Stealing an Election

The most fundamental right in a democracy is the right to vote.  That right is under severe and organized attack across the country.  Under the guise of preventing voter fraud (which is almost completely non-existent in the United States), voter ID laws have been passed in 32 states and are in effect in 30 of them as of this writing.  (Wisconsin's law was declared unconstitutional and Mississippi's law requires implementing legislation as well as pre-clearance under Section 5 of the 1964 Voting Rights Act.)

These voter ID laws have a single purpose - to suppress the vote of those segments of the population most likely to vote for Democrats.  For these are the segments of the population least likely to have the required ID's - elderly, low-income, students, African-Americans. Fifteen to twenty-five percent of these groups do not have state-issued ID.

The potential disenfranchisement is the greatest since the infamous Jim Crow laws were overturned both in court cases and by the 1964 Voting Rights Act.  The Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law examined the 19 laws and 2 executive orders in 14 states that enacted voter ID measures in 2011. The Center estimated that 5 million voters could be prevented from voting in 2012 because of these 2011 laws alone.  If we look at the bigger nation-wide picture, as many as 21 million Americans lack state-issued ID. 

Voter ID laws pose as great a threat to our democracy as the Citizens United decision.  But all is not lost yet.  A number of groups (e.g., AFL-CIO, United Steel Workers union) are working to inform voters of the impact and the ACLU has mounted several legal challenges.  A number of Southern states must have the laws pre-cleared by the Dept of Justice under the Voting Rights Act. 

If the legal challenges fail, it will be necessary to help those without ID's get the required ID's.  Unfortunately, there appears to be no national effort to do this.  All the apples are now being placed in the judicial cart. 

At the least, we need to stay informed and know the voter requirements in our own state.  The National Conference of State Legislatures' website has details on the requirements of each state and updates on the current status of the laws.  Take a look and make sure you understand what you need to bring to the polls in November.  If you don't have it, get it.

People have died for the right to vote. Now. because of an organized conservative effort, this right is being taken from those whose voices most need to be heard.   Let's hope this latest challenge to democracy in America is overcome.  If not, the truest and biggest voter fraud of the 21st century will be effected on November 6.  Votes will have been denied and the election will be stolen.

Further reading:
Center for American Progress post on AlterNet, April 4, 2012
Update - interesting discussion too.  People are looking for ways to help.
MoveOn's Daily Share for 5/3/12