Saturday, November 19, 2011

License And Registration, Please

A new Texas voter ID law that requires voters to show a Texas driver's license, a Texas concealed handgun license, a U.S. passport, citizenship papers, or a military identification card in order to vote has been put on hold by the U.S. Justice Department.
Texas Republicans expressed dismay Thursday after Justice Department officials said they need voter information about race and ethnicity before they can approve the controversial law, which is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1.

State election officials don't track voters by race or ethnicity, said Rich Parsons, spokesman for Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade.
Why? Because the U.S. Justice Department would get its panties in a wad if the state started requiring voters to identify their ethnicity when they registered or voted.
“So there's no accurate way to provide a racial breakdown of voters,” (Parsons) said.

The new law would require voters to show a Texas driver's license, a Texas concealed handgun license, a U.S. passport, citizenship papers, or a military identification card before they could cast a ballot.
In this day and age, how many people legal citizens don't have one or more of the above means of identification? How else can they open a bank account or cash their social security, unemployment, or welfare checks? Or get a student loan? Or legally drive a car? Or perform any of the other myriad functions necessary to exist in modern society?
Because of past discrimination, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 requires Texas and other Southern states receive preclearance by the Justice Department for changes to existing voting laws or redrawing of political districts.
1965. That's almost half a century ago. How long will this relic from another time be used to help demorats steal elections? (Answer: When's the last time a federal law was repealed? Once they're passed they become set in stone. That bodes ill for obamacare, unless the republicans get overwhelming majorities in both the house and senate, AND capture the White House. That's a long row to hoe.)

Texas is just one of a number of states whose recently-enacted voter ID laws are under attack.
The NAACP is joining with minority and labor groups for a series of protests around the country meant to move discussion of voter identification laws out of policy circles and onto street corners, the organization’s president said Tuesday.

Benjamin Todd Jealous appeared on the steps of New York City Hall with the Rev. Al Sharpton, U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel and community and labor leaders to announce plans for nationwide protests on Dec. 10 and across the South in the following weeks, decrying what they described as a nationwide voter suppression effort.
I fail to understand how requiring an individual to provide a valid form of identification before casting a ballot is voter suppression.

But then, what else can we expect from an Eric Holder-run DOJ...?


4 comments:

JT said...

I served as an election judge for a few years. We can, and do, ask for a form of I.D. - usually something along the lines of, 'Do you have your voter registration card?', which about 25% of them do. The rest say, 'I don't have it, will my driver's license be okay?' They have to prove their residence in the precinct somehow, and most are perfectly happy to hand over their license. Like you said, the people that are supposed to be harmed by this mandatory ID law have no problem cashing their government checks, so what's the big deal?

Old NFO said...

Very true Sir, amazing how it's ALWAYS the dems who protest about dis-enfranchising voters, then turn around and do every thing they can to get military ballots thrown out...

Jim - PRS said...

I recently had to show my driver's license to get a library card. More recently, I voted and had to show nothing in order to go into the booth.

That's screwed up.

CharlieDelta said...

The left has been messin' with the hornets' nest for too long with this kind of race baiting, age/class warfare and suppressed vote bullshit. Hello? Karma?

I don't ask for much out of life, but I would give my left nut to see them, just ONCE, win the retribution jackpot and get stung all over. When is that karma gonna come back around and pay these MF's a visit?