Vote Suppression is an Old Game
With voter suppression sweeping the nation, anyone who is in favor of a political system that is free and democratic should be wary of new laws that restrict voting or make voting dependent on an official identification document.
Right now, the estimate is that about 5 million Americans are being, or will be, scrubbed from the voter rolls in various states across the country. According to Bloomberg News, 18 states have passed voter suppression laws and another
12 have such laws in the works.
Right-wingers have created this “problem” of voter fraud out of whole cloth and the Republican Party has fallen into lockstep. They can’t seem to dream up voter suppression laws fast enough. But, how much of a problem is voter fraud that it would take up so much time and energy of legislatures?
Many of the Republicans who are today involved in the voter suppression efforts in so many states are heirs of the Dixiecrats who fled to the GOP after Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act.
It’s this much of a problem: in the scheme of American life, shark attacks are extremely rare (like being struck by lightning twice). Voter fraud is so rare in the U.S. that a shark attack is 30 times more likely to occur than voter fraud.
So, why are Republicans so frothingly pursuing voter ID laws? Simply, to suppress the vote among people who might vote for Democrats.
Under these laws, all people who might not have a driver’s license as part of their daily life would have to make an effort to get an official ID. Many people of color, the elderly, students, the disabled, the poor, and others would ikely not be able to easily get one and, for many of those, the cost is prohibitive (it can be upwards of $100 or more).
by bc columnist John Funiciello
