There Goes The Voting Rights Act of 1965- Page 3

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 6/25/13 at 2:37pm

Sigh.

Should we continue the discussion on Facebook?

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 6/25/13 at 3:37pm

And yet no clarification from my distinguished fellow poster.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/25/13 at 4:15pm

Just tuning into this thread. What's weird about this ruling is that the Supremes are saying that states can demand a Voter ID to vote, but they can't demand a Voter ID to register.

Weird.

It makes me think the gay marriage rulings are going to be weird as well.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/25/13 at 4:24pm

Even if they are all great, it will be bittersweet after this voting rights thing. I mean, HRC would throw a total victory celebration, but whatever.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 6/25/13 at 4:27pm

I love the Supremes...

Baby, baby..

Where did our votes go....?

[brdlwyr]

Posted: 6/25/13 at 4:37pm

PJ, for sure I do not expect any sweeping recognition of constitutional rights. The constitution demands equality through the equal protection clause, but the Roberts Court will not adhere!

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 6/25/13 at 4:43pm

I guess my post was deleted, but I was just asking why they would do this? It's not like they see that crime rates go down, and then they decide to get rid of those laws.

Getting rid of a law, because it works, make no sense to me, at all.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 6/25/13 at 5:14pm

Well, this didn't take long...



Two Hours After The Supreme Court Gutted The Voting Rights Act, Texas AG Suppresses Minority Voters

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 6/25/13 at 5:21pm

the Supreme Court reasoned that discrimination is not rampant enough in Southern states to warrant restrictions under the Voting Rights Act...

I'm hoping those over at the Supreme Court are feeling mighty stupid right now. Their assessment wrong. How many more Southern states will follow Texas' lead now...

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 6/25/13 at 5:42pm

I really don't see a problem with asking a voter to have a photo ID when voting. I had a problem with springing that on voters a week before the election. They should be given warning far in advance and something should be in place to assist those for whom obtaining an ID is difficult. I think you should have to prove who you are before stepping into a voting booth. I don't get the big issue.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 6/25/13 at 5:45pm

I'm with you, Jersey. The concept itself is not terrible but, rather, the execution and the way certain political groups take advantage of it. But isn't that sadly always the case?

[trentsketch]

Posted: 6/25/13 at 7:37pm

Requiring ID to vote is reasonable IF everyone is issued ID by their state government without a fee and without question. You live in the state, you get ID, you use the ID to vote.

The problem with the laws being proposed to require ID include fees, unequal implementation regarding students/legal immigrants/new residents, and the reciprocal and exclusionary rule of requiring photo ID or a stack of documents that were not provided universally across the country (like state certified birth certificates) until recent history. Why should a 70 year old in a rural area be denied the right to vote because no one printed birth certificates when they were born and their state won't issue a photo ID without a fee and a birth certificate to prove she's allowed to vote?

You want voter ID laws? Great. Then you have to allow easy access to eligible IDs for voters. Either every registered voter gets one provided by the state, or the laws are putting an undue burden on people to prove they have the right to vote. It can't be both ways.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 6/25/13 at 7:50pm

I think the Roberts court is going to do a weird mash-up of rulings on the two cases, like rule in favor of Edie Windsor but rule narrowly on California in a way that makes everyone's head explode.

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 6/25/13 at 8:35pm

Requiring ID to vote is reasonable IF everyone is issued ID by their state government without a fee and without question. You live in the state, you get ID, you use the ID to vote.

If all states that pass voter ID laws included these provisions, I too would find them perfectly acceptable. The issue is, most of these states don't. And those that did like Pennsylvania which revised its law to give free photo IDs to registered voters who didn't have one, did so in the weeks before an election with no plan or promise everyone would know about it or even receive their IDs in time (mercifully a federal judge put the law on hold to reassess everything until after the election).

Issuing a photo ID to all eligible voters that meets whatever requirements the states set out free of charge and without having to jump through hoops like sit at a Motor Vehicles for hours or send in applications with waiting periods is fine by me. Only thing is, it's a big expense for states and the cynic in me would say that it doesn't do what they intend: keep some people (low income, minorities, seniors) away from the voting booth. Since no one has been able to prove that voting fraud is actually an issue - I doubt any state would be willing to bite the bullet on these potentially massive costs.

Otherwise any reasonable court should see it as a poll tax and immediately strike it down, under what remains of the Voting Rights Act.

[mikey2573]

Posted: 6/26/13 at 9:30am

"All American citizens have the right to vote, regardless of whether or not they have a valid ID."

Sorry, but that is simply not true.

[Kad]

Posted: 6/26/13 at 9:38am

Many of these voter ID laws also skewed their requirements for what constitutes a "valid photo ID." NRA membership? Sure! Student ID? F*CK you!

[mikey2573]

Posted: 6/26/13 at 10:18am

Just out of curiosity, which state was it that allows an NRA membership card as valid voter ID but not a current college ID?

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 6/26/13 at 10:29am

Oops


Updated On: 6/26/13 at 10:29 AM

[tazber]

Posted: 6/26/13 at 10:31am

Piggly Wiggly Reward Card

W.T.F.?!

That's not an Onion link disguised as something else is it?

[Wynbish]

Posted: 6/26/13 at 10:33am

Piggly Wiggly over a library card? And a library is an establishment under the government. Granted, at least in Georgia, there's no marking on a minor's library card that says "this person is under 18", but Piggly Wiggly?!? Really?

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 6/26/13 at 10:39am

Never mind....it's a satire site.

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 6/26/13 at 10:43am

But this is not satire:

"The law, SB 14, requires voters to show one of a very narrow list of government-issued documents, excluding Social Security, Medicaid, or student ID cards. Gun licenses, however, are acceptable."



The answer is Texas

[mikey2573]

Posted: 6/26/13 at 12:13pm

No the answer is not Texas. The state of TX does not allow an NRA membership card as a form of ID at voting polls.
The answer is there is NO STATE in the USA that allows an NRA membership card as a proper form of ID for voting. And in fact, most states do not allow College IDs as a proper form of voting because a college ID is issued by the college, not by the state. The states make a distinction between state-issued IDs (like a driver's license and yes a gun license) and a non state-issued ID (like a college ID or an NRA membership card).

[SonofMammaMiaSam]

Posted: 6/26/13 at 12:29pm

But a college id from a state run school is state issued.

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 6/26/13 at 12:47pm

It's not an NRA card it's a gun licence but not a student ID. I think that's just as bad.