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United states current policy on voter id laws
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In the past decade, a total of 34 states have passed voter identification laws with the same guidelines from state to state. These laws require voters to show a proof of photo identification in order to be eligible to vote or receive a ballot at the voting polls. The initial purpose of the voter ID laws was to prevent voter fraud. However, the laws have made voting harder for some Americans, like minorities, women, students and elders by requiring a government issued photo ID. Many people assume that everyone should have a government issued photo ID or a driver license. This concept is irrational and untrue because there are still people in this wealthy country who cannot afford a good meal. According to Abranmsky (2013), "The current Population Survey data show that 15 percent of Americans, roughly 46.5 million people, live at or below the government-defined poverty line—which, as most who work with the hungry, the homeless, the uninsured, and the underpaid or unemployed know, is itself an inadequate measure of poverty." If an individual can't afford to get a meal, then how can that person get an ID. This claim has provided an idea of the approximate number of people who are living below the poverty line. Those without IDs are mainly poor college students, low-income minorities and elders. In a study "Citizens Without Proof: A survey of Americans' Possession of Documentary" (2006), has shown that there was 11 percent of eligible American voters (more than 21 million citizens) who could be disqualified from voting because of lacking a proper photo ID (P.g.3). Even though the percent of people who live under the poverty line were higher than the people couldn't afford to get an ID, their rights to vote could drastically change an ... ... middle of paper ... ...uary 3). Court rejects Pennsylvania voter-ID law | MSNBC. Retrieved April 27, 2014, from http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/court-rejects-pennsylvania-voter-id-law CITIZENS WITHOUT PROOF: A SURVEY OF AMERICANS’ POSSESSION OF DOCUMENTARY PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP AND PHOTO IDENTIFICATION. (2006, November). Retrieved from http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/legacy/d/download_file_39242.pdf Harmon, K. (2009, May 29). Can You Lose Your Fingerprints? - Scientific American. Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lose-your-fingerprints/ KHAN, N., & CARSON , C. (2012, August 12). Who Can Vote? - A News21 2012 National Project. Retrieved from http://votingrights.news21.com/article/election-fraud/ VOTING RIGHTS INSTITUTE (n.d.). The Real Cost of Voter Id Laws | Democrats.org. Retrieved from http://www.democrats.org/the-real-cost-of-photo-id-laws
In William Safire’s “The Threat of National ID”, he argues against a National ID card. Safire published an article in the New York Times to establish different context. Safire gives details about the use of National ID card at different places in different situations. He emphasizes that many Americans are willing to give up personal privacy in return for greater safety, but none of us have privacy regarding where we go and what we do all the time. Safire disputes that mandatory National ID become necessary for people to prevent fear of terror attack.
Throughout American History, people of power have isolated specific racial and gender groups and established policies to limit their right to vote. These politicians, in desperate attempt to elongate their political reign, resort to “anything that is within the rules to gain electoral advantage, including expanding or contracting the rate of political participation.”(Hicks) Originally in the United States, voting was reserved for white, property-owning gentleman
In 1965, at a time of racial discrimination in America and the emergence of a strong Civil Rights Movement, congress enacted the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which prohibits discrimination in voting. Congress could not end racial discrimination in voting by suing one jurisdiction, state, etc. at a time. Rather, Congress passed Section 5 of the VRA, which required states and local governments with a history of racially discriminating voting practices to get the approval of the U.S. Attorney General or a three-judge panel for the U.S. District Court for D.C. (“preclearace”) in order to make any changes to their voting practices. Section 4(b) said that the preclearance requirement applied to states and political subdivisions that used a “test or device” to limit voting and in which less than 50% of the population was registered to vote, or voted, in the presidential elections of 1964, 1968, or 1972. Nine states and seven subdivisions in other states are subject to the requirement in Section 5, which has been amended three times and was reauthorized for an additional 25 years in 2006. The Supreme Court however, has been skeptical about the constitutionality of the law. In the Supreme Court’s decision on Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 v. Holder (2009), the Court avoided the constitutionality of Sections 4(b) and 5 of the VRA. Shelby County, Alabama, is covered in Section 5 because all of Alabama is covered. The county went to court in Washington to strike down Section 5 of the VRA.
Holder, Kelly. "Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2004." US Census Bureau. N.p., 1 Mar. 2006. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. .
Debra Black. (May 19 2013). Should permanent residents be allowed to vote in municipal elections? Retrieved from http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/05/19/should_permanent_residents_be_allowed_to_vote_in_municipal_elections.html
To enforce voting to be mandatory , this will prompt more Americans to pay attention to the choices for their representatives. Mandating would stimulate the demand side, motivating voters to understand and acknowledge who they are voting for. Therefore , voting is to be a responsibility than a option.
The wave of new voting restrictions passed around the country, mostly by Republicans, after their victories in the 2010 elections. Supporters of the law argue that such restrictions are necessary to prevent fraud. On the other hand, voting law opponents contend these laws disproportionately affect elderly, minority and low-income groups that tend to vote Democratic. Obtaining photo ID can be costly and burdensome because photo ID laws create a new "financial barrier to the ballot box”. It would have prevented hundreds of thousands of Hispanic voters from the polls just because they lack a state-issued photo ID.
Voter ID laws in the United States have begun to create controversy since the beginning of its adaptations in the early 2000’s. Voter ID laws in the United States is a law that requires U.S. citizens to have a special form of identification in order to vote in an election. The idea with Voter ID laws is that the state must make sure that the laws do not pose any sort of burden on the voters. These laws have been proposed in order to stop voting fraud. However, the institution of Voter ID laws has caused trouble in states, including Texas, regarding the various amount of identification requirements needed.
Immigrant Profiling by Local Law Enforcement. (2012, May 1). Retrieved Month Day, Year, from Issues & Controversies database
"Election Protection • You Have the Right to Vote." Election Protection. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2013. .
26. Kantor, Jodi. "Internet voting is to democracy what Amazon.com is to books." 9 Nov 1999. CNN.com, 23 Feb 2001. http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9911/09/internet.voting.part.two.idg/
Voter ID laws eliminate all forms of voter fraud and restore integrity to elections, Government-issued photo IDs are inexpensive and easy to obtain, and voter ID laws don’t restrict the right to vote and restore confidence to voters. To begin with, what is voter fraud? Voter fraud is the illegal obstruction of an election. Voter fraud is composed of double voting, intimidation, undocumented citizens voting, tampering with electronic or paper ballots, as well as deceased voting. Some opponents, such as Attorney General Eric Holder, suggest that there is not a problem with voter fraud.
IDs as a valid form of identification, nor can out of state students vote without a valid
Mount, Steve. “Constitutional Topic: The Census.” USConstitution.net. 3 Jan. 2011. Web. 31 July 2011. .
Identity cards vary, from passports to health cards to driver licenses. Each play a different role, one will be used to travel another used when individuals seek care and another simply to drive around town. Identity cards serve as a form of surveillance to insure the wellbeing within a country against danger. This brings me to say, is monitoring an individual’s life going to insure their safety? Forms of identification can offer security, freedom as well as accessibility to North American citizens. Although, scenarios such as identity theft can cause individuals to think otherwise. The topics discussed in this essay is, the use of identification allows basic rights to North American citizens. Monitoring insures security within countries as