Opponents of voter IDs thrive on fear

As is routine in life, many of our most bitter arguments are about something other than what we're arguing about. So it is with voter ID.

Black Democrats simply cannot be arguing on merit against a system that asks voters to positively establish their identity at the polling place. And they aren't. They're arguing for the right to be aggressors today — as they were in ruthlessly conspiring with white Democrats to rid the Legislature of Republicans — and victims tomorrow, entitled to safe seats under U.S. Justice Department protection.

Retaining that power over Republicans and white Democrats requires extending the punitive and discriminatory pre-clearance provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. That provision was expected to last no more than five years. It has now extended to 40 — and activists are pressing Congress to extend it another 25 when some provisions are due to expire a year from now.

Extending it 25 years would continue to feed the microphone-grabbers who gain financially and politically by stoking the fears of the ignorant and insecure that elements of another race wish to do them harm. We have, unfortunately in this country, created an industry that prospers by selling racial pessimism, by convincing those on the economic and intellectual margins that their condition can never improve.

Atlanta attorney Harry W. MacDougald, a Republican member of the Fulton County Board of Registrations and Elections, testified during the legislative debate. "Our experience in Fulton County is typical of the problem and illustrates why a photo ID requirement is a good idea," he said. "We received 2,456 voter registration applications that appear to be entirely fraudulent."

Those were discovered because the board sent letters to 8,112 applicants whose registration forms had missing information. Of those, the board got only 55 responses. "That is a response rate of 0.678 percent," MacDougald said. "That is a non-response rate of 99.32 percent. Thus, almost all of them were bogus."

Between the primary and general election last year, Fulton got 45,907 new registrations. When precinct cards were mailed to addresses just provided, 3,071 were returned as undeliverable. Of those, 921 people actually voted in November.

Another Republican member, Atlanta attorney J. Randolph Evans, argued that because Georgia's electronic voting system provides no audit trail, the implications of voter fraud are even more serious. "Once the 'cast ballot' button is touched, the ballot is transmitted into a collective pool without a trace."

One safety valve legislators approved for elderly voters and others who may not have photo IDs is no-excuse absentee voting. That is in addition to agreeing to provide free state-issued photo IDs to those who say they can't afford to pay.

That no-excuse absentee voting option has, not surprisingly, given ammunition to critics who say Georgia's worst history of voter fraud is in absentee voting, not fraudulent registration.

"For those willing to commit fraud, there is a paper trail with absentee ballots which does not exist with electronic voting," argued Evans. "In addition to the request for the absentee ballot, as well as the other records maintained, the ballot itself serves as a paper record. If challenged, and found to be fraudulent, the ballot can itself be removed before being cast."

Because of that, "the absentee ballot is safer and more secure than a paperless electronic voting system where there is no effective remedy once a vote has been cast."

Fully 80 percent of Georgians are satisfied with a photo ID voting requirement — and, in truth, getting state-issued photo IDs for those who don't already have them is nothing more than a civic club or voter-registration group project. As of February, 6,675,100 voting-age Georgians had either a driver's license or a state-issued photo ID. That's 2,260,437 more than were on the state's voter registration rolls.

Whatever the numbers, some undoubtedly will be required to get photo IDs, unless they choose to continue voting absentee. It's not a major problem.

The tactics in this campaign against photo IDs are a bit like arguing that people are starving, but instead of providing food, the concerned citizenry marches to protest hunger.

— Jim Wooten is the associate editorial page editor. His column appears Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

We need to use fingerpring ids. You know , biometrics. I think this could apply to absentee ballots also but it would not be as secure. A finger print applied to a form within the ballot envelope to be returned with the ballot.

For regular ballots all people showing up at the polls would have to be identified with their thumb print or any other finger of their choice.

The finger of choice would have been established well before the election and could be changed between elections.

This might not eliminate voter fraud but it would cut it down. Also, we need all electronic ballots and only machine counting, no hand counting allowed. This would cut down on the "finding" of ballot boxes during the count, which, as we all know, is an old democrat trick still being used effectively by them today.

