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At the state level, there's been a rash of legislation the last 2 years that's putatively aimed at curbing "voter fraud", but has the practical effect of disenf

by jbooth 15y ago

At the state level, there's been a rash of legislation the last 2 years that's putatively aimed at curbing "voter fraud", but has the practical effect of disenfranchising black people and college kids.

rgraham 15y ago
Got a citation or two for that claim?
- phillmv 15y ago
  Iunno, defunding ACORN, anyone?
- jbooth 15y ago
  Here's a couple quick ones for WI and OH, there's more in a few other states: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-13/wisconsin-voter-id-law-imposes-unconstitutional-burden-aclu-says-in-suit.html http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-13/wisconsin-voter-id-... http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/06/most_restrictive_voter_id_law_in_the_country_loses_support_of_republican_secretary_of_state.php http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/06/most_restr...
CWuestefeld 15y ago
On the other hand, consider voter fraud cases like this [1][2]. I'm not in favor of putting too many burdens on the right to vote, and I'm honestly not sure where the balance lies: it's not clear how much fraud does occur, and it's not clear to me how much people are burdened by laws requiring ID (I suspect both are edge cases, but how do they compare in magnitude; what about the risk presented by each?). I just think it's necessary to keep in mind that there really is another side to the story. [1] http://troyrecord.com/articles/2009/09/27/news/doc4abec354140b7343461158.txt?viewmode=fullstory http://troyrecord.com/articles/2009/09/27/news/doc4abec35414... [2] http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/286557/yes-virginia-there-really-voter-fraud-hans-von-spakovsky http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/286557/yes-virginia-the...
- jbooth 15y ago
  It seems like there's more republican state legislatures trying to pass voter fraud laws than there are actual documented cases of voter fraud in the last 2 years. That's a hell of a statistic. Of course, there are people's jobs at stake here.

by jbooth 15y ago

rgraham 15y ago

Got a citation or two for that claim?

phillmv 15y ago
Iunno, defunding ACORN, anyone?
jbooth 15y ago
Here's a couple quick ones for WI and OH, there's more in a few other states: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-13/wisconsin-voter-id-law-imposes-unconstitutional-burden-aclu-says-in-suit.html http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-13/wisconsin-voter-id-... http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/06/most_restrictive_voter_id_law_in_the_country_loses_support_of_republican_secretary_of_state.php http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/06/most_restr...

CWuestefeld 15y ago

On the other hand, consider voter fraud cases like this [1][2]. I'm not in favor of putting too many burdens on the right to vote, and I'm honestly not sure where the balance lies: it's not clear how much fraud does occur, and it's not clear to me how much people are burdened by laws requiring ID (I suspect both are edge cases, but how do they compare in magnitude; what about the risk presented by each?). I just think it's necessary to keep in mind that there really is another side to the story. [1] http://troyrecord.com/articles/2009/09/27/news/doc4abec354140b7343461158.txt?viewmode=fullstory http://troyrecord.com/articles/2009/09/27/news/doc4abec35414... [2] http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/286557/yes-virginia-there-really-voter-fraud-hans-von-spakovsky http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/286557/yes-virginia-the...

jbooth 15y ago
It seems like there's more republican state legislatures trying to pass voter fraud laws than there are actual documented cases of voter fraud in the last 2 years. That's a hell of a statistic. Of course, there are people's jobs at stake here.