Republican dirty tricks: Scott Walker passes Voter ID law and closes DMVs

I'm surprised they haven't tried making people take tests to prove that they're worthy to vote (yet). I can see it now:

Q1: Taxes on rich people take away jobs and ruin the economy. T or F?

A: T

Q2: What country is Obama from?

A: Kenya

Q3:Find the derivative of the function f(x) = ln(3x+2/2x-5)?

A: I don't f****** care.

"Suppression law requireing photo IDs at the polls"

Why would you be against that?

Chutebox

Because it involves measures that prevent people from obtaining IDs.

And I don't understand how this is any worse than Democrats allowing illegals to enter the country, giving them food stamps and housing as long as they're registered as a Democrat.

KamuiFei

Actually, both parties are complicit in that regard.

And I don't understand how this is any worse than Democrats allowing illegals to enter the country, giving them food stamps and housing as long as they're registered as a Democrat.

Republicans are just evening the odds it seems.

KamuiFei

[QUOTE="Chutebox"]

"Suppression law requireing photo IDs at the polls"

Why would you be against that?

Blue-Sky

Because it involves measures that prevent people from obtaining IDs.

I'm pretty sure that any U.S. citizen can obtain a government issued I.D. card, just sayin'.

[QUOTE="Blue-Sky"]

[QUOTE="Chutebox"]

"Suppression law requireing photo IDs at the polls"

Why would you be against that?

QuistisTrepe_

Because it involves measures that prevent people from obtaining IDs.

I'm pretty sure that any U.S. citizen can obtain a government issued I.D. card, just sayin'.

[QUOTE="Blue-Sky"]

[QUOTE="Chutebox"]

"Suppression law requireing photo IDs at the polls"

Why would you be against that?

QuistisTrepe_

Because it involves measures that prevent people from obtaining IDs.

I'm pretty sure that any U.S. citizen can obtain a government issued I.D. card, just sayin'.

[QUOTE="QuistisTrepe_"]

[QUOTE="Blue-Sky"]

Because it involves measures that prevent people from obtaining IDs.

Chutebox

I'm pretty sure that any U.S. citizen can obtain a government issued I.D. card, just sayin'.

[QUOTE="Chutebox"][QUOTE="QuistisTrepe_"]

I'm pretty sure that any U.S. citizen can obtain a government issued I.D. card, just sayin'.

EntropyWins

Imaginary problem? Seriously? Ok, not even going to argue with this. I guess all the dead people truly do have a right to vote again!

Chutebox

Claim: Voter fraud is real, this is not anybody's imagination.

• Voter fraud is incredibly rare, as has been consistently demonstrated both byacademic studiesandDOJ investigationsfrom the Department of Justice.

Claim: The Milwaukee police department reported some detailed fraud in the 2004 presidential election in Wisconsin.

• Voter impersonation is the only form of voter fraud that photo ID laws could possibly prevent. Yet the Milwaukee police departmentfoundonly one possible example of voter impersonation in the 2004 presidential election, and was unable to confirm if it was actual voter impersonation or an administrative error. For more information, seehere.

Claim: The Colorado Secretary of State found last year that 5,000 non-citizens voted in their Senate race, which was decided by a close margin.

• Republican Secretary of State Scott Gessler'sreportfailed to show that any non-citizens voted in 2010. During the period the report investigates, over32,000Colorado residents became United States Citizens. It is not surprising at all that 4,947 newly-naturalized voters (out of 32,000 total) may have cast ballots in 2010. Seeherefor more information.

Claim: And probably all will remember Minnesota in 2008 when more ineligible voters were identified than the margin between the winning and losing Senate candidates.

• This claim echoes the debunked allegations from Minnesota Majority, a right-wing advocacy group that specializes in trumped up charges of voter fraud, attacks on embryonic stem cell research, and climate change denials.
• Responding to the group's latest accusations, the head of the Minnesota County Attorneys Association, John Kingrey, called the voter fraud allegations "wildly-overstated" and said they wasted limited public safety resources. A recent study cited in theUSA Todayoffers a much moreplausible accountof ineligible voters in Minnesota.

Claim: Representative Todd Rokita, formerly Indiana Secretary of State, said "In fact, our voting went up 2 percent as we introduced the photo I.D. law. We attribute that to the confidence that the law inspired in the voting public.

• As election law scholar and Loyola Law School associate professor Justin Levitt haspointed out, photo ID laws are just one of many factors that affect voter turnout on Election Day. The suggestion the photo ID law caused Indiana's turnout increase is especially misleading, given the high Democratic turnout in the 2006 midterm elections and thehuge national voter turnoutfor the 2008 Presidential election.

Claim: And as for people who don't have photo ID, American University Center for Democracy in Election Management found recently that 99 percent of eligible voters have the proper ID.

