented many of those cases because they involved vote-buying schemes in local elections or people who falsified voter registrations.

Election administrators and academics who monitor the issue said in-person fraud is rare because someone would have to impersonate a registered voter and risk arrest. A 2008 Supreme Court case drew detailed briefs from the federal government, 10 states and other groups that identified only nine potential impersonation cases over the span of several years, according to a tally by the Brennan Center at New York University.

Michael Thielen, executive director of the Republican lawyers group, said its survey was not comprehensive and he believes vote fraud is a serious problem.

"Most of it goes unreported and unprosecuted," he said.

Several election administrators, even those who support ID laws as a barrier to potential fraud, said the rejected ballots in their counties appeared to be legitimate voters who simply did not fulfill their ID obligations.

Donna Sharp, the administrator of elections in Hawkins County, Tenn., said she saw no signs of fraud. Of the seven people who cast absentee ballots, six didn't come in to confirm their identity. Sharp knew one of them personally.

But Sharp said she supports the ID law despite initial concerns. She said most people were aware of the requirement and able to provide their identification, and she thought the rules provided an extra layer of security.

"We want to protect those voters who do need their vote to count – the people who are doing things in an honest manner," Sharp said.

Some administrators speculated that voters who didn't return to verify their identity may have deduced that the ballot wouldn't alter the outcome of the election.

Indiana, Georgia and Tennessee require that voters provide a photo ID at the polls. Failing that, voters can use a temporary ballot that can be verified later, when they must meet with local elections administrators to sort out the matter.

Pennsylvania is putting a similar law in place for the November election. Kansas has comparable rules. Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin are moving in that direction of having rules set for this year if they survive court challenges and federal approval.

Virginia had a rule allowing voters without proper ID to sign an identity statement; a false claim could make them subject to felony punishment. Under a new law awaiting final approval from the Justice Department, voters who do not bring proper ID, which doesn't necessarily have to have a photo, must use a temporary ballot and later provide ID to the local election board.

Georgia had 873 rejected temporary ballots due to ID from the 2008 general election while only about 300 ID temporary ballots were counted. The state also had 64 ID-related temporary ballots tossed in the presidential primary this year.

Indiana counties that maintained information from the 2008 election reported having hundreds of ballots tossed, and more than 100 more were rejected in the primary this year. The numbers can vary greatly depending on the election: Tippecanoe County, for example, had no ID-related temporary ballots excluded in the primary vote this year compared with 47 in the 2008 general election.

Tennessee had 154 blocked ballots in its March primary.

Keesha Gaskins, a senior counsel at the Brennan Center who has opposed voter ID laws, said she believes the numbers are significant and also underestimate the impact of voter ID laws. She said those numbers don't take into account people who were discouraged from showing up to vote in the first place or who may be turned away by poll workers. Even voters in states with less-strict ID laws may not get the proper explanation about how the process works without ID.

Beyond that, Gaskin said, rejecting even hundreds of ballots in an election is significant.

"These are still people who attempted to vote and who were unable to do so," Gaskins said. "When you compare that to the actual evidence of fraud, the difference is exponential."

Voter ID Laws Could Block Thousands From Voting

Bigger bold text - that's one biggest reason because I don't support voter ID requirement that used to boost the republicans/conservatives.

I will be very angry if my vote goes uncounted, even with proper documentation, especially situation with Florida in 2000 presidential election.
 
UPDATE:

Voter ID approved for 2013

Date: October 11, 2012 Section: Metro

COLUMBIA - Supporters and opponents of South Carolina's voter ID law both claimed some form of victory Wednesday after the measure was cleared starting in 2013 but blocked from next month's elections. A three-judge panel in Washington unanimously approved the law, but decided there wasn't enough time to fairly put the law in place before Election Day on Nov. 6.

The federal judges wrote that there was no discriminatory intent behind the law and that it wouldn't hurt blacks' voting rights....
http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=print
 

The real truth about this whole issue is that in reality most people already have some form of government issued ID. It is a no brainer for me. To keep everyone honest we must have mandatory voter ID laws. It protects everyone. All states must make it cheap & easier to get one though. One must have a valid photo ID to do everything else in life so why not with voting?
 
