The group Tennessee Citizen Action sends a follow-up video from the former Marine who challenged the new state law requiring you to show photo ID at the polls. Instead of going after a poll worker, this time Tim Thompson makes his pitch to the camera:
What we should do is vote these people out of office, that put this law in effect. Because they don’t have our rights in the best interest. They don’t have the American people’s rights in the best interest. If they want to put the condition on our rights, that’s not justice. That’s not what we voted them into office for. We voted them into office to take care of our rights, to protect our rights. If they continue passing these laws, we need to continue to vote them out of office and change it. That’s what we need to do. And we can do that. We can make a difference if we join together, both parties, both sides, we’ve got to fight this. We’ve got to make it happen. And we can make it happen.
Personally, I think his appeal for a bipartisan end to obstacles for voting could be tough to pull out, but he’s onto something with the idea that it’s about rights. Voting is a right. He’s proposing democracy as a fix for curbing democracy.
We'll have more on this tonight, but for now you might read this from the Houston Chronicle. Texas has a new voter ID law that's under review by the federal Justice Department. If the law got approved, the Houston paper calculates, nearly one in five Texas voters would become ineligible. In Texas, heavily Hispanic counties would experience the effect most, but it's not just about race. "This is a disguise -- smoke and mirrors for a poll tax for the elderly and the disabled, regardless of the race, and for those who are dependent on public transportation," State Sen. Mario Gallegos tells the paper. "We're going back to the Jim Crow days."
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Amazing. The tealiban love starting wars and all in the name of freedom and democracy with the first thing on the agenda is the right for that country's citizens to vote. Meanwhile, back in the USA, we get voter suppression bills. I think they wanted to invade those countries just to find out how to suppress the votes here at home. They sure as hell don't practice what they preach and I don't think they ever have.
Astonishing how transparent this is. The fact that voter-fraud is practically non-existent makes no difference to these people at all.
Do these Tea Partiers work? They sure seem like they have a lot of time on their hands wreaking havoc with The Poor WORKING Class, women etc.What's next people? We must protect our puppies and our children I'm not sure who they will target next. The Tealiban has run amuck! They must be part of the 1%
I respect the Marine soldier above but anybody could just show up at the voting booth dressed like a Marine, a Doctor, a Clown and claim they are who they say they are. We need a photo ID law in this election to prevent fraud or at least limit fraud. The argument is that it hurts minority who happen to vote Democratic. Well, you have 8 more months to head down to the DMV or your local Postal office to get your papers in order. In this country, if you're arrested and can't prove yourself with proper ID and documentation you'll eigther be detained, jailed or deported. It's still good to have one handy just in case. You never know.
And be sure to carry an iron parasol in case bits of space junk happen to fall on your head.
You think photo IDs will limit fraud? First, prove that there is fraud to limit. Otherwise, you may as well advocate for laws that protect us from the scourge of rabid unicorns.
I always get a kick out of people who post using an American flag as an avitar when they absolutely, positively, don't understand the Constitution of the United States.
Provide any evidence that photo ID laws prevent or limit voter fraud.
What are you talking about; nobody loses the right vote. It is not hard to have a photo ID. I am poor and have had one for 23 years. Not that tough.
well you need to help the unfoutunate if possible and get them registered and do what we can to get them what they need to ne able to vote I am willing to help here in my state
this whole thing is getting out of controll ,everyone has a SS card and should be able to use it as an Id
Cindy, Sonny, Supershupe: You probably don't understand that there are poor, old, and poor and old people in America. 21 million Americans don't have a State ID or a Driver's License. Most who don't couldn't afford a tank of gas let alone a car. Sonny - A SS card is no longer sufficient ID to vote. Aren't you paying attention? In many cases, you now must present a birth certificate as one of your ID's you need to obtain a state ID. Birth certificates COST MONEY, transportation COSTS MONEY, and even Drivers Licenses and state ID's COST MONEY (my new Indiana license was $21.00). This amounts to a poll tax - you now have to PAY TO VOTE. Obviously this suppresses poor people from registering to vote and their vote. Furthermore - THERE IS NO VOTER FRAUD. Between 2002 and 2007, while the Bush administration was directing the Justice Dept. to prosecute as many voter fraud cases as possible - and while many lawyers were fired after they refused to prosecute cases that were non-prosecutable - there were still only 72 cases prosecuted out of 300 million votes cast (and the majority of those cases were people voting who were unaware they weren't qualified to vote). That is 0.00002%. Rachel came up with 0.0003% - which is more than 10X what I got, so I assume she was looking at a different time period. But 0.0003% is still nothing. THERE IS NO VOTER FRAUD. And we have been voting for hundreds of years the same way - using neighborhood block captains and pretty much everyone knows everyone - that is probably why there isn't any fraud. I understand this crap from Republicans, but you three should know better.