• Thestudy in questionis not at all representative of the American electorate. The survey questions voters in just three states: Indiana, Maryland, and Mississippi.
• Rather than look at the entire population of eligible voters, the study only surveyed voters who were already registered. Moreover, the survey did not ask if the respondents' photo identification was current and up-to-date, which is required under the Republican photo ID legislation. Importantly, the survey also failed to examine the impact these laws have on Latino voters, a constituency that comprised6.9 percent of all American votersin the 2010 midterms.
• In asurveyconducted by the Opinion Research Corp., a polling firm that is an official partner of CNN, found that11 percent of eligible Americanslack valid government-issued photo identification.

[QUOTE="QuistisTrepe_"]

[QUOTE="Blue-Sky"]

Because it involves measures that prevent people from obtaining IDs.

EntropyWins

I'm pretty sure that any U.S. citizen can obtain a government issued I.D. card, just sayin'.

Please, just stop with the hyperbole. No one is making anything more difficult, except to commit fraud.

[QUOTE="EntropyWins"][QUOTE="QuistisTrepe_"]

I'm pretty sure that any U.S. citizen can obtain a government issued I.D. card, just sayin'.

QuistisTrepe_

Please, just stop with the hyperbole. No one is making anything more difficult, except to commit fraud.

So then I guess you aren't aware then that all of these laws require driver's licenses as the only valid proof of ID.gameguy6700

The thing about just using a utility bill is anyone could walk up to a mail box and walk off with someones mail as unless you live in an apartment, mailboxes are at the street where it is there for anyone to get into. As it is, I have always been asked for some sort of ID to vote either in Virginia or Georgia.

Please, just stop with the hyperbole. No one is making anything more difficult, except to commit fraud.

QuistisTrepe_

I'm actually quite curious about how much "fraud" this would actually stop. Is there a lot of voter right now that this would cut down drastically in any way, or is this really meant to disenfranchise a certain group of people.

[QUOTE="QuistisTrepe_"]

[QUOTE="Blue-Sky"]

Because it involves measures that prevent people from obtaining IDs.

Chutebox

I'm pretty sure that any U.S. citizen can obtain a government issued I.D. card, just sayin'.

WHAT FRAUD?

I don't have a problem with someone requiring a photo ID to vote.

[QUOTE="Chutebox"][QUOTE="QuistisTrepe_"]

I'm pretty sure that any U.S. citizen can obtain a government issued I.D. card, just sayin'.

Blue-Sky

WHAT FRAUD?

Yeah, I saw this. It's reminiscent of the Jim Crow era and is utterly pathetic. Maniacc1

:lol:

You don't know anything about the Jim Crow era.

[QUOTE="QuistisTrepe_"]

[QUOTE="EntropyWins"] The point is they are making more difficult. I am willing to take a stab at the fact that there is a positive correlation between how difficult it is to vote and people deciding not to vote. You can blame that on people, but the republicans are the ones changing the requirements to serve their purposes. Those requirements were set that way for a reason. EntropyWins

Please, just stop with the hyperbole. No one is making anything more difficult, except to commit fraud.

**Goes to buy alcohol** "May I see your ID please?" "Sure"

**Buying a "M" rated video game** "May I see your ID please?" "Sure"

**Verifying large credit card tender** "May I see your ID please?" "Sure"

**Enters a polling place** "May I see your ID please?" "OHNOES MY FREEDUMB!!!!!!!!"

But hey, since voter fraud isn't that prevalent maybe we shouldn't verify anything, after all, no one should under go such concentration camp-like horrors of feeling inconvenienced. You know, there aren't many fires in my neighborhood, so we really don't need a fire department or any fire hydrants in the area. Robberies aren't that frequent at banks, so they don't need to put any of their clients' assets into a vault.

[QUOTE="EntropyWins"]

[QUOTE="QuistisTrepe_"]

Please, just stop with the hyperbole. No one is making anything more difficult, except to commit fraud.

QuistisTrepe_

**Goes to buy alcohol** "May I see your ID please?" "Sure"

**Buying a "M" rated video game** "May I see your ID please?" "Sure"

**Verifying large credit card tender** "May I see your ID please?" "Sure"

**Enters a polling place** "May I see your ID please?" "OHNOES MY FREEDUMB!!!!!!!!"

But hey, since voter fraud isn't that prevalent maybe we shouldn't verify anything, after all, no one should under go such concentration camp-like horrors of feeling inconvenienced. You know, there aren't many fires in my neighborhood, so we really don't need a fire department or any fire hydrants in the area. Robberies aren't that frequent at banks, so they don't need to put any of their clients' assets into a vault.

How do they know which way the guy is going to vote?

For all they know the guy might be pro-Republican and they're blocking a vote for their own party.

I don't think this is such a bad thing. However, low bank account activity is not a good measure of someone's ID legitimacy. That much should be changed.

Social Security Number, Official Birth Certificate and Tax Records should be enough IMO. You need all that just to get a driver's license.

How do they know which way the guy is going to vote?

For all they know the guy might be pro-Republican and they're blocking a vote for their own party.

I don't think this is such a bad thing. However, low bank account activity is not a good measure of someone's ID legitimacy. That much should be changed.

Social Security Number, Official Birth Certificate and Tax Records should be enough IMO. You need all that just to get a driver's license.

