The right to vote.
As Americans, we hold this dear. Throughout the course of our nation’s history, we have, through amendments and various court decisions, stripped away the manmade obstacles in order to allow our citizens to vote.
We have seen citizens of our country denied the right to vote based on religious affiliations, gender, socio-economic class and race. Our ever-evolving sense of justice has allowed us to move forward and do what is right. From Dred Scott v. Sandford to Guinn v.
Today, new voting restrictions are attempting to be levied in the form of voter identification. And like most restrictive, oppressive laws, its roots are as innocuous, possibly even well-meaning legislation that like a snake slithers in nice and quiet only to deliver its lethal poison later.
The idea seems simple enough. Require those voting to show identification upon arrival. Easy peezy right?
Not so much.
Our right to vote is much like free speech or the right to bear arms — it’s an all or nothing concept. Once you begin, no matter how tiny, chipping away at these rights, you will, one day, wake up and find them eroded away to nothing. We have spent more than 250 years removing limitations on who we allow to vote in this country and, make no mistake, it IS what separates us from the other nations in the world.
We allow everyone to vote. Women, men, black, white, young, old and, most importantly, those that disagree with us are allowed to vote in this great nation because we are a
I point to free because this is what this new legislation is attacking. It is, despite being dressed up by its supporters as something else, at the end of the day, a poll tax, plain and simple. The push to make everyone go get a government-issued identification card in order to vote is simply a poll tax in yet another attempt to shove cost on unwanted voters.
Oh, its supporters will say things such as “everyone should have a license” or “voter fraud is rampant without an ID” but at the end of the day, this is just another in the long list of ways the poor, disenfranchised and under-represented have been herded and shooed away from our voting booths.
If the government wishes to make simple ID cards and give them away for free, that will solve the issue as far as I’m concerned. Many states already allow people to renew their driver’s license online, thus their picture is years old — clearly showing that up-to-date information is not really a priority. This will easily solve the issue and not pass costs to those already living on fixed incomes or struggling with incomes that barely cover the essentials.
First, it was those that didn’t hold the same religious beliefs, then those that didn’t own property, then those that didn’t look the same, then those that used a different latrine and now it is those less fortunate. We are either a free nation allowing all its citizens the right to choose or we are not. There is no gray area.
There is no evidence of voter fraud in this country. There has been none, never has been any and never will be a large problem with voter fraud in
According to the most recent studies, 1 in 15,000,000 prospective voters is a potential fraud candidate. 1 in 15 million. Studies further show that most of these cases are simply voter registration forms filled out incorrectly or a misunderstanding about voter eligibility.
More importantly, these laws, if enacted, will disproportionately affect elderly, minority and low-income groups. The laws will force those in the worst possible financial positions to incur yet another “financial barrier to the ballot box.”
Another way to look at it is this; we are never concerned with laws not allowing someone to do something until it affects us personally. Today, it may be the requirement to show a government ID, tomorrow it may be the deed to owned property and the day after …
Richard Clark is the consolidated desk chief for Halifax ENC. You can reach him at 910-219-8452 or at Richard.Clark@jdnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at kpaws22.