I am a 43 year old liberal democrat who lives in Ky.. I have voted in every election since I turned 18. Every election I had to show an ID... I have no problems having to show ID's to vote. I think you should to prove you are an American citizen.
I'm a 59 year old Texan born and raised and I never had to show an ID unless I didn't have my voter card. The DPS office here is on the north side of town where the buses don't go, and lines are incredibly long. If you have a job, you have to take at least half a day off. AG Abbott did a 2-year investigation and did not come up with any cases that a picture ID would have prevented.
Why should you have to prove your citizenship before voting? That would mean that the election board who is checking your name assumes you are lying and you must prove that you are not lying before voting. Additionally how does showing an ID verify citizenship?
The problem is that most states have never had such a requirement and that most of the people that don't have an ID are old, black, poor, young -they are also the ones that voted heavily in favor of Obama and this new law has only been passed right before the election in a heavily republican state - so it is not being done to prove citizenship it's being done to disenfranchise voters. Grannies often don't need a driver's license cause they are not allowed to drive anymore or can't afford gas. Nowadays when your DL expires it's not accepted as ID anymore because of illegals/underage drinking/smoking and they get taken away. So in any case ID's should just be free and everyone should have to vote and show ID or a fingerprint and we can do away with the appearance of impropriety.
Well on that note Troy this is why I say we need to get rid of our outdated system. The problem is that we're using the same election system that we've been using for more than 200 years. It's not really relevant in today's world. There are a lot of ways that you could improve upon voting that wouldn't put voters on the ropes, but that would also protect the integrity of the vote. Mail-in-voting is one of the best ways we know of (right now, anyways) to accomplish both goals. Mail-in-voting isn't necessarily the only way to accomplish such a goal...but it is an option.
Voter ID laws in and of themselves don't, however, explain how we accomplish vote integrity other than by show. I am still waiting for someone to show documented evidence that showing an ID actually prevents fraud.
You know I'm a 47 year old Navy veteran who's also voted in every election. Here in New Mexico, and in California and elsewhere I'vs also had to show a voter ID, IT'S CALLED MY VOTER ID CARD! But now these Republican Legislators are requiring an additional picture ID along with my voter ID card. It's no problem for me I have it but for older people who can no longer drive or easily get to the DMV to get an ID I can see a problem. Also there's a fee for those cards. Also sometimes you have to wait for hours to get it when it's not easy for them to get a ride or stay there for extended periods. Why should elderly people who have voted forever now have to go through all this? Why should you now have to pay to vote? Why should you have two ID's? Especially when voter fraud is .00004%
Election fraud (as opposed to VOTER FRAUD), on the other hand where politicians cheat on the election results, or where electronic machines have been programed to cheat or where people have mis-counted, or where people have mis reported the results IS RAMPANT!
Tell me why our politicians and corporate leaders and law enforcement officials and judges are so quick to fix problems or limit the rights or raise the taxes on regular citizens when there is absolutely no problem with us? When we are already paying our share but they are the ones who are not paying their share. They are the ones breaking the laws they are the ones committing the fraud but they NEVER ADDRESS the problems with themselves only imaginary problems with us.
It's not about how easy or hard it is to get an id card Your missing the point. Discremination has many disguises if you agree with the new voter id laws you may need to have a conversation with the man in the mirror.