Netherscourge

[QUOTE="Inger1"]

wait... it used to be that you didn't have to show ID to vote in America?

I'm totally unfamiliar with voting procedures in the US as I'm Canadian, however, here in Canada I've been voting in elections for the last 9 years and I've always had to show ID, everyone around me has had to show ID. It just makes sense to me... how else are they going to know you're actually eligible to vote, are voting in the right district, etc.?

gameguy6700

It may be different from state to state, but in Illinois at least you do not have to show any kind of ID when you show up to vote. When you register to vote you have to provide proof of residence and elegibility to vote. Once you're registered that's it. Come election time you go to the polling place nearest your residence and just tell them your neame. They'll have the names of all registered voters in the precinct there. They simply look on the list for your name. If it's there you vote. If not, GTFO. Once you've showed up to vote they check your name to indicate that you've voted.

[QUOTE="gameguy6700"][QUOTE="Inger1"]

wait... it used to be that you didn't have to show ID to vote in America?

I'm totally unfamiliar with voting procedures in the US as I'm Canadian, however, here in Canada I've been voting in elections for the last 9 years and I've always had to show ID, everyone around me has had to show ID. It just makes sense to me... how else are they going to know you're actually eligible to vote, are voting in the right district, etc.?

worlock77

It may be different from state to state, but in Illinois at least you do not have to show any kind of ID when you show up to vote. When you register to vote you have to provide proof of residence and elegibility to vote. Once you're registered that's it. Come election time you go to the polling place nearest your residence and just tell them your neame. They'll have the names of all registered voters in the precinct there. They simply look on the list for your name. If it's there you vote. If not, GTFO. Once you've showed up to vote they check your name to indicate that you've voted.

[QUOTE="Netherscourge"]

How do they know which way the guy is going to vote?

For all they know the guy might be pro-Republican and they're blocking a vote for their own party.

I don't think this is such a bad thing. However, low bank account activity is not a good measure of someone's ID legitimacy. That much should be changed.

Social Security Number, Official Birth Certificate and Tax Records should be enough IMO. You need all that just to get a driver's license.

Apocalypse33

Ehh, I dunno about that. I've seen plenty of wealthy Democrats and plenty of piss poor Republicans (and vice-versa).

[QUOTE="Apocalypse33"][QUOTE="Netherscourge"]

How do they know which way the guy is going to vote?

For all they know the guy might be pro-Republican and they're blocking a vote for their own party.

I don't think this is such a bad thing. However, low bank account activity is not a good measure of someone's ID legitimacy. That much should be changed.

Social Security Number, Official Birth Certificate and Tax Records should be enough IMO. You need all that just to get a driver's license.

worlock77

Ehh, I dunno about that. I've seen plenty of wealthy Democrats and plenty of piss poor Republicans (and vice-versa).

I think the whole "low bank activity" is a horrible way to get a voter id. I know when I registered to vote all I had to show is a utility bill and my driver's license, good enough.

I love the idea of voting registration and measures to prevent fraud. However that whole "low bank activity" is stupid. A simple piece of mail sent from a company to the person would be fine enough. That would prove voter residency.

Also there is quite a bit of hyperbole going on here with the fear mongering. I live in Wisconsin and if it were truely a horrible thing I woudl hear far more about it than some video on Youtube and articles from small news sources.

Trust me, you can easily skew a video on Youtube to make it seem much more of a big deal than anything.

Also what is with this bank account stuff? All you need to do is have a valid ID with your current address on it anyways. Not hard to obtain at all. In fact if you move to a new place, you are technically supposed to update your driver's license anyways. You can also get state ID cards at the DMV with only having to have your social security number and birth certificate. I got one before my high school issued picture IDs.

It's all right here.

In the interest of fairness I'm going to guess the "low activity" thing was simply a mistake on the part of a single DMV employee. Perhaps he/she looked at it, and seeing no activity for awhile thought that it was outdated and thus not representitave of the person's current address. This is, of course, completely stupid (especially since a bank statement isn't even required), but is, most likely, stupidity on the part of one lone employee rather than a concentrated effort to keep poor people from voting.

Protect against Voter fraud or wrong voters?

"If people cannot even feed and clothe themselves, should they be allowed to vote? Should they be voting?" RUSH LIMBAUGH (12/3/2010):

"If you're not a property owner, you know, I'm sorry but property owners have a little bit more of a vested stake in the community than not property owners do." JUDSON PHILLIPS (11/17/2010):

"Why do we have these campaigns saying, we have to get all the young people to vote? Young people often don't know anything. ... Let's stop saying everyone should vote. Voting is important." - JOHN STOSSEL (9/28/2010)

"Voting as a liberal. Thats what kids do. They don't have life experience. They just vote in their feelings."
WILLIAM OBRIAN, Republican house speaker, New Hampshire

Yeah, Voter fraud, thats what Republicans care about.

Blue-Sky

People love to throw around that quote without explaining any of the back story behind it. The quote was referencing the fact that college students who were only in the state for a couple of years to attend college were changing the politics of towns and a state they weren't even permanent residents of.