[Vision2020] Voter ID rules: A solution in search of a problem

[Art Deco]

 The Post’s View
 Voter ID rules: A solution in search of a problem
 By Editorial Board,

FOR THE SECOND TIME in three months, the Obama administration has blocked a
state law<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/justice-department-bars-texas-voter-id-law/2012/03/12/gIQAUzgW7R_story.html>pushed
by Republicans that, using the pretext of a nearly nonexistent
problem of voting fraud, discriminates against minority voters by
establishing more stringent voter ID rules.

Memo to Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell: You might be next.

In December, the Justice Department moved against South
Carolina<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/justice-dept-rejects-south-carolina-voter-id-law-calling-it-discriminatory/2011/12/23/gIQAhLJAEP_story.html>,
saying its new law would suppress turnout among African American voters,
who are more likely than other voters to lack identification. On Monday,
the department blocked Texas from enforcing a similar measure requiring
voters to show photo IDs at the polls, which federal officials said would
disproportionately affect Hispanic voters.

Now Mr. McDonnell, his reputation for sensible governance already tarnished
by the recent debate over pre-abortion ultrasounds, has a decision to make.
Along purely partisan lines, his fellow Virginia Republicans have rammed
through a voter ID
law<http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/virginia-lawmakers-split-bitterly-over-voter-id/2012/02/02/gIQAxj2NnQ_story.html>only
slightly less obnoxious than the ones embraced by Texas and South
Carolina. Mr. McDonnell, who has so far remained noncommittal on the
measure, should veto it.

The Virginia legislation — a solution in search of a problem — is purely
political, designed to give Republicans an edge in a swing state ahead of
the fall elections by making voting more difficult for minorities, the
elderly and youths — groups that tend disproportionately to lack IDs and to
vote for Democrats. And Virginia Republicans barely pretend otherwise.

In a conversation with senior Virginia GOP lawmakers recently, we asked if
there was any evidence of a pattern of voting fraud in state elections that
would justify more stringent voter ID rules. One state senator said he had
“heard” of instances of fraud. We asked our question again: Was there a
pattern of fraud that would raise systemic doubts about the integrity of
Virginia elections? The senator said no. None of his fellow Republicans
contradicted him.

The legislation would reverse a decades-old practice in Virginia that
allows voters without identification to cast ballots if they sign a sworn
statement attesting to their identity, providing their name appears on the
registration rolls. Under the new legislation, those voters could cast only
a provisional ballot, which would not be counted unless the voter furnished
identification within six days.

Like South Carolina and Texas, Virginia is covered by the Voting Rights
Act, which requires the state to prove that any rewrite of voting laws
would not adversely affect minorities. True, the Virginia measure allows
more leeway than the Texas law, which was the most restrictive in the
nation. Virginia’s bill would expand permissible forms of identification to
include government checks, utility bills and college IDs, among other
documents. But can the state show the legislation has no discriminatory
effect?

Even if Republican lawmakers aren’t personally acquainted with people who
don’t carry ID, they exist. And provided they are legally registered to
vote, they should be allowed to cast their ballots — without encumbrances
manufactured by the state.


-- 
Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
art.deco.studios at gmail.com
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