This is racist!! It is designed to prevent certain citizens of a specific race from making a couple of extra bucks on election day! Why, if they did this in Philadelphia, the voting rate would go from more than 100%, way done to about 45% AND would certainly force the election of Republicans. In Florida, it would limit the number of Haitian, Jamaicans and Cubans who would make some extra cash and in Houston, unfairly impact the Nigerians who might not be able to earn extra cash by voting multiple times. No wonder the dems oppose this!

Milwaukee Rated Country’s #2 “Hot Spot” for Voter Fraud

Despite further Documentation of Fraud, Doyle Still Refuses Photo ID Measure

(Madison, WI)…One of the most comprehensive reviews on allegations of voter fraud, intimidation and suppression surrounding the 2004 presidential election has named Milwaukee the number two hot spot in America for Election Day fraud. The American Center for Voting Rights Legislative Fund report, “Vote Fraud, Intimidation & Suppression in the 2004 Presidential Election,” exposes voter suppression and intimidation, identifies fraudulent voter behavior and calls for efforts to reform Milwaukee’s election system.

“From the US DOJ to the ACVR, Washington gets it. Wisconsin is a magnet for voter fraud. Now when will our governor get it? As this report shows, we have a disturbing pattern of voter fraud in our state, but Governor Doyle continues to blame the problems on bureaucratic errors,” said Rick Graber, chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin. “Without much-needed, common sense reforms like photo ID, our election system will continue to be a source of embarrassment for our state and a mockery of democracy.”

Among the factors that propelled Milwaukee to the number two spot is a joint federal-local investigation that found “clear evidence of fraud” such as hundreds of felon and double voters and thousands more ballots cast than the number of recorded voters. Nine people have been charged with voter fraud in the 2004 elections, while more charges are expected as part of the ongoing investigation. The only other city to rank higher than Milwaukee on the “Hot Spot” list is Philadelphia.

While the evidence, analysis and investigations continue to make the case for a photo ID requirement at the polls, Governor Doyle has insisted that it is not necessary and has vetoed such a measure twice. This month, a photo ID bill that received bi-partisan support and has the backing of a majority of voters statewide will be sent to his desk again. Doyle has said he would veto it.

“Doyle’s refusal to enact photo ID sends the signal that he’s not serious about ensuring that our election system is as accurate as possible,” said Graber. “That works to the disadvantage all voters, regardless of what party they choose to support.”

According to the report, Democrats routinely accuse Republicans of voter intimidation and voter suppression but paid Democratic operatives were more involved in such tactics than Republicans

in the 2004 elections.

“Governor Doyle needs to prevent voter disenfranchisement and restore the faith of every voter in Wisconsin,” said Graber. “In order to regain the confidence in our electoral process, he should join Democrats in the legislature who agree photo ID is a reform that will improve the system.”

For more on the report, please visit www.ac4vr.com.

Where did I say that we should fingerpring people for every transaction we do? I was talking about a way to make voter fraud as difficult as possible. Fingerprints are no different than requiring picture ID except they are much more secure. We need to come up with laws that make voter fraud as difficult as possible, this would be one way of doing it. There are other ways.

You sound like a liberal, critisizing but not coming up with a plan of your own, next time you find fault with someones post try to give an alternate plan, it makes for a better debate than simply critisizing the other person's remarks.

I have an alternate plan, all right.

I would rather see us summarily execute every single meth user, illegal alien, and ID counterfeiter, than to have the rest of us, who are innocent, tagged and registered like cattle with this infernal, pernicious system of "Biometric ID".

THEY are the ones who are committing the crimes which are causing the sheep to run bleating for these tyrannical, Socialistic measures - THEY are the ones who should suffer, not us.

(No, I'm not willing to suffer even "A Little Inconvenience", to "Combat [fill-in-the-bugaboo-of-the-day]" "For The Children" or whatever it is the talk-show pundits are babbling this week - Let the CRIMINALS suffer.)

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