Apparently the GOPers don't feel it's necessary to deceive the public on the non-issue of voter fraud. Their pols are so confident of disenfranchising traditional Democratic voters that they are now pubicly voicing the real motives behind their Voter ID legislation.
At a recent Republican state committee meeting...
"House Majority Leader Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny) suggested that the House’s end game in passing the Voter ID law was to benefit the GOP politically.
'We are focused on making sure that we meet our obligations that we’ve talked about for years,' said Turzai in a speech to committee members Saturday. He mentioned the law among a laundry list of accomplishments made by the GOP-run legislature.
'Pro-Second Amendment? The Castle Doctrine, it’s done. First pro-life legislation – abortion facility regulations – in 22 years, done. Voter ID, which is gonna allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania, done.'
The statement drew a loud round of applause from the audience. It also struck a nerve among critics, who called it an admission that they passed the bill to make it harder for Democrats to vote — and not to prevent voter fraud as the legislators claimed.
'Instead of working to create jobs and get our economy back on track, Mike Turzai and the Republicans in Harrisburg have been laser focused on a partisan agenda that simply helps their donors and political allies,' said PA Dems spokesman Mark Nicastre.
'Mike Turzai’s admission that Voter ID only serves the partisan interests of his party should be shocking, but unfortunately it isn’t. Democrats are focused on protecting Pennsylvanians’ rights to vote, and we are working hard to ensure that everyone who is eligible to vote can vote this fall.'
Turzai spokesman Stephen Miskin said voter fraud is a real problem.
'Do you remember Joe Cheeseboro?' he asked, reiterating that election fraud has occurred in PA and across the nation.
'Rep. Turzai was speaking at a partisan, political event. He was simply referencing, for the first time in a long while, the Republican Presidential candidate will be on a more even keel thanks to Voter ID…Anyone looking further into it has their own agenda.'
Sen. Daylin Leach (D-Montco), one of the loudest critics of Voter ID, disagreed. He said that in order to justify the scope of the Voter ID law, and the hundreds of thousands of people who will be prevented from voting under its provisions, would require hundreds of Joe Cheeseboro cases.
'This is making clear to everyone what Voter ID was all about. This is about one thing: disenfranchising Democratic voters and rigging elections for Republicans,' Leach said. 'When they get behind closed doors, they admit it. And that’s exactly what Turzai did.' ”
We can thank Turzai for exposing to the country the real reasons behind voter ID laws:
Policy Brief on the Truth About “Voter Fraud”
Analysis
[PDF]Summary
* Fraud by individual voters is both irrational and extremely rare.
* Many vivid anecdotes of purported voter fraud have been proven false or do not demonstrate fraud.
* Voter fraud is often conflated with other forms of election misconduct.
* Raising the unsubstantiated specter of mass voter fraud suits a particular policy agenda.
* Claims of voter fraud should be carefully tested before they become the basis for action.
Fraud by individual voters is both irrational and extremely rare. Most citizens who take the time to vote offer their legitimate signatures and sworn oaths with the gravitas that this hard-won civic right deserves. Even for the few who view voting merely as a means to an end, however, voter fraud is a singularly foolish way to attempt to win an election. Each act of voter fraud risks five years in prison and a $10,000 fine - but yields at most one incremental vote. The single vote is simply not worth the price.
Because voter fraud is essentially irrational, it is not surprising that no credible evidence suggests a voter fraud epidemic. There is no documented wave or trend of individuals voting multiple times, voting as someone else, or voting despite knowing that they are ineligible. Indeed, evidence from the microscopically scrutinized 2004 gubernatorial election in Washington State actually reveals just the opposite: though voter fraud does happen, it happens approximately 0.0009% of the time. The similarly closely-analyzed 2004 election in Ohio revealed a voter fraud rate of 0.00004%. National Weather Service data shows that Americans are struck and killed by lightning about as often.