I proved my citizenship when I registered to vote. I've been voting for 36 years and have never had to show an ID.
An illegal can obtain a SS card, Driver license, and most any other doccument they want. I could get a new SS #, DL, with photo, BC for about $200.00 and 6 days. A photo ID proves nothing. It costs and many can't afford it. It is also called a "voter tax".
How can these Draconian, Jim Crow, anti-democracy measures be stopped? Texans can't all be this repressive? Or can they? Perhaps we should give them back to Mexico?
There is a bad wind blowing through politics these days. Voter ID concerns are just so ridiculous and, of course, will only help the Republican Party...who in turn will repress women and do away with women's rights. Is the US going backwards 100 years ...right now?
Who is defending the women who have been affected/destroyed by the use of contraceptives? contraceptives are silent killers and no one wants to talk about. The effects on women are far more costly and gov. knows including pharmaceuticals. The igonrant/complacent women who decide to use them don't have any idea of what they are defending - this goes to Fluke as well. She is a law student after all. Google and read about the harmful effects of the "pill" especially long-term. Contraceptives should be a mandatory coverage but an exception. Besides, no offense, but it seems that the gay/lesbian population is growing every day - why are we defending here? if this continues the whole population will be extinct soon enough. Come on, let's be real and support the right things and focus on the things that have real and true value. Defend that parents teach their kids good values and principles which we are forgetting - even giving the seat to the elderly has been forgotten.
Umm there is a link between contraception and breast cancer, but it has not been proven why this link actually exists. What we know is that women who take certain types of contraception are at an increased risk of developing breast cancer, but it is not believed that this is directly related to the hormones found in these medications. Women who use IUDs/IUCs, as an example, do not suffer from an increased risk. Nor do women on the patch (although the patch has plenty of other health risks associated w/ it). Transgendered women- meaning people who were born physically male and then had to have corrective gender surgery later on- are also not at an increased risk even though the hormonal supplements they take are usually similar and in greater quantities. Different nations also report different likelihoods in regards to the breast cancer-pill connection. What this tells us is that more than likely it's the bonding agent used in the pill that causes this increased risk. If we wanted to talk about eliminating that then we'd be having a discussion about patent rights and corporate privacy. That's a conversation I'm willing to have. Plus it should be noted that women who take the pill are at a decreased risk of uterine cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, and colonrectal cancer. This is why liberals support people being able to discuss these pros and cons w/ their doctor and not w/ the intervention of a 3rd party (like your employer). The debate over contraception was never about denying women their right to discuss such issues w/ their doctors- in fact it's been quite the opposite. The discussion has been that we should cover birth control so that women can talk to their doctors about what type of contraception is right for them w/o having to worry about some foreign party intervening and preventing that individual from making her medical decisions.
I am not sure what the rest of your rant is about. The population of queer individuals hasn't increased in our nation or any other and indeed gay people can have kids too, so I'm not sure what someone being gay has to do w/ global population. I am also not sure how you can conclude that we are 'slowly dying out' when we just passed 7 billion people on the planet. Nor am I sure how this has anything to do w/ contraception. The more children you have the more likely you are to die or suffer long term medical concerns as a result of your pregnancies. Are you arguing that this is better than family planning? I do not understand. It should also be pointed out that gay people- specifically lesbians- can also suffer from ovarian cysts and other complications that birth control or other hormonal treatments are used to medicate. That is why gays have a vested interest. Birth control pill =/= only for birth control.
I do agree that we shouldn't be focusing on contraception which is why conservatives should've never brought the issue up in the first place.
What contraception has to do w/ parents teaching their kids 'values and principles' is also a mystery to me since that wasn't in the discussion. Nor, indeed, am I sure how this relates to 'getting back to the real issues.'
Are you kidding me? The Catholic women from the 70's were more progressive than the people who are now spouting this Bull-dinky. When our mothers found out we had a boyfriend and we were serious they didn't call a priest they called their Doctor and had him put us on birth control. Don't kid yourself and there were a lot of young catholic girls on birth contol because, their mothers' witnessed their own mothers' suffer from the consequences of having too many children.
