Thursday, July 21, 2011

Voter fraud

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Four instances of fraud out of more than 9 million votes? It's no wonder Republicans are up in arms!

But, of course, Republicans are faith-based. That means they believe what they believe, regardless of the evidence. And when they can disenfranchise 178,000 Democratic voters - just in South Carolina alone - they're quite willing to make that sacrifice.

Well, minorities vote "wrong," huh? And so do students. And the poor. And,... well, all those people who tend to vote Democratic. If only it were just evangelical Christians and the rich who were allowed to vote...

Personally, I'm so disgusted with how few Americans vote - or even bother to register to vote - that I'm almost willing to congratulate those four people who voted fraudulently, just for being willing to do their civic duty.

2 comments:

Chimeradave said...

Obviously, I don't agree with anyone trying to make it harder for people to vote, but I can't help but wonder why almost 200,000 people in SC do not have photo ID.

Since he's lived in Manhattan his whole life, my brother's never really learned to drive, but he has a non-driver ID that's almost identical to a driver's license.

Is it a matter of cost? Getting the ID should be free. Is it that the DMV in SC takes all day and people can afford the time off? Then they should have weekend hours. Are there not enough DMVs? Open some more. The local government can say they are creating new jobs!

Bill Garthright said...

I don't know, John, but I suspect that some of them are the elderly who no longer drive. Others are probably city dwellers who don't need a car and/or can't afford one. And maybe some are naturalized Americans who simply didn't grow up in our car culture.

Let's face it, it's hard enough to get people to vote as it is. This is placing an extra hurdle on the poor, on urban dwellers, and on the elderly - and it's designed to affect Democratic-leaning voters the most.

It would be different if there were actually any evidence of widespread fraud, but there isn't. Not at all. The only reason for this is to try to disenfranchise some Democrats (especially minority Democrats).

We used to have poll taxes which were designed for the same purpose, to keep "undesirables" from voting. Well, we used to restrict voting to white male property-owners, too. But every adult American has the right to vote, whether we like the way they vote or not.

And I'm one who believes that voting is often the start of getting informed on the issues facing our country. I didn't pay nearly as much attention until I started voting regularly. Voting means you've actually got a stake in what happens in your country.