SOURCE
22 comments:
Here's the solution for the democrats: Start a voter documentation drive. Help those people get birth certificates and ID cards. Problem solved.
"There is no documented wave or trend of individuals voting multiple times, voting as someone else, or voting despite knowing that they are ineligible."
IOW, there's no reason for voter ID laws, except if the GOP wants to throw a number of traditional Democratic voters off the voting rolls because the poor, the elderly, and the disadvantaged cannot easily get IDs. Start a rumor that there is voter fraud, then make it difficult to get IDs. Yeh, that's the ticket, and a great way to manipulate the vote.
There is no need to start a voter documentation drive. There is no significant voter fraud.
Republican answers to non-problems - build a bigger government to fix these non-problems.
We will have to hire an FDR type government workforce to ensure all voters have an ID card and birth certificate, immigrants can be identified (Green cards, visas, work checks, etc) not to mention the army of workers to build a 2,000 mile fence.
Soon they will be saying we need a new Department of Immigration to handle all the work, even though illegal immigration is at an all time low due to the poor economy in America, caused by the Republicans.
We did not need a Department of Homeland Security (or its policies that limit individual freedoms) to defend America.
The Republicans proposed bigger government to needlessly track us all (papers please) against problems that are not problems, will cost us more than any Democratic programs started in the last 50 years.
If the republicans were serious about the importance of their voter ID laws in eliminating voter fraud, they would be the ones to start a voter ID drive and help people get birth certificates and photo IDs, not the Democrats.
Once again Silver, a conservative chose not to respond to, or deal with the issue on the table. A GOP desire to deter voting, expressed throughout the post.
Now, I agree that there are some potential holes in our system and we should fix them.
Senior citizens seem to be one group of concern. So let's exempt anyone over 60 from these new laws if they have been on the voter roles for at least three election cycles. That take care of one of the biggest potential pools of disenfranchisement.
Next, allow student, once registered, to use their student ID to prove who they are.
These simple grandfather clauses should satisfy the GOP if they are interested in security of the vote rather than depressing Dem turnout.
"A GOP desire to deter voting"
That is an unsubstantiated assertion.
I cut to the heart of the matter. If there is a US citizen without ID, let's help them get it.
"A GOP desire to deter voting"
"That is an unsubstantiated assertion."
The GOP is the political party that made this into an issue. And it's pretty clear what the motives are. Explain why it is the GOP governors who are pushing for voter ID?
As noted in the post, in his comments to a GOP committee meeting Turzai let slip the real reason for Republican-sponsored Voter ID laws; his exact quote:
“Pro-Second Amendment? The Castle Doctrine, it’s done. First pro-life legislation – abortion facility regulations – in 22 years, done. Voter ID, which is gonna allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania, done.”
Turzai’s statements have gotten him headlines across the country, because Republicans normally try to maintain the fiction that Voter ID laws are needed to prevent voter fraud (which is almost nonexistent in reality), and deny the true political reason — to tilt elections to Republicans, because those most affected by Voter ID laws (in particular, minorities and the poor) are more likely to vote Democratic.
JC got it right. If the GOP was so concerned about voter fraud why didn't THEY register everyone with photo IDs? Why should the dems do it as SF suggests?
This is a disgusting and criminl, IMO, manipulation on the GOP's part to undermine the very foundation of our democracy.
The conservative media have done a crap job on exposing the GOP scoundrels who are pushing for this unAmerican exclusionary plot.
Pat Cunningham offers his assessment of this shameful business:
"Eugene Robinson offers a HANDY SUMMARY of efforts by Republicans to mount “the most concerted campaign to prevent or discourage citizens from exercising their legitimate voting rights since the Jim Crow days of poll taxes and literacy tests.”
He even addresses a question I’m asked by certain Applesauce readers every time I raise this subject:
In theory, what could be wrong with demanding proof of identity? In the real world, plenty.