What...the...hell? One of us had better be drunk.
Ok, now I would like some data that show the gay and lesbian population is growing and "we are slowly dying out" or population would die out because of imaginary conversions.
This sounds like paranoia.
Who are the "we" you wish to defend? There does appear to be a worry over LGBT taking over. Perhaps fewer Catholics is the concern, or fewer people of a particular religion?
Contraception a silent killer because there will be fewer births?
And accepting LGBT causes more LGBT. Sorry. No.
OK, I see the delusion clearly now.
The thing we are defending is a woman being able to control her own self, when so many wish to intervene to control her.
Amazing how contraceptives are being defended- what about the health risks which are far more important and costly? contraceptives ruin womens health in the long-run. Ask any woman who has been on the pill for a long time. The pill should be covered by the packets of those who want to use them. Not mandatory coverage - just as an exception for health reasons. S. Fluke is a law student and interested in liberty to have pleasure only - like most liberals. We all have the freedom to do what pleases us but we not have the freedom to decide on the consequences of our decisions. Also, the gay/lesvian commuity seems to be growing every day - what they need conctraceptives for? pretty soon we will face underpopulation and/or extintion!
This is a story about voter suppression not contraception. You should read the story before you start in with your argument
And what exactly does this have to do with voter suppression in Texas?
Although I question your trollish ways (this dialog isn't about contraception, it's about required i.d.s and voting), I'll be patient and give you the answers you seek.
Contraceptives are being defended because they save lives.
Sandra Fluke was speaking about just that issue to Congress. Her friend's inability to get hormonal birth control (HBC) through insurance - even though she had her doctor's written approval - caused her friend to lose an ovary to ovarian cysts. HBC is actually used in the treatment of ovarian cysts (precancerous and cancerous) and to slow the growth of other forms of cancer in women.
HBC is used for a lot of conditions semi- and unrelated to contraception.
• Control of heavy and painful menstrual flow
• Endometriosis
• Acne
• Seizures
• Lack of periods
• Depression
• And more...
That said, HBC is a life saver, just in use as a contraceptive. Some, happily married and unmarried, women have preexisting medical or genetic conditions that make pregnancy high risk for them. Others are above 35-40 where childbearing becomes more risky for both mother and child. Down's Syndrome in particular becomes a greater risk with a mother of higher age.
Finally, just so you know - the planet is over, not under, populated. We're not in danger of extinction by lack of procreation any time soon. You can relax, and go read something other than WebMD.
What language do you think you are using? And do you have any plans to learn English someday?
Yeah, those lesvians are out of control. I suppose. I've never seen one myself. Do they bite?
Wow, I bet you're an anti-vaxxer, too, amiright?
Wouldn't it be nice if we could really get people that vote for such things out of office?
I hear all the time, we should get rid of them all. I agree, just not seeing that happening in reality…
screw democracy as a curb on anti-democratic legislation. what about second amendment approaches? the more they do this, the less i'm inclined to say that armed revolt is a bad idea.
Hey Michael, it's not a question of proving you are a citizen. It's that laws about what kind of i.d. people are expected to carry within the the U.S. have dramatically changed over the past several decades, and this affects certain groups more than others.
Many of the elderly may not have been born in hospitals, and may carry alternate i.d. Finding source material to prove their identity can be very difficult. People who are mostly homebound have trouble researching documents, and those who live far from where they were born may not be able to access archives (or information may have been lost).
My own cousin, thanks to an unwed mother, and our grandmother who was a doctor, was born at home. When she turned 16 and wanted a driver's license, her birth certificate was murder to get a duplicate of - and just like you, she's only (drumroll please) 43. It took eight months to resolve.
A lot of Vietnam vets rely on military i.d. as their main source of i.d. Many didn't have any i.d. before they were sent a draft card, and until laws were recently changed, the i.d.s were accepted universally. Imagine being a vet who always voted and just now you're being told "that's not good enough." You fought as a soldier and now can't vote?
