Posted on 07/02/2002 12:42:57 PM PDT by Lee_Atwater
In the most blatant attempt to disenfranchise voters since the "Jim Crow" laws of the old South, the Republican Majority in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives rammed through a late-night measure sponsored by state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, R-Butler, by a vote of 100-99 that could prevent thousands of registered Pennsylvanians from voting in the fall election.
If this measure is enacted, Pennsylvania would join South Carolina as having the most restrictive voter identification requirement of any state in the nation.
The amendment requires voters to present either their voter registration cards or "valid" photo identification prior to voting at the polls. Examples of valid photo identification cards include driver's licenses, student identification cards, employee identification cards, U.S. passports and armed forces identification.
This vote, above all, points to the Republican Party's desperate attempt to hold onto power in the face of losing control of the governor's mansion and the state House this coming November. Statewide polls show that Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ed Rendell has a commanding double-digit lead. Even the White House has recognized that there is a good chance that Democrats will take control this November.
More important than the politics of this issue is the flagrant disregard the Republican majority showed for one of our most fundamental rights as citizens of the United States and Pennsylvania -- the right to vote. Until the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1964, many Southern states had "Jim Crow" laws on the books which required literacy tests and other methods to suppress the rights of blacks and poor whites to vote.
By requiring a photo identification card such as a driver's license or employee card, many Pennsylvanians such as lower-income people and senior citizens who don't drive would be denied the right to vote. Moreover, many people who simply forget their registration cards or photo identifications will be deprived the opportunity to vote.
Most voters don't even carry their voter registration cards with them or have thrown them away. In fact, the back of your voter registration cards clearly state that they relate only to date of issue not proof of right to vote. In other words, they specifically say you don't need them to vote.
The 2000 presidential elections provided an unfortunate situation where outdated and unreliable voter equipment disenfranchised thousands of voters and altered the course of the election. This should have been a lesson to all of us. Yet, the House Republicans compounded these mechanical obstacles to voting by erecting an institutional roadblock. In an era when less than half of eligible voters go to the polls, this is an arrogant slap in the face to democracy and the citizens of Pennsylvania.
Shouldn't this be required in all 50 states?
I mean those mean Republicans, they want people to have valid identification? How could they?!
As each day passes, and the election draws closer, I continue to question the wisdom behind Fisher’s Super-Secret-Double-Stealth Campaign.
I’d like to know what kind of lead Rendell would have if the pollsters simply asked “What candidate do you plan on voting for in the fall elections” and only counted those who gave an actual candidate’s name. I’d have to assume that it would be close to 30% when all the “Not Rendell” or “Whoever the Republican guy is” responses were filtered out.
Come on Fisher! Emerge from the bunker! If you continue to rely on a campaign based on self concealment, things look dark in November for Pennsylvania Republicans.
Owl_Eagle
”Guns Before Butter.”
Yeah, and many people who simply lose their car keys will be denied the opportunity to drive. Sounds like a logistics issue that can be handled on the individual level.
Oh, that's right--one of the requisites for being a liberal in the first place is to have no confidence in the ability of individuals to run their own lives.
Republicans should call their bluff, by adding a provision to buy photo IDs for citizens who can't afford one.
Moreover, many people who simply forget their registration cards or photo identifications will be deprived the opportunity to vote.
Sheesh! Make a point of not forgetting it, stupid.
What a pack of liars.
Incredible reasoning...boggles the mind!
Hummpphh! Well all I can say is that things have come to a pretty pass when you have to show a photo ID of yourself when you want to vote! I mean, it was shocking enough when the "Jim Crow" laws made the people who wanted to vote actually prove they could read and write. And now this! (sarcasm)
Let me see if I understand this. Requiring proof of voter eligiblity is now the same thing as Jim Crow laws. What planet are these people from? The scary part is that people may actually believe this tripe.
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