This is a true account from a friend of a friend in North Carolina:
What's on my mind: today, my mother-in-law showed up at the NC DMV to get a photo ID card. She had a Social Security card. She had her birth certificate. She had her NH drivers license. All documents cited as needed as proof of identification. According to the state board of elections, only two of these documents are needed.
Her son, my husband, drove her; she no longer drives. Drove her, so she can get her photo ID, so she can VOTE. (Here they are, holding her voter registration application.)
She was DENIED.
DENIED on the grounds that she did not have a MARRIAGE LICENSE showing proof of her change of middle name.
She didn't have "PROOF" that she changed her MIDDLE NAME when she got MARRIED. ARE. YOU. KIDDING. ME.
NC brothers and sisters: GET BUSY GETTING READY TO VOTE. Do NOT put it off. BECAUSE: our state may not make it easy for you to exercise one of your most fundamental civil rights.
If you're not sure about your registration status, get sure. If you don't have a current photo id, get one. If you know somebody who may not be ready, like your sweet old mother in law, or a neighbor: ask them. Help them. I'll keep you posted about how my complaint to the state goes.
And there you have it nation. The TeaPublicans of North Carolina stopping sweet little ole ladies from voting because she didn't have proof of changing HER MIDDLE NAME WHEN SHE GOT MARRIED. This is how the Jim Crow laws stopped African-Americans from voting by a thousand little cuts : By requiring that they own property, by using literacy tests or testing if they could count or anything else the weasels could come up with to deny Americans from voting.
And in the 21st century they're still at it.
This is your modern TeaPublican Party, trying to keep honest Americans from voting because they may vote for the Democratic Party.
This elderly woman was denied because she didn't have proof that she changed her middle name.
2 comments:
Protecting against voter fraud one 92 year old lady at time. I guess they believe that the fewer people that are allowed to vote, the less voter fraud we will have.
The GOP frames every argument in code:
"Voter fraud" = a stealth assault against the political assets of the opposing party.
"We want our country back" = a refusal to recognize a legitimate election outcome.
"Religious Freedom" = the right to practice bigotry and oppression in the name of God.
"Entitlements" = puts a negative connotation on the concept of 'earned benefits' vis-a-vis the social safety net.
"Tax Relief" = shifts the burdensome cost of paying for civilization from the 1% to the 99%.
"Jobs, Jobs, Jobs" = a bait and switch tactic that results in no new jobs legislation but lots of new restrictions on abortion rights.
Any others?
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