"Less than 18 months before the next presidential election, Republican-controlled statehouses around the country are rewriting voting laws to require photo identification at the polls, reduce the number of days of early voting or tighten registration rules.
"Republican legislators say the new rules, which have advanced in 13 states in the past two months, offer a practical way to weed out fraudulent votes and preserve the integrity of the ballot box. Democrats say the changes have little to do with fraud prevention and more to do with placing obstacles in the way of possible Democratic voters, including young people and minorities."
"The battleground states of Ohio and Pennsylvania are among those moving ahead on voter ID bills, part of a trend that seems likely to intensify the kind of pitched partisan jousting over voting that has cropped up in recent presidential races."
"Democrats, who point to scant evidence of voter-impersonation fraud, say the unified Republican push for photo identification cards carries echoes of the Jim Crow laws — with their poll taxes and literacy tests — that inhibited black voters in the South from Reconstruction through the 1960s. Election experts say minorities, poor people and students — who tend to skew Democratic — are among those least likely to have valid driver’s licenses, the most prevalent form of identification. Older people, another group less likely to have licenses, are swing voters."
“'Over the last 20 years, we have seen Florida grow quite rapidly, and we have such a mix of populations,” said State Representative Dennis K. Baxley, the Florida Republican who wrote the law to tighten third-party registration here. “When we fail to protect every ballot, we disenfranchise people who participate legitimately.'”
There are a couple of things to note in the text above. First, the NYT's use of the phrase "partisan jousting over voting," which comes across unbelievably casually. Because, you know, the power wielders in DC are just playing a little game with the single most important remnant of our democracy, as they will. No biggie? Reading the NYT makes me feel increasingly dirty these days.
And then, of course, that last sentence. Protect every ballot from what? Voter fraud? Never mind that the only significant case of that in recent history came about as a result of exactly this type of measure, and that there is absolutely no need for Democrats to fudge the numbers on this one, even if they were so inclined. I mean, look, I've voiced many concerns with Barack Obama the President on this space, but you should definitely vote for him if you vote next year. Democratic administrations tend to do much better in their second terms (when reelection isn't priority #1, and they start thinking about their "legacy" instead), and he's sure as hell better than any potential Republican candidate for office. But, while you should still vote, I wouldn't get too stressed out this time around. He's going to win.
As for the second part of the sentence, well, this is just classic Republican bullshit, echoing the official conservative line over every fight for minority rights in this country's history. That when they (the LGBT community, racial minorities, women, etc. etc.) can do what we (white, male, rich, undeniably enfranchised folk) can do, that makes us slightly less special little snowflakes, and I DON'T LIKE IT! (For further reading on this subject, see this absolutely disgusting piece by hack extraordinaire David Brooks)
Lest I bury the lede, I should close with this: Take a valid form of picture ID (drivers license, passport, or a standard ID you can get at the DMV) to the polls in 2012, and tell your family and friends to do the same.