Compare voter ID laws to gun control. Right to vote/own guns protected by Constitution. If someone wants to vote/own guns, they will find a way.

Just having some fun before this thread gets locked.
 
I agree with having ID. You have to have ID to a lot of things anyways. Why is it such a big deal?
 
Compare voter ID laws to gun control. Right to vote/own guns protected by Constitution. If someone wants to vote/own guns, they will find a way.

Just having some fun before this thread gets locked.

Look at it this way. When you want to purchase (legally) a gun, you have to present ID. and your person will be verified against a list as being allow to buy. So what is the problem with having someone present a ID. and be verified against a list as being allow to vote!?! Why is security for voting still in the Dark Age? There is security for everything else. When you sign up for cable you get an account number. When you contact the cable company with a problem/inquiry, they put you through a whole list of questions to certify yourself. The registration to vote is the same as getting an account number. So verifying yourself should not be a hindrance at all.
 
The real truth about this whole issue is that in reality most people already have some form of government issued ID. It is a no brainer for me. To keep everyone honest we must have mandatory voter ID laws. It protects everyone. All states must make it cheap & easier to get one though. One must have a valid photo ID to do everything else in life so why not with voting?

Not all people have government issued ID with photo to vote and the vote fraud is virtually non-existent.

I believe that voter ID is used for vote suppression to boost the Republican Party and right wing politicians, that all you want. :roll:

REPORT: Voter Impersonation Fraud Virtually Non-Existent
 
I have to really wonder how it is that there are people that have no ID.
There are so many local/state/federal assistance/entitlement programs that I wonder how a person can benefit from a program if they have no ID. One form of ID (i.e. birth certificate) leeds to another form of ID (i.e. social security #). However, these usually don't satisfy the person/agency requesting the ID. The one form that usually will satisfy everyone is a photo issued ID, doesn't it makes a whole lot of sense to carry one.

Lets also go back to, say, 2000. Say there is an election and some people come to vote WITHOUT a photo ID. These people are allow to vote right away. BUT they are now known to voters registration and help will be sent to these people so that the next election these people will have a photo ID. This is a good idea because like, I'm wondering, these folks slow down the whole process of identification in every walk of life. Ever stand begins one at the check-out at the grocery store? They hold the line up for an extra five minutes tryng to prove who they are!!
 
Not all people without government issued government are welfare recipient and they are hardworking people, and use public transportation as commute, that's typical for big cities in PA.
 
This is leading to the once failed US/Federal issued IDs permanent IDs and Driving licenses...

We will see... you watch, regardless of the party that runs congress these will become mandatory...
 
Supporter of the Voter ID Law....no doubt about it....Feel that just some people of a certain party are just scared of another party's voter surge in the election this year....And I'd like to see this coming election as fraud-free as posible....feel it's gonna make a big difference this year....

Still, agreeing with SWK...fraud will always be rampant and where there's a will there is a way.

Cheating, no matter what situation it is...will always backfire sooner or later.
 
Not all people have government issued ID with photo to vote and the vote fraud is virtually non-existent.[/url]

That's absolutely not true. In Massachusetts when Mitt Romney was in the race for Governor, the opposition was for Bilingual Education in schools. The issue was that none of those students in Bilingual Ed were getting their lessons in English, most of the "Bilingual Education" teachers, couldn't speak English. And the vast majority of students from those programs graduated with limited or no ability to speak English. Romney wanted to get rid of the Bilingual education model used in schools and replace it with ESL. Bilingual educators didn't want this and various TV/newspapers found out that some districts were hustling in immigrants to vote for Bilingual Education and the candidate that supported it in the election - meaning those that weren't yet citizens eligible to vote. Obviously when the press reported what was happening, it exposed the dirty election tactics. The opposition lost, Romney won, and ESL teachers everywhere rejoiced at the overhaul that resulted after the election. Anyone that doesn't believe election fraud happens is truly clueless.

