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Voter id laws in the united states
The current importance of voter identification laws
Voter id in the usa
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Voter Identification (ID) Law, one of the most talked about political issue is in the news again and the focus is now from the Presidents administration: "A pattern of duplicate registrations found nationwide shows voter fraud is both massive and systemic. Yet, the Obama administration claims there is no problem and that demands for voter ID cards are racist" (Investor's Business Daily). American citizen have one of the greatest fundamental rights of the free world, the ability to vote in our democratic system.
Voter ID laws are methods, which are intended to prove that the registered voter is who they say they are. The laws require that registered voters show ID before they are allowed to vote. “Pennsylvania, Kansas, Indiana, Georgia, Tennessee, have the toughest written laws a voters will not be allowed to cast a ballot without first showing a valid photo ID” (Lee). So what is really the big deal about having to show an ID to vote since everyone has had at least one form of ID to prove who they were since birth? Introducing Melowese Richardson, the beloved Democratic voter fraud felon from Ohio. Richardson pleaded no contest to voter fraud was given a sentence of five years in prison. Shockingly, she only served eight months after it was discovered she voted six different times during the November 2012 Presidential election.
“Voter ID laws require individuals to show government-endorsed identification when casting their ballots on Election Day” (Wilson and Brewer). Many people see these laws as necessary to prevent voting fraud, others argue that fraud is extremely rare and that voter ID laws can suppress voting. Voter fraud undermines public confidence in democracy, and that's why we need, whether you are a Democr...
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...2012 election which includes the state map showing the Republican (red) and Democratic (blue) voting statistics.
Wilson, David C., and Paul R. Brewer. "The Foundations of Public Opinion on Voter ID Laws: Political Predispositions, Racial Resentment, and Information Effects." Public opinion quarterly 77.4 (2013): 962. ProQuest. 11 May 2014
Voter ID laws require individuals to show government-endorsed identification when casting their ballots on Election Day.
Sobel, Richard, and Robert Ellis Smith. "Voter-ID Laws Discourage Participation, Particularly among Minorities, and Trigger a Constitutional Remedy in Lost Representation." PS, Political Science & Politics 42.1 (2009): 107-10. ProQuest. 11 May 2014
Minority voters who tend to be poorer and less educated are less likely to have driver's licenses or the resources to obtain official photo identification.
What if one day you weren't allowed to voice your opinion about the people who run our country, your country, in other words, if you couldn’t vote? A lot of people don’t vote, but what if you didn’t even have the right to do so? In 12 states, ex-felons aren’t allowed to vote even after serving their prison time. When you think of a felon you probably think of someone that has done terrible things and shouldn't have a voice in politics, but that figure should be changed. One lady, by the name of Leola Strickland, isn’t allowed to vote because she has a felony on her record for postdating a few checks and having them bounce because she lost her job(1).
The voter ID issue starts with certain laws that, in the US, require that a person show a form of official ID before they are allowed to register to vote. This issue has split both Republicans and Democrats. According to Kenneth Jost, “republicans say [voter-ID laws] are needed to prevent fraud and protect the integrity of elections. Democrats say the laws are not needed and are being pushed in order to reduce voting among groups that skew Democratic in elections especially Latinos and African Americans” (Jost, p. 171). Both of these perspectives are valid, and with an open mind, can both sides have important points about the validity and inclusion of elections. On one hand, it is crucial to prevent fraud and keep the elections free of error, otherwise the outcome could be an unfair ruling. On the other side of the argument, voter-ID laws can cause discrimination and prevent people from voting, also
Today, the citizens of the United States must push Congress to formulate an oversight measure to fix voter disenfranchisement. By itself, Supreme Court Ruling Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder does minimal damage to the voting process of the United States. The court ruled discriminatory practices of district actions half a century old unconstitutional, but left a responsibility for Congress to modernize the Voting Rights Act, to ensure that no district nor individual is discriminated against. Given the history of the United States’s voter suppression and the original need for the Voting Rights Act, a new, modern voter equality policy is of dire importance.