Don't forget that in some states a state i.d. can be prohibitively expensive and the new laws being passed aren't accommodating for people in extreme poverty. When someone writes that it's a return, "to the Jim Crow days," that's because an entire class of people are being effectively omitted from the democratic process simply because they can't afford to buy into it. I checked, and in Kentucky, a state i.d. is $12, in Texas it's $16, and in California it's $23. That may not sound like a lot, but the people I'm talking about can't afford food or housing, and without a place to store paperwork, they often need to order birth certificates to be able to get i.d.s at an additional cost. The actual cost is usually $30-$50. Voting is supposed to be free and not defined by class.
There are also some new state laws affecting students living out of state that just got dropped onto the books. Normally, a student living out of state would be able to vote absentee, but with new laws, they're making it harder. (That's because of laws requiring a person to hold an in-state driver's license, and more!)
So, that's the story. You're 43. You were born leading into the computer age, and fortunately all of your important documents are most likely on computer - not microfiche. You were also probably born in a hospital, live in your home state, have a permanent address, and have a job that affords you enough funds to pay for an i.d. should you lose yours. You may even be lucky enough to have a birth certificate on file at home.
You aren't like everyone else, but that doesn't make them less American.
I ca'nt understand why there is'nt more reporting on the secretive group ALEC.They are the ones writing the voter suppression laws for state legislators.I saw one local reporter confront the legislator that introduced the law in Nebraska.She wanted to know why his language was exactly the same as Iowa's.He told her he modeled it after Indiana's law.So she looked at Indiana's law and found it was with one exception the same as the other two states.When she confronted him again she asked him if he was a member of ALEC,he looked like a deer caught in the headlight's.No he said sheepishly, I let my membership lapse (liar) so she asked him how she could get a list of the membership,he told her she could not.A few more questions ended the interview.ALEC is an organization ran by the Koch bros.(what is'nt) funded by corporations such as Wal Mart and Costco plus many others,along with republican legislators paying a monthly dues to belong.I would like to know if this is a legal organization doing illegal things such as payola.
People, wake up! This is the PLAN. Distract with contraception debates, health care, unconstitutional fundamentalist religious issues, tying up congress, turning Rash Limberger loose, all the while whittling away at civil and voter rights at the state and local level. It's the Repugnative-Tea Bagger agenda in every state they have control of the government. If you can't cast a vote, you can't vote them out. Get it? They aren't as dysfunctional as you think they are.
I'm waiting for Paplanner version 3.0 to start projecting all over this thread too. At least the Marine is ranting at the camera instead of an innocent poll worker this time. I couldn't bother to listen because the same shtick the other day was enough for me..
Remember kids, bring your photo ID when it is time to vote. That's pretty much a no-brainer. This Marine fought (and died?) for his country so that you could have photo identification! (I couldn't resist, it's an honorable profession sure but hell, so is a fast food worker's and nobody looks up to them).
Come on Texans, You've got a hero right here in front of you asking you to step forward and stand for veterans who have served our country. Join this Marine and make a huge noise and vote the politicians out who did this to you.
Nobody else has said this, so I will.
When I was growing up in the 50s & 60s, it was commonly said that the criminal justice system was the way it was because, "It is better that 100 guilty people go free than that 1 inosent person go to prison or the chair."
Seems to me that the concept works here, but more powerfully. "The voter registration laws should be such that it is easy to register and vote, because it is better that 1 non-citizen slip through the cracks and vote than it is to stop 100 citizens from voting in order to stop him/her from voting." And in these cases it is more like 10,000 stopped to keep 1 non-citizen from voting. Non-citizens just don't try to vote much.
That's the summary in a nut shell. It is OK to propose laws to protect the integrity of the vote, but people are acting like no such laws exist. We already have voter registration and voter fraud laws in place and those laws by and large already serve to limit the ability of other people to vote. All voter ID serves to do is add one more roadblock for an individual to pass through before being able to vote. It's fine to justify this road black if you have evidence. Where I see the pro-side's argument lacking is that they keep asserting that photo ID will magically stop voter fraud, but they haven't presented one iota of evidence to prove why this assertion is true. In which case I default to the belief that it's better to run the risk of one non-citizen voting than it is to bar a legal US citizen from voting.
