Redneck Georgia Republicans Pass Racist Voting ID Law
/A problematic solution for nonexistent problem
At no time during any of the [voter ID Georgia Senate and House] hearings did the bill's proponents cite even one example of voter fraud that would have been prevented by HB 244. After hearing almost no meaningful testimony, the committee passed the bill along partisan lines, with every Republican supporting it and every Democrat opposing it. During the presentation of this bill on the Senate floor, it became clear that it was riddled with problems and inconsistencies.
At no time during any of the [voter ID Georgia Senate and House] hearings did the bill's proponents cite even one example of voter fraud that would have been prevented by HB 244. After hearing almost no meaningful testimony, the committee passed the bill along partisan lines, with every Republican supporting it and every Democrat opposing it. During the presentation of this bill on the Senate floor, it became clear that it was riddled with problems and inconsistencies.
- First, it contains no voter
education component to let the public know that the forms of acceptable
identification have been reduced from 17 to six. So a senior citizen
who voted with his or her Social Security card in 2004 could be turned
away from the polls in 2006 because he or she was never told that rules
had changed. Significantly, Republicans have brought forward strikingly
similar bills in Wisconsin and Indiana. It is doubtful these efforts
are a coincidence.
- Second, in the same bill,
Republicans expanded the potential for election fraud by stripping away
restrictions related to absentee ballots. Notably, cases related to
absentee ballots constitute the largest number of verifiable cases of
fraud in Georgia, including the Dodge County vote-buying case that was
erroneously claimed as justification for this bill. In that case, about
15 percent of ballots issued were absentee. By removing restrictions
related to mailed absentee ballots, HB 244 opens a greater opportunity
for fraud. Skeptics might point out that absentee voters have
historically voted for Republicans in higher numbers.
- Third, Georgia is one of 13
states covered by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 because of its
well-documented history of denying or interfering with
African-Americans' right to vote. The Voting Rights Act specifically
outlaws tests and devices, such as poll taxes and literacy tests,
ensuring that the registration process is free from discriminatory
barriers. Requiring additional, unpublicized forms of identification at
the polling place inevitably creates similar barriers for
African-Americans and other minority voters. The statistics to prove
this are striking. Rural Georgians will be harmed because only 50 of
Georgia's 159 counties have a Department of Motor Vehicle Safety
office, forcing people in rural areas to travel significant distances
to acquire acceptable identification. The elderly are also harmed by HB
244, because 36 percent of Georgians over 75 do not have a driver's
license.
- Fourth, this is not simply about a photo ID. It is about the Republican majority dictating to Georgians that we can only use the form of ID that Republicans select. Proponents fail to mention that we can no longer use a valid student ID containing a photo, a valid employee ID containing a photo or a Social Security card as acceptable forms of identification. They repeatedly refer to a utility bill or a bank statement to justify the need for the changes. If those two forms of ID are troubling, let's do away with them. But HB 244 is a mandate to use Republicans' preferred form of ID, one that happens to harm senior, rural, minority and young voters. [more]
- Foes rip passage of voter ID bill [more]
