Across the country, Republican governors and legislators (new world puppets) are pushing unnecessary and suppressive photo identification laws that would require all voters to produce a specific current government-issued photo ID before casting a ballot. Another form of putting more power into our ID's and less freedom in our hands.
I see these measures bigger than just an attempt to prevent the high Latino and African-American voter turnout of the 2008 election.
“African-Americans experienced much higher political participation rates, much higher than any other group, including Latinos. There is a correlation between the increase in Latino birthrates and black participation rates and the states where we’ve seen this crackdown in voting rights,” said Wendy Weiser, director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. “Those groups are going to find it more difficult to participate this time around.”
The oppressive effects of these bills are well-documented: 11% of Americans approximately 23 million citizens of voting age lack proper photo ID and, as a result, could be turned away from the polls on Election Day. Those without photo ID are low-income, disabled, the minority, young, and older voters.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, thirty-two states have some sort of voting identification law. Many of the states with the strictest laws are also places where, according to a Pew Hispanic Center analysis of census figures, the minority populations have mushroomed.
