Comments | ontd_political: Study: New Voting Restrictions May Affect More than Five Million

amazingname in ontd_political

Study: New Voting Restrictions May Affect More than Five Million

Oct 03, 2011 14:52

NEW VOTING RESTRICTIONS MAY AFFECT MORE THAN FIVE MILLION;

2012 IMPACT COULD BE SIGNIFICANT, NEW STUDY SHOWS

New York - New voting laws could make it significantly harder for more than five million eligible voters to cast ballots in 2012, according to the first comprehensive study of the laws’ impact.
Widespread voting cutbacks could have a ( Read more... )

voting, lol wut, conservatives

Comments 17

anolinde October 3 2011, 22:51:56 UTC

I think you should definitely have to show some form of ID (not necessarily photo, in my state you can bring an electric bill or something)/proof of citizenship, but I'm at a loss as to how one would go about providing them to every. single. voter in a quick, inexpensive way. Maybe issuing a government ID upon birth in a U.S. hospital (which in and of itself would be proof of citizenship), free of charge, then having people send it in every five or ten years to have the picture updated? Not that babies need IDs, lol, but you know, I guess it could go with the social security card (which I think is issued upon birth? Idk).

Then again, there are tons of births that don't occur in a hospital, so... I have no idea. =/

mschaos October 3 2011, 23:05:02 UTC

and there are many many citizens who are not born here (my parents for one)

anolinde October 3 2011, 23:20:42 UTC

That, too! It's way more complicated than it seems at first. =/

aviv_b October 4 2011, 01:02:38 UTC

You pretty much do have to get your baby a ss# now. YOu need it to claim a child as your dependent on your tax return. Also some medical insurance companies require it, and if you want to open a bank account for your child in his/her name you need it as well.

Thread 8

ohloverx October 3 2011, 23:05:19 UTC

I didn't realize how hard it would be to get an ID until recently. I've moved in with my fiance and none of the bills are in my name, so I can't use them to prove current address to get my ID changed. Instead, I'm going to have to change my voter registration, then use THAT to change my ID. And then I'm getting married in March, so I'm going to have to go back and get it changed AGAIN once all that paperwork goes through (and then change my voter registration AGAIN). I'm scared as hell that it is going to take forever and I won't be able to cast my vote against writing a gay marriage ban into my state's constitution in May because I won't have all my info updated and changed to my new legal name and address. In the next six months, I'm going to have to get two new ID cards (three if I go ahead and change the address now instead of waiting until closer to time for it to expire). SMH.

Do these people making these laws NOT know how difficult obtaining an ID can be or...?

(The comment has been removed)

ohloverx October 3 2011, 23:12:02 UTC

Yeah, I know. And I know that people are framing this as how it really effects a lot of voting democrats, but I'd say that based on some of the stats from the linked report, it could hurt a lot of republicans, as well. It makes me wonder if the point is to keep more democrats from voting as some as said, of if it really is to keep poor people, minorities and women from voting regardless of affiliation. A country by the rich/corporations for the rich/corporations.

hllangel October 3 2011, 23:19:05 UTC

Pretty sure they know and are counting on that to discourage anyone who may be of liberal persuasions.

Thread 5

mdemvizi October 4 2011, 00:30:50 UTC

The ID is really odd to me. I know people who don't drive so don't really have an ID. They have a school one but I don't think that counts. I do agree that you should show some form of identification when registering though but I don't know what that could be.

I still need to register to vote. I turned 18 in November. I go to school in NY and live in MD but my parents are moving to FL very shortly. I think I might just register in NY for now.

sobota October 4 2011, 07:36:02 UTC

GA has an ID bill, but I think they provide voter registration ID cards for absolutely free, and they're not shutting down DMVs.

however, the fact that they're reducing early voting days is just obnoxious.

carmy_w October 4 2011, 15:56:25 UTC

For Kansas, a photo ID is the least of the items. Despite the fact that you must take your birth certificate to get a Kansas driver's license (your first one, for a Kansas resident, that is-one isn't needed if you have one from another state), you also need to bring it along to register to vote. If your name has changed, you also need to bring your marriage certificate.

I'm sincerely hoping that the ACLU will step in on this and fight the law. But I haven't heard a word about it....