Skip to main content

Voter ID Rant

nullLate yesterday, I got a text seeking submission for a con essay on voter ID. Below you will see my working notes and my 4th rough draft of my con essay on voter ID. I am open to any and all comments and suggestions. I thank my FB friends for their time in providig feedback to me on the essay.

Cons against Voter ID

14th amendment violation (http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0383_0663_ZO.html )
March 24, 1966 decision of the SCOTUS in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections
“We conclude that a State violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment whenever it makes the affluence of the voter or payment of any fee an electoral standard.”


2003 Federal Voting Standards and Procedures Act requires states to streamline registration, voting, and other election procedures.

Read more: U.S. Voting Rights http://www.infoplease.com/timelines/voting.html#ixzz1PU0wGD2A


Violaion of Federal elections
24th Amendment
1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.
2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
(http://www.usconstitution.net/xconst_Am24.html)

http://www.demos.org/pubs/Analysis.pdf
http://www.brennancenter.org/blog/archives/debunking_misinformation_on_photo_id/


Voter ID
Voter ID legislation in Mississippi should be decided based on sense and dollars. Off the bat, Voter ID amounts to a 21st Century poll tax. Those who do not have the documents required to obtained the ID allowed for voting will have to spend money to get the documents. Purchasing documents to get ID to vote is paying to vote. The 14th and 24th amendments address the matter of having to pay to vote. The Surpreme Court decision in the case of Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections closed the loophole in regards to poll taxes for local and state elections in 1966. Current Voter ID laws in other states setup provisional ballots which require the voters to show proof of ID within two days of voting. The use of provisional ballots in elections violates the Federal Voting Standards and Procedures Act of 2003; which requires states to streamline registration, voting,and other election procedures. Finally at a time when the state of Mississippi , which still has less than 3 million residents, needs to funnel all monies into job training and education, Voter ID should not be at the top of the list to be funded. The amount of voter ID fraud in the United States is so low that there has been no successful study of the exact amount of fraud. Should Mississippi spend money on something that is not an issue? It will not be inexpensive to implement Voter ID in any state that wishes to avoid the unconstituional defacto “poll tax” . States would have to secure the required documents for those who need to have an accepted form of ID to vote. Voter ID does not have enough logic(sense) to warrant the investment of the dollars of Mississippians.


Links:

null

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Take me over the cliff - again

I expect many Americans in my fiscal position are fed up with the GOPs continued fight for the rights of the wealthy to pay less in taxes.  I say take me over the cliff.  I recently found a Twitter account regarding the $250K threshold.   Many of the tweets\RTs where describing the hardships of $250K living.   It is time for a reality check across the board in America.    If the grown-ups were honest about this fiscal mess, they would admit the tax cuts must end for all.  The ending should be in stages to reduce the likelihood of the need for public assistance for working\working-poor families.  Although $250K is different for different parts of the U.S.A it does mean you are not in the ghetto. There is no $250K/individual ghetto in America. If you are reading this posting and you know of such a ghetto, please let me know for I need to move to that state.  If taxes go up for individuals making $250K and above they will not face a n...

Y'all should eat my grits no cheese

It is two days after the GOP primary in Mississippi. We are still laughing at Mitt's attempt to cuddle up to us with cheesy grits and a few y'alls thrown in. In my area of Mississippi it is yaw'all(10 second word). Had he come here expecting us to be able to count to 20 without removing our shoes, he may have been taken a little bit more seriously. I am not sure if Mitt's grits ranks with Bush's "this part of the world" statement after Katrina but it ranks. Truthfully, I enjoy cheese in my grits along with garlic and red pepper. However, I do not think my love of grits, a bowl every morning, makes me Southern. Although I was born in Southern California and partially reared in Southern Wisconsin, I consider myself a full blown Mississippian. Along with keeping my grits to myself, I also speak without care of accent. The fact that I can tell you how to get from Memphis to the Coast without using the interstate or Google says I am from Mississippi. ...

Food for thought

When I read or hear of Minorites loving welfare I think how those in know actually love having minorities on welfare. Hair care in minority communities is huge business. There is a reason Koreans own/operate Black hair care shops. It is a money maker. When minorities concentrate their money within their communities they create jobs. However it takes money out of circulation in the larger community. It is then we see legislation that forces the money into the larger community. I am not against regulations that benefit the public welfare. I do question legislation that is designed to hinder the freedoms of a particular group. It may seem small. I may be off base. However I find it to be horse pucky to claim minorities love welfare while inhibiting the ability of minorities to be self sufficient. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2012/02/17/crackdown-on-barbers-brin_0_n_1285233.html