As an interesting side note those who favor voter ID laws like to argue that every non-citizen who votes cancels out the legitimate vote of a US citizen. OK so let's say we allow that thinking. Then what does this mean when we, ourselves, are cancelling out US citizen votes?
Thank you The Mouser. But, just leave it there. There is no problem with voter fraud, so no need to solve the problem. Therefore, more likely there is some ulterior motive at work here and I think it is voter suppression which is UN-AMERICAN. The ALEC is behind this concerted, nation wide effort to either solve a non-problem or suppress the vote. Take your pick.
Where I live the poll workers ask you to sign a slip and then compare it to the registration records. They know that they have already checked your citizenship when you registered to vote, so there is no need to check it again. And your signature proves that you are you.
@champita57 I hope your computer gets a virus
Rachel. Regarding Voter Identification. Watched your show for the first time tonight and although I am not an American or a Republican, I do understand your your fear of change. However, picture ID is not going away. The elimination of voter fraud should be an agenda item and paramount in it's priority. I heard your anger that the Republicans agenda was first to come up with the idea and implement it. Democrats could have introduce this years ago give the state of Florida's inability to count. It seems that perhaps you are upset with the fact that by moving forward on this item the Republicans have cut out the lower income, Democratic voter, however had the Democrats lead and not followed they could have introduced legislation to allow anyone making 25K 30K per year or less to receive photo ID free. In order to travel these days, photo id is require although I know people who make less than proverty line are not likely to travel.
Why not suggest to the Democrats to take a leap and introduce internet voting. Security is guaranteed with technology of today. It is the direction we are heading. Why don't they show us the way?
Thanks for listening. I enjoyed your take on reality.
David - Toronto
I was going to move in the same direction, David. In Oregon, we have vote by mail (VBM). Nobody goes to the polls anymore. We have to show an identification when we register. Voters sign the envelope in which the ballot is enclosed, then tuck it inside another envelope. This can be mailed back or dropped off. The voting period is at least two weeks.
Oregon started doing this in the late 1990s because so many people were already voting by absentee ballot. This wasn't a plot by Dems to facilitate voter fraud. It was simply an acknowledgement of reality--it was costly and redundant to maintain poll locations when more than half of the voters had sent in their ballots well before election day.
Election officials in each county have the registered voters' signatures on file. Each signature on a ballot is compared with the signature on record. Those not matching closely enough are segregated and investigated. In fact, there have been almost no cases of voter fraud since VBM was enacted.
It will drive Republicans crazy, but the nation is clearly going to move to Internet voting at some point. VBM is a great intermediate step.
"The elimination of voter fraud should be an agenda item and paramount in it's priority."
David - There is no voter fraud, so why is it that "the elimination of voter fraud is paramount in its priority"? Try reading this blog before you speak such crap.
And why would someone who claims to be Canadian so fired up about Americans needing photo IDs to vote?
Um....how is a free ID a burden to the poor. I am poor, have been poor for a long time, and I have had an ID for 23 years since I was 17. How can anyone not for voter fraud think that showing a simple ID is too hard? Come on. I don't care what your politics are; trying to maintain election integrity is not that hard of a concept.
Prove that voter ID prevents or limits voter fraud
First prove that there is voter fraud. First prove that the integrity of the system is under threat.
My father had a stroke and no longer drives, so he has no DL. He spent 27 years in the navy, so he has no interest in travel. He reads his kindle so no library card. He is lucky that right now they accept retired military id, but if they decide not to because it has no address on it, then what? He can't vote? Voting is the most important right in a democratic republic. Any comparison to library cards, flying, drinking, renting cars, or any mundane thing you may need identification for is frivolous.
