Voter ID Laws

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Voter Identification (ID) Law, one of the most talked about political issue is in the news again and the focus is now from the Presidents administration: "A pattern of duplicate registrations found nationwide shows voter fraud is both massive and systemic. Yet, the Obama administration claims there is no problem and that demands for voter ID cards are racist" (Investor's Business Daily). American citizen have one of the greatest fundamental rights of the free world, the ability to vote in our democratic system.
Voter ID laws are methods, which are intended to prove that the registered voter is who they say they are. The laws require that registered voters show ID before they are allowed to vote. “Pennsylvania, Kansas, Indiana, Georgia, Tennessee, have the toughest written laws a voters will not be allowed to cast a ballot without first showing a valid photo ID” (Lee). So what is really the big deal about having to show an ID to vote since everyone has had at least one form of ID to prove who they were since birth? Introducing Melowese Richardson, the beloved Democratic voter fraud felon from Ohio. Richardson pleaded no contest to voter fraud was given a sentence of five years in prison. Shockingly, she only served eight months after it was discovered she voted six different times during the November 2012 Presidential election.
“Voter ID laws require individuals to show government-endorsed identification when casting their ballots on Election Day” (Wilson and Brewer). Many people see these laws as necessary to prevent voting fraud, others argue that fraud is extremely rare and that voter ID laws can suppress voting. Voter fraud undermines public confidence in democracy, and that's why we need, whether you are a Democr...

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...2012 election which includes the state map showing the Republican (red) and Democratic (blue) voting statistics.
Wilson, David C., and Paul R. Brewer. "The Foundations of Public Opinion on Voter ID Laws: Political Predispositions, Racial Resentment, and Information Effects." Public opinion quarterly 77.4 (2013): 962. ProQuest. 11 May 2014 
Voter ID laws require individuals to show government-endorsed identification when casting their ballots on Election Day.
Sobel, Richard, and Robert Ellis Smith. "Voter-ID Laws Discourage Participation, Particularly among Minorities, and Trigger a Constitutional Remedy in Lost Representation." PS, Political Science & Politics 42.1 (2009): 107-10. ProQuest. 11 May 2014 
Minority voters who tend to be poorer and less educated are less likely to have driver's licenses or the resources to obtain official photo identification.

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