As Republican strategists are fully aware, minorities are overrepresented among the estimated 11 percent of citizens who do not have a government-issued photo ID. They are also painfully aware that, in 2008, President Obama won 95 percent of the African American vote and 67 percent of the Hispanic vote. It doesn’t take a genius to do the math: If you can reduce the number of black and Latino voters, you improve the Republican candidate’s chances.
If photo ID laws were going to be the solution, though, Republicans had to invent a problem. The best they could come up with was The Menace of Widespread Voter Fraud.
It’s a stretch. Actually, it’s a lie. There is no Widespread Voter Fraud. All available evidence indicates that fraudulent voting of the kind that photo ID laws would presumably prevent — someone shows up at the polls and votes in someone else’s name — just doesn’t happen.
Why should Democrats or anyone start registering voters when there is no voter ID problem?
It's at least helpful to see the GOP admit this has nothing to do with voter fraud and everything to do with voter suppression.
"Explain why it is the GOP governors who are pushing for voter ID?"
To minimize the opportunity to voter fraud and other "irregularities," especially in light of Holders inJustice Department blocking states from purging dead people and non-citizens from voter rolls.
And it's a neat rhetorical trick saying there is no "epidemic." There doesn't have to be. In a razor thin result, only a few votes will do, and one instance of fraud disenfranchizes a citizen.
As JC said.....
So why don't Republicans introduce a bill to pay for the expense (bureaucracy) of issuing Americans a voter ID card and birth certificate?
Facts show voter fraud is .0028% throughout America. That does not show a voter fraud problem.
Facts show, that those with out an ID card, are the young, the old, and the impoverished. Yes, typically (facts show) Democratic voting blocks.
So the facts show no voter fraud problem, yet, Republicans want to fix a no problem, by suppressing the Democratic vote.
It is interesting to note that no one that I can remember was so concerned about the possibility of voter fraud while the GOP held the White House.
Did this menace of voter fraud commence as soon as PBO took office?
Or was this going on during the Bush years, but the GOP didn't feel the need--while they were in control of Congress for 6 years-- to do anything about it?
Why is it that the democrats are so against enforcing the law. It is the law that you must be a US citizen to vote and all they are doing is purging the voter list of people who are not eligible to vote.
Holder does not want to turn over information to Congress and the democrats don't want to legitimize the voter rolls, why is that? Do you feel voter fraudulent voters are only democrats? Maybe there are some republicans involved as well.
Republicans are deeply involved in fraud...only it is not voter fraud, it is election fraud.
I get the sense the parties have found another wedge issue. And the funny thing is Jerry that either way it shakes the groundwork is layed so if the election is razor thin in November the losing party will be able to say... See we told you.
Jerry: Just when you start making sense, you pop up with stuff like that.
Election fraud?
@ Les: And the funny thing is Jerry that either way it shakes the groundwork is layed so if the election is razor thin in November the losing party will be able to say... See we told you.
Bingo! You nailed it, Les!
Strict voter ID laws coupled with routine purges of the voter rolls, making everyone reregister every two years, along with ditching the computerized voting and some other controls on how balloting is done would restore credibility to the system.
Our trust in government at all levels is gone.
Make every vote count, isn't that the way the system should work. If you have someone vote who is not eligible that is taking away from the legitimate voter.
Making sure only eligible voters are the only ones to vote "Its the right thing to do" unless you are from Chicago than you get to vote early vote often.
Still trying to figure out why the leftists are so against enforcing laws, voter, illegals, gun running, etc.
SF,
I agree with you on "ditching the computerized voting". I'm for paper ballots only.
A third from this corner for paper ballots.
Jerry said: "Republicans are deeply involved in fraud...only it is not voter fraud, it is election fraud."
Sorry, I don't hold it to be fraudulent to win elections that your opponents didn't want you to win.
But I am agreeing with you and RN on the paper ballots.
"I don't hold it to be fraudulent to win elections that your opponents didn't want you to win."
Neither do I. Where did I say otherwise, dmarks?
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