Quote:
Originally Posted by Guest
Supporters of the voter ID law, such as Governor Rick Perry, argue that it’s necessary to stop the rampant menace of voter fraud. But there’s no evidence that voter impersonation fraud is a problem in Texas. According to the comprehensive News21 database, there has been only one successful conviction for voter impersonation—I repeat, only one—since 2000.
Texas has the distinction of being one of the few states that allows you to vote with a concealed weapons permit, but not a student ID. Provisions like these suggest that the law was aimed less at stopping voter fraud and more at stopping the changing demographics of the state.
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Voter fraud is a red herring. The republicans use it as justification to make legitimate voting much more difficult. The more difficult it is to obtain registration, the more it eliminates the poor, who have a nasty tendency to vote against republicans, who have done everything in recent years to make their lives more miserable. The right wingers used to be able to suppress the minority vote, especially in the south, by poll taxes and impossibly difficult tests, not to mention lynchings and shootings. Their progeny have become more sophisticated and devious, but the intent is the same.