Laura
 
That's absolutely not true. In Massachusetts when Mitt Romney was in the race for Governor, the opposition was for Bilingual Education in schools. The issue was that none of those students in Bilingual Ed were getting their lessons in English, most of the "Bilingual Education" teachers, couldn't speak English. And the vast majority of students from those programs graduated with limited or no ability to speak English. Romney wanted to get rid of the Bilingual education model used in schools and replace it with ESL. Bilingual educators didn't want this and various TV/newspapers found out that some districts were hustling in immigrants to vote for Bilingual Education and the candidate that supported it in the election - meaning those that weren't yet citizens eligible to vote. Obviously when the press reported what was happening, it exposed the dirty election tactics. The opposition lost, Romney won, and ESL teachers everywhere rejoiced at the overhaul that resulted after the election. Anyone that doesn't believe election fraud happens is truly clueless.

Laura

Do you have prove for those story? I don't buy any stories without any citation and it looks like accusation.

The voter ID doesn't solve the vote fraud and it make easier for hackers to make fake ID that perfectly match to authentic ID, but discourage more legal voters away.
 
Do you have prove for those story? I don't buy any stories without any citation and it looks like accusation.

The voter ID doesn't solve the vote fraud and it make easier for hackers to make fake ID that perfectly match to authentic ID, but discourage more legal voters away.

Don't believe that...legal voters have no reason to be "scared away"...it's the fraudsters that are gonna be nervous if having a fake ID and are caught...

This new Voter ID Law is just a step to ensure that the election is fraud-free as possible....and to discourage fraudlent voters from voting over and over and over for one candidate....that's fraud. And it happened in the last election, and possibly the election before that....

What's wrong with being proud of who you are? And being able to prove it with the proper identification?....This is 2012, not back in the 1800's...we've come a long way, what with fingerprinting and DNA to "prove" who a person really is.....

Proper identification is happening everywhere...must show ur DL no matter ur age, along with the pix. And feel pretty soon, every establishment will have technology to scan ur DL and will be able to see if you are a wanted person by the Law....Getting more criminals off the streets too!...
 
Not all people without government issued government are welfare recipient and they are hardworking people, and use public transportation as commute, that's typical for big cities in PA.

Thank you for this post. I want to expand on it by asking you to look at todays new hire employees. They will be ask for all kinds of identification before becoming employees. Therefore, these hard working people whom used public transportation in PA. , since we are saying they are "hard working", have to have a ID. If they don't, then they are doing something illegal. And if they are doing something illegal then probably they can not register to vote anyway (i.e. no ID).
My point is that we make it possible for everyone to have a legal ID to carey with them, not just for voting but all walks of life. So there is no excuse not to have one.
 
Don't believe that...legal voters have no reason to be "scared away"...it's the fraudsters that are gonna be nervous if having a fake ID and are caught...

This new Voter ID Law is just a step to ensure that the election is fraud-free as possible....and to discourage fraudlent voters from voting over and over and over for one candidate....that's fraud. And it happened in the last election, and possibly the election before that....

What's wrong with being proud of who you are? And being able to prove it with the proper identification?....This is 2012, not back in the 1800's...we've come a long way, what with fingerprinting and DNA to "prove" who a person really is.....

Proper identification is happening everywhere...must show ur DL no matter ur age, along with the pix. And feel pretty soon, every establishment will have technology to scan ur DL and will be able to see if you are a wanted person by the Law....Getting more criminals off the streets too!...

In Houston, do you know how long it takes the police officer to give you a ticket? After he pulls you over, say for running a red light, he will scan your DL then scan the registration sticker and inspection sticker on the windshield (which also tells if you have auto insurance coverage or not) then punch the code for the violation (running a red light) then the hand-held printer puts out the ticket. On the average, you are back on your way in 30-40 seconds (if you have a clean record). Of course, you are $250 lighter.
 
Don't believe that...legal voters have no reason to be "scared away"...it's the fraudsters that are gonna be nervous if having a fake ID and are caught...

This new Voter ID Law is just a step to ensure that the election is fraud-free as possible....and to discourage fraudlent voters from voting over and over and over for one candidate....that's fraud. And it happened in the last election, and possibly the election before that....

What's wrong with being proud of who you are? And being able to prove it with the proper identification?....This is 2012, not back in the 1800's...we've come a long way, what with fingerprinting and DNA to "prove" who a person really is.....

