Voter ID Laws: An Attack on Democracy

Voter ID Laws: An Attack on Democracy

            My memories of early schooling are filled with lessons on the basics of democracy and that all citizens of America have a right to vote.  The upcoming presidential election is shaking the foundations of this principle.

            And, before you ask, no, I am not talking about the Electoral College.

            This year has inspired politicians in several states throughout our nation push for what they label as voter identification laws.  They explain that they are necessary to fight voter fraud.  These laws require voters to present a form of government-issued photo identification.

            This may look like a reasonable cause at first, but there are some issues.

            The first one is simple.  Individual voter fraud is not an issue in the United States.  Suevon Lee of the website ProPublica describes a 2007 The New York Times study showing approximately 120 cases within a five year period.  She also cites a News21 study that estimated that there were about ten impersonation cases out of 2,068 election fraud cases since 2000.  This equates to about one out of every 15 million voters.  I do not believe this is a number that calls for a great deal of legislative action.

            However, this is not the larger issue here.

            The larger issue is that these laws disenfranchise American citizens.  They will prevent more people from voting than prospective evildoers.  These laws require government-issued photo identification, only making exceptions for cases of poverty and religion.  Studies show that about eleven percent of the population does not have an acceptable form of identification under these laws.  Opponents of these laws point out that people from this group tend to be young, without jobs, or a minority; seeing these laws as a kind of disenfranchisement and believe they were set up to target these groups.

            The defenders of these laws point out that this small group is not “certain to vote.”  They do not see their laws as something that will affect anyone who is likely to vote.  I do not believe that this is a reasonable excuse.  Our nation should shun the idea of anyone being denied the right to vote simply to prevent a problem that exists on a small and insignificant scale.  We should be horrified at the idea of eleven percent of the population not being able to vote if they chose to do so.  Their inclination to vote should not matter in any way whatsoever.

            The true controversy of this is bipartisanship, like most of the issues in today’s politics.  The politicians who push for these laws tend to be members of the Republican Party.  Many have suggested that the same group who would be disenfranchised by these laws would also be inclined to vote for Democratic candidates.  It did not help when Mike Turzai, majority leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, stated, “Voter ID, which is going to allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania, done.”  It is hard to deny that there is an ulterior motive to these laws when such a quote exists.

            I think that these laws go against the very ideas of democracy and I am ashamed that they have been passed in so many states.  I am glad to see that many courts have already been filled with cases against these laws and hope that this trend continues.  Whatever its motives are, voter ID laws go against the values of our nation.