As the saying goes..."don't pee on my leg and then tell me it's raining..." The notion that this is about voter fraud is absurd, and insulting. As a liberal, I would debate, disagree, and probably never see eye-to-eye with a conservative on most issues, but I would never, ever think it was morally or legally proper to actively suppress the right to vote. It's a desperate, immoral thing to do. Tell yourselves that it's about fraud 'til the cows come home, but living in this bubble of twisted stories you tell yourself will eventually be your undoing. When this voter suppression thing was first being reported on, I was amazed--the party that so loves to wave the flag was systematically going after other Americans' right to vote. Wow. So much to be proud of there.
this whole thing came about because the gop wants to limit the voting rights of the less fortunate persons and disfranchise them because,, they will vote for people who can provide some measure of sevility to someone other, than the Romneys and Bushes of this country,
Interesting it's the Republicans who want this voter ID for everyone. Especially, since they were the ones guilty of voter fraud with their dangling chads fiasco in Florida.
They must think everyone is as sneaky and crooked as they are when it comes to getting what they want.
If Republicans put half as much effort into helping fix the problems people are facing, instead of how they can cheat women and everyone else out of their rights things would be alot better.
No - They were guilty of ELECTION FRAUD - not voter fraud. Election fraud - stealing an election - is about removing the significance of the vote of an entire country. And since prominent Republicans own all the voting machines in this country, I would suggest it will happen again and we won't even know if it does.
Eric "due process is not judicial process" Holder Is Bad At His Job
Why do you have to be identified as a person by which party you support?
That is just another label for people to put on each other .
In Canada you don't have to identify yourself to be PC, NDP, Liberal, Green Party.
When there is an election you get your voters card and show up with a piece of ID or a piece of mail ( perferably a bill) with your name and address on it to be able to vote.
The government knowing which party you support ahead of time is just another way for them to discriminate against you and your rights.
I used to register as "decline to state" party, but I was not able to vote in the primary. Rules seem to be tilted toward 2 party system, so I use what I have within the rules to vote by best reasoned vote.
After many years of witnessing the Republican activities (NOT WHAT THEY SAY), I can never, ever vote Republican.
But I agree that it is a potential problem, I hate it when the precinct worker loudly states which party ballot to give each voter.
'There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men."
Proverbs 30;14. Perhaps this is the very generation the wise King Solomon referred to?
There is no fraud, the fraud is created within the political figures themselves.
I am a well-educated (UPenn PhD) woman in a wheelchair, retired from teaching at Penn. Since the accident that put me in the wheelchair I do not drive. I work, now, at a minimum-wage part-time job, and do not have retirement benefits other than Social Security of $930 /month. I *did* endure the painful bus ride downtown to the DMV to get my first state ID, and the cost of getting a copy of my birth certificate because mine was lost at that time -- cost, about $35.00 to expedite the process. Doing that was cheaper than renewing my Passport, and allowed me to get on a plane to visit my daughter and granddaughter. Last April my State ID was up for renewal. At that time I was able to renew my State Voter ID card, which is not a picture ID. I have picture ID as an Visiting Research Professor at the University of Pennsylvania (unpaid); I could get similar picture ID as an alumna of Penn. I could show my birth certificate, expired passport, Social Security Card, produce witnesses, and *vote in the same building where I have lived for the last twenty years!*
BUT for the 2012 election I will not have a valid State ID, because I am disabled and cannot afford the painful cab $50 round trip, or bus ride (free, but wheelchair has no brakes) downtown, at $50 or so, and the renewal fee. Wheelchair is not powered; recently I have had significant arm and leg weakness. Yes, it's true, I am piling it on.
I am not stupid, I am not incompetent, I am not illegal, and I have voted in every election since I became old enough to vote, except when I was out of the country, in 1995-96. I will be moving to a new voting district before November
2012. If you want a test case of Voter ID laws, I will volunteer, because I will not have a valid state ID or passport -- only expired ones. Don't know if I'll have an up-to-date PennCard.
Thank you so much for your campaign; voter fraud is a ridiculous fear. People vote because they care about this to country. Missing work and standing in the rain, snow, cold for hours to perpetrate fraud, is a laughable charge. Those who fear voter fraud are out of touch with the world as it really is.
Sigrid Peterson
Photo ID or Not, Frauds happen anyway. Infact they should implement Voter ID Cards sort of a smart card which would eliminate fraud to some extent.
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