Proper identification is happening everywhere...must show ur DL no matter ur age, along with the pix. And feel pretty soon, every establishment will have technology to scan ur DL and will be able to see if you are a wanted person by the Law....Getting more criminals off the streets too!...

I disagree with your statement and the voter ID law will NOT prevent the vote fraud. You shouldn't underdetermine the hackers because they are capable to make authentic ID that make nearly impossible for poll workers to detect.

The vote is right, not privilege. Why politicians haven't passed anything about voter ID law in many years ago like 60's, 70', 80's or 90's? It is very obviously that Republican Party used voter ID law as vote suppression to boost the conservative politicians and discourage more honest, legal voters who don't have photo ID. I don't support vote suppression, period and I think election will be very unfair, not because of vote fraud, but it is because of vote suppression.

There are other methods that effective to deal with vote fraud, especially use ink on finger to vote so they cannot washed off for few days, even use alcohol, paint thinner or nail remover are ineffective because ink made with different chemical and take few days to wash off.
 
Thank you for this post. I want to expand on it by asking you to look at todays new hire employees. They will be ask for all kinds of identification before becoming employees. Therefore, these hard working people whom used public transportation in PA. , since we are saying they are "hard working", have to have a ID. If they don't, then they are doing something illegal. And if they are doing something illegal then probably they can not register to vote anyway (i.e. no ID).
My point is that we make it possible for everyone to have a legal ID to carey with them, not just for voting but all walks of life. So there is no excuse not to have one.

Most employers only require birth certificate or SSN, that it since poll places require photo ID, that's big difference. No, not all hardworking people, especially Amish people and low income people, have government issued ID with photo.

I disagree with you about illegal stuff and there are plenty of people don't have government issued ID for various reasons, so it looks you are underestimate the people.
 
OK, my husband is a legal citizen, his father US military, we have been married for 6 years, he was not born at the base in Naples Italy because his mother had limited English and her Husband (my Father in law) was on Deployment right then.

he has a SS#, a Driver's License expiring in 2015 w/o the gold star, baptism records in Italian, a marriage License- no birth Certificate due to the inability of the Italian government to keep track of any type of paperwork.

This is not enough information to satisfy the new gold-star licensing requirements in FL. His Licenses expires in 2015 he will not be able to get another one due to lack of BC...

Gather Go Get the FLORiDA Card: Your FloridaCard Checklist
 
I disagree with your statement and the voter ID law will NOT prevent the vote fraud. You shouldn't underdetermine the hackers because they are capable to make authentic ID that make nearly impossible for poll workers to detect.

The vote is right, not privilege. Why politicians haven't passed anything about voter ID law in many years ago like 60's, 70', 80's or 90's? It is very obviously that Republican Party used voter ID law as vote suppression to boost the conservative politicians and discourage more honest, legal voters who don't have photo ID. I don't support vote suppression, period and I think election will be very unfair, not because of vote fraud, but it is because of vote suppression.

There are other methods that effective to deal with vote fraud, especially use ink on finger to vote so they cannot washed off for few days, even use alcohol, paint thinner or nail remover are ineffective because ink made with different chemical and take few days to wash off.

Me thinks that you're just totally upset because of the voter surge for a particular candidate...and rightly so, if you're voting for the other candidate....but worry-less now....because the Left figured this was coming...so they encouraged voters to "vote early" before the ID Law was passed in some states.....:hmm:...and possibly the "early voters" voted again and again and again ??....

Doesn't really make sense to me to vote early, without all the debates and issues being set forth for consideration, tho'....It's just some voters are determined to keep a candidate in the WH no matter his track record for the past 4 horrible years.....

As for the poor or disadvantaged voters complaining they don't have the "proper ID"'...feel sure they had to have some form of ID in order to get Welfare/Food Stamps, etc....Unless they acquired them fraudlent....and of course, Welfare Fraud is rampant too....

Just goes to show how many of our American people are fraudsters, dishonest and greedy....

So let's cut to the chase and get our proper ID/birth certificates out and vote for the best candidate of our choice...and if someone you know, for some reason or the other does not have the proper paperwork...then help them to get it....Be it may your parents or friends....everybody needs to have some form of ID. If they don't, in most cases, something "shady" is going on...and that's being dishonest.
 
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