Voter Suppression and the Principles of Democracy

[Too Tall]

Voter Suppression and the Principles of Democracy: What could be more at odds with the principles of democracy than voter suppression, voter fraud? I'd say no, depending on the scale.

Voter fraud, if and when it can be found, and I do believe it exists, would have to reach huge proportions to destroy the process we in the USA use in our system of democratic elections. I am not denying there isn't any fraud during any particular election.

While I view fraud as wrong. However, I accept that in an imperfect system like ours, or any other system I know of, a certain amount of fraud is inevitable, if not tolerable, to a sense of justice and fairness. Think of starting a small business, which would be open to the public. To insist on preventing all theft would be impractical. Either all customers would have to be terribly inconvenienced, and/or the prevention techniques of the perfect system would be cost prohibitive.

Likewise, I believe Voter Suppression if and where it can be found, and I do believe it also exists along with voter fraud, would have to reach huge proportions to destroy the process we in the USA use in our system of democratic elections. Voter suppression has a well documented history in the USA. The techniques used to suppress the vote spans the spectrum from distasteful to horrific. But as things move slowly in a society like ours, a democratic society alongside a republican form of government, we correct things, we right wrongs, we attempt to live up to what many of us view as our better natures.

Now we come to the meat of the matter: Voter I.D. laws. Do I support the concept? You Betcha.

But...Some things just aren't right.

Twelve years after disputes about hanging chads and butterfly ballots cast doubt on the credibility of the outcome of a presidential election, the integrity of the election process again has become a partisan issue. If the race between President Obama and Mitt Romney is a close one, look for the losing side to blame the outcome on either fraud or voter suppression. At this point the latter looks to be the bigger problem.

-- counterintuitive as it may seem to middle-class Americans — a significant number of voters do not have a photo ID

It's how we get there that counts. Sacrificing the principles of democracy to partisan gains benefits no one on the long run. Corrupting the process to the point that the system pronounces it's own principles as anathema.

To say that fraud is minimal doesn't mean it doesn't exist, or that states shouldn't endeavor to make it less possible. Some proposed reforms, such as a system for checking voter lists against other government databases, would increase both accuracy and involvement. Even a photo ID requirement might be acceptable if states not only supplied IDs free of charge but also eliminated hurdles that make them difficult to obtain, such as inconveniently located driver's license centers or backlogged birth registries.

You betcha! [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RwWXs2NvII]Sarah Palin: You Betcha Trailer - YouTube[/ame]

Well, there are simple; common sense ways to eleviate voter fraud; instead of the state issuing a voter registration card, simply issue one with a picture ID. If the community college down the street can master the technology....the federal government should be able to do so.

As for whether or not it is serious, yes it is.

No President will ever be elected on strictly fraud.

One has to remember though that there are a great many down-ticket races and off year elections that have very small turnout.

In 2004, the supervisor of elections in Palm Beach County lost by a few percentage points which translated into a couple of hundred votes. This isn't a big deal in and of itself. However, the noteworthing thing about her losing was that this was the same person who approved the butterfly ballot. The butterfly ballot that was used in the 2000 election. The butterfly ballot which caused Pat Buchanan to get a disproportionate number of votes that likely would have went to Al Gore. The butterfly ballot that basically swung the State for George Bush and thus the election since Palm Beach County was in Florida.

As a result, we had a war in Iraq that Gore would have unlikely never considered staging. Thousands of American soldiers died, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis were killed as a result.

Now, was this elections supervisor elected by fraudulent ballots? Nobody knows. Is it likely that some of the ballots for her (her name is Theresa LePore by the way) and against her were fraudulent? Yes. Why leave it to a greater degree of uncertainty than would otherwise be experienced?

The federal government does not issue voter registration cards, the state does.

Is it your contention that Saddam Hussein was a wonderful man and posed no threat to his neighbors in the middle east?

Did the elections supervisor win or did she lose the election? You contradict your self.

 

[Truthmatters]

Study finds costs associated with voter IDs - The Washington Post

 

[GuyPinestra]

Study finds costs associated with voter IDs - The Washington Post

There's no such thing as a 'free lunch', unless your a Democrat, a Congressman, or both...

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

LOL Voter ID is Common Sense 101.

Pennsylvania's strict voter ID law faces ACLU lawsuit - latimes.com

Let's just take a look at what ID is acceptable to vote in Pa. before we start wringing our hands and gnashing our teeth, OK?

Starting on November 6, you must prove your identity by showing one of the following photo IDs issued by:

The United States government, e.g., a U.S. passport

The Commonwealth of PA, e.g., a driver’s license (NOTE: An expired driver’s license is okay as long as it is within 12 months after the expiration date)

A PA municipality (e.g., city, county, borough, incorporated town) to municipal employees

An accredited PA public or private institution of higher learning, e.g., a student card

A PA care facility, which includes a long‐term care nursing facility, an assisted living residence or a personal care home

U.S. Armed Forces branches or their reserves, including the PA National Guard (NOTE: The ID holder can be a veteran or current member; the expiration date can be indefinite.)

What You Need to Know About PA's New Voter ID Law | Pennsylvania Democratic Party

I'm really sorry if your illegal voters are unable to cheat for you again this year, but if they AREN'T illegal and STILL can't come up with one of these they're TOO STUPID to vote.

Illegal voters? You obviouls have not read the stories about who is having trouble getting proper IDs It's people who have voted for years. The new law does not accept IDs without expiration dates. Many IDs do not have expiration dates.

There is NO big nmber of people voting illegally. It's a bogus story