Voting is one of the citizens’ rights living in a country. In the past, not everyone can vote. Voting used to be for only white American men. However, our ancestors fought for that rights. Eventually, any American who are older than eighteen can vote, despite their race or gender. In addition, voter turnout is used to keep track of the voting. It is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election. Unfortunately, the voter turnout has been decreasing over time, and it means that there are less and fewer people who actually show up and vote. This essay will discuss the voter turnout in Harris County, Texas.
Hasen, Richard. "Voter Suppression's New Pretext." the New York Times 16 November 2013: A- 19. Print.
If felons are allowed to vote, one must consider the effects it would have on the elections. Many people believe that felons make the wrong choices for a reason, that they are clearly lacking something law-abiding citizens have. Professor Christopher Manfredi ...
As they have for decades, American people have insisted on their and social power. Under this guise of protecting those rights and the current of Americans, some agencies of the government- police forces, licensing agencies and business agencies- refused color people freedom rights. For example, as C-SPAN reported, that many color American are denied voting right in the Florida States, even though they had their voting registration cards with them just being color. Another example, as the New York times reported, that color people clashed with police for being refused their rights to be bury in a Chicago cemetery for being color. Whether this illegal discriminatory treatment of color people derives from racism or natives, these abuses will grow dramatically if laws are not enforced. American even endanger lives when laws are not enforced by government agencies insisted persecutions color people even more.
The United States national elections have been experiencing a steady decline of eligible voters showing up to vote. This steady decline has been ongoing since experiencing a significant increase in voter turnout from 1948 through 1960. Over the years there has been significant, meticulous research done to try to pinpoint the cause of the decline in voter turnout over years. All of this research has led to the production of an enormous number of literatures written on the perceived causes. The vast amount of literature produced has led to a number of competing explanations about this decline. The quest for the answer to the question of, why this decline in voter turnout, is very important for an overwhelming majority of Americans and our democratic system because the people/voters can only truly be represented by our government if all eligible voters go out and vote. For this paper I will examine four theories that attempt to explain the decline. The four theories that I will discuss are voting barriers, campaign contributions, negative campaign advertising, and finally the cultural explanation. However, through thorough exploration and critiques of the strengths and weaknesses of these four theories, we will find that the cultural explanation theory is currently the most persuasive theory in the group. Finally, I will also explore some reasons as to why citizens do vote as well.
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 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.
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.
The United States is in the midst of a major debate over immigrants and their place in our economic and political life. As during other times in our history, immigrants, are being blamed for causing or contributing to the social, economic and political ills of our society. Politicians from both major parties, at both the national and state levels, are promoting a range of punitive legislative proposals that single out immigrants for adverse treatment by the government. Many violate basic civil liberties principles.
IDs as a valid form of identification, nor can out of state students vote without a valid
The root of Felon Disenfranchisement can be traced back to Greek and Roman laws. Where any person convicted of an infamous crime would lose his or her right to participate in polis. In Rome they would lose their right to participate in suffrage and to serve in the Roman legions. With the founding of the United States of America, the US Constitution gave the right to establish voting laws to the states. From 1776 - 1821 eleven states included felony disenfranchisement in their laws (Voter Registration Protection Act). By 1868 when the fourteenth Amendment was enacted eighteen states had adopted disenfranchisement laws. After the Civil War felony Disenfranchisement laws were used along with poll taxes and literary test to exclude African Americans from voting. The right to vote is considered to be one of the fundamental rights of citizenship in the United States. This right is more than just the right to mark a piece of paper and drop it in a box or the right to pull a lever in a voting booth. The right to vote includes the right to have a ballot counted for as a legal voting citizen. Although this right is considered fundamental, restrictions have been placed on this right. The main restriction is placed on persons convicted of a felony conviction all felonies not just infamous ones. Today on Election Day, as Americans wait in line to cast their vote over 4.65 million people are denied this most fundamental democratic right because of a past or present felony conviction.
...in the politically process could be a reality. Once a person's vote is stolen their voice is lost and the votes could be sold for a profit. The challenge to the validity of our future elections could destroy the confidence in our electoral process.