Why We Need Voter ID Laws
There have been several occasions throughout America’s history where voter fraud has changed the outcome of an election. For example, “a 2010 Kansas election ended with a one vote margin where 50 of the winning side votes were cast illegally by citizens of Somalia (Hans Von Spankovsky).” Another example is when “a 1996 congressional race in California was almost overturned by hundreds of votes cast illegally by noncitizens (Hans Von Spankovsky).” Voter ID laws are a sensible precaution to voting. Voter id laws eliminate all forms of voter fraud and restore integrity to elections, Government issued photo ids are inexpensive and easy to obtain, and voter id laws don’t restrict the right to vote and restore confidence to voters.
To begin with, what is voter fraud? Voter fraud is the illegal obstruction of an election. Voter fraud is composed of double voting, intimidation, undocumented citizens voting, tampering with electronic or paper ballots, as well as deceased voting. Some opponents such as Attorney General Eric Holder suggest that there is not a problem with voter fraud. He also says that voter ID laws are “unnecessary” and has kept them from being used in Texas and South Carolina (John Fund). The problem is that most people think that voter fraud is a recent thing made up by republicans so that they can get more votes in elections by coming out with laws that will keep some people that tend to vote democratic from voting. The truth is that voter fraud has been around since voting started, and is a growing problem that needs to be dealt with. Voter id laws seem to be the only sensible deterrent for voter fraud. I will admit the laws do have some flaws, but if we don’t get rid of the problem now it...
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...y 2009. 26 Sep. 2012. http://www.columbiamissourin.com/stories/2009/05/05/voter-id-ncessary-fair-elections.
Schultheis, Emily. “Justice Dept. clears New Hampshire voter id law.” politico. 5 Sep. 2012. 27 Sep. 2012. http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/09/justice-dept-clears-new-hampshire-voter-id-law-134499.html.
Shepherd, Ken. “MSNBC again misleads on voter id laws by insisting it’s anti Obama phenomenon; ten states passed laws prior to 2010 elections” newsbusters. 27 Aug. 2012. 27 Sep. 2012. http://newsbusters.org/blogs/ken-shepherd/2012/08/27/msnbc-again-misleads-voter-id-laws-insisting-its-anti-obama-phenomenon#ixzz262ssHqim7.
Von Spokovsky, Hans. “are voter id laws needed?” pro: voter id is a sensible precaution.” oregonlive. 29 July 2012. 25 Sep. 2012. http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2011/07/are_voter_id_laws_needed_voter.html.
For different states there have been different court decisions on these laws. States that have laws with voter-ID laws in place include Texas and Wisconsin. North Carolina, Kansas and North Dakota have overturned voter-ID, along with a few other restrictive laws on voting. I find myself on the fence about the situation. Both sides of the issue do state several points that impact the argument such lack of voter-ID increasing fraud or decreasing the range of
In William Safire’s “The Threat of National ID”, he argues against a National ID card. Safire published an article in the New York Times to establish different context. Safire gives details about the use of National ID card at different places in different situations. He emphasizes that many Americans are willing to give up personal privacy in return for greater safety, but none of us have privacy regarding where we go and what we do all the time. Safire disputes that mandatory National ID become necessary for people to prevent fear of terror attack.
Hasen, Richard. "Voter Suppression's New Pretext." the New York Times 16 November 2013: A- 19. Print.
In 1965, at a time of racial discrimination in America and the emergence of a strong Civil Rights Movement, congress enacted the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which prohibits discrimination in voting. Congress could not end racial discrimination in voting by suing one jurisdiction, state, etc. at a time. Rather, Congress passed Section 5 of the VRA, which required states and local governments with a history of racially discriminating voting practices to get the approval of the U.S. Attorney General or a three-judge panel for the U.S. District Court for D.C. (“preclearace”) in order to make any changes to their voting practices. Section 4(b) said that the preclearance requirement applied to states and political subdivisions that used a “test or device” to limit voting and in which less than 50% of the population was registered to vote, or voted, in the presidential elections of 1964, 1968, or 1972. Nine states and seven subdivisions in other states are subject to the requirement in Section 5, which has been amended three times and was reauthorized for an additional 25 years in 2006. The Supreme Court however, has been skeptical about the constitutionality of the law. In the Supreme Court’s decision on Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 v. Holder (2009), the Court avoided the constitutionality of Sections 4(b) and 5 of the VRA. Shelby County, Alabama, is covered in Section 5 because all of Alabama is covered. The county went to court in Washington to strike down Section 5 of the VRA.
Samples, John. "Three Myths about Voter Turnout." Political Analysis. N.p., 14 Sept. 2004. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. .
"Voting and Registration." United States Census Bureau. U.S. Census Bureau, 08 May 2013. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
Voter ID laws in the United States have begun to create controversy since the beginning of its adaptations in the early 2000’s. Voter ID laws in the United States is a law that requires U.S. citizens to have a special form of identification in order to vote in an election. The idea with Voter ID laws is that the state must make sure that the laws do not pose any sort of burden on the voters. These laws have been proposed in order to stop voting fraud. However, the institution of Voter ID laws has caused trouble in states, including Texas, regarding the various amount of identification requirements needed.
Crosley, Hillary. “How Data Took Down NYC’s Stop and Frisk” The Hour (2013) 1-3. Print.
Katie, Beck. 2013. "Australia election: Why is voting compulsory?" BBC News, August 26. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-23810381 (March, 2015).
11 Nov. 2013. "Stop-and-Frisk Data | New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) - American Civil Liberties Union of New York State. " Stop-and-Frisk Data | New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) - American Civil Liberties Union of New York State. N.p., n.d. Web. The Web.
IDs as a valid form of identification, nor can out of state students vote without a valid
.... "State Cops Can Track Residents' Cellphones." Daily Tribune Media. N.p., 28 Mar. 2014. Web. 06 Apr. 2014. .
World Net Daily. 25 Oct. 2004 Feder, Barnaby J., and Zeller, Tom Jr. "Identity chip planted under skin approved for health care. " The New York Times.
...in the politically process could be a reality. Once a person's vote is stolen their voice is lost and the votes could be sold for a profit. The challenge to the validity of our future elections could destroy the confidence in our electoral process.