Stop Voter ID

U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530-0001 J. Suzanne Harmon P.O. Box 95 Kosciusko, MS 39090 Attn: U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder Sir, I am writing to you regarding the proposal for implementing The Voter ID law in Mississippi. Mississippi requires a photo ID in order to obtain a birth certificate. A birth certificate is one of the documents required to obtain state issued photo ID. I am asking the DOJ to please intervene on behalf of the citizens of the United States residing in the state of Mississippi to prevent the full implementation of the Voter ID law. The state must correct the requirement for obtaining a birth certificate prior to enforcing the Voter ID law in Mississippi. I have included a link to and the verbiage for obtaining a birth certificate in Mississippi. I was asked, by the Secretary of State Office, in 2011 to write a con for what was then Proposition 27 on the ballot for the general election in Mississippi. My con statement and a pro statement for the proposition were to have been sent to voters prior to the 2011 general election. No such information was sent to voters prior to the 2011 general election by the Mississippi Secretary of State Office. I have also included my con statement at the end of this letter. I thank you for your time and consideration of my petition for intervention. Regards, J. Suzanne Harmon Chair, Attala County Democratic Executive Committee Verbiage from the Mississippi Department of Health regarding birth certificates: Photo ID to get a birth certificate to get a Voter ID http://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/_static/31,1240,109,62.html Photo ID Required If you are applying for a birth certificate for yourself, a relative, or someone you legally represent, you must provide a copy of a valid photo identification with your application. Accepted forms of identification are: • Photo driver's license • State-issued photo ID • Employment ID • School, college or university ID • US Military ID • Tribal ID • Alien registration/Permanent residence card • Temporary resident card • U.S. passport Con on Proposition 27 (Voter 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. 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 Violation 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/