The GOP governors of GOP-controlled states have marched lock-step to the fake problem of voter fraud and have instituted procedures and new legislation that make it more difficult for certain groups to vote.
If states want to require voter IDs, they should make it easy to obtain the IDS and not make getting one a burden on the voting public. But states like North Carolina haven't stopped at voter IDs, they've cut back on early voting and voter registration drives .
Why is that?
How does limiting the number of days for voting and for voter registration discourage fraud? Of course it doesn't.
But the reasons states like North Carolina, Virginia, and Texas are limiting voting times and making it more difficult to register are evident, and they are ugly.
How much voter fraud is there? Almost none.
UFO Sightings Are More Common Than Voter Fraud
The GOP says election fraud is rampant. A close look at the numbers shows there's no evidence of that.
MYTH OF VOTER FRAUD
It’s important to protect the integrity of our elections. But we must be careful not to undermine free and fair access to the ballot in the name of preventing voter fraud.
The Brennan Center’s ongoing examination of voter fraud claims reveal that voter fraud is very rare, voter impersonation is nearly non-existent and much of the problems associated with alleged fraud in elections relates to unintentional mistakes by voters or election administrators. Our report "The Truth About Voter Fraud" reveals most allegations of fraud turn out to be baseless — and that of the few allegations remaining, most reveal election irregularities and other forms of election misconduct.
Voter fraud should not be countenanced in our elections but we must find a balance and not impose solutions that make it harder for millions of eligible Americans to participate in our democracy.
North Carolina:
"...the North Carolina legislature passed the country’s worst voter suppression law after only three days of debate. Rick Hasen of Election Law Blog called it “the most sweeping anti-voter law in at least decades” The bill mandates strict voter ID to cast a ballot (no student IDs, no public employee IDs, etc.), even though 318,000 registered voters lack the narrow forms of acceptable ID according to the state’s own numbers and there have been no recorded prosecutions of voter impersonation in the past decade.
The bill cuts the number of early voting days by a week, even though 56 percent of North Carolinians voted early in 2012. The bill eliminates same-day voter registration during the early voting period, even though 96,000 people used it during the general election in 2012 and states that have adopted the convenient reform have the highest voter turnout in the country. African-Americans are 23 percent of registered voters in the state, but made up 28 percent of early voters in 2012, 33 percent of those who used same-day registration and 34 percent of those without state-issued ID."
Harsh Texas Voter ID Law 'Immediately' Takes Effect After Voting Rights Act Ruling
WASHINGTON -- Texas will "immediately" enact a voter ID law that a panel of federal judges ruled last year would impose “strict, unforgiving burdens on the poor," a top state official said Tuesday. The decision to go forward with a measure that those federal judges called “the most stringent in the country"
General Colin Powell:
"The concern I have now is that many states are putting in place procedures and new legislation that in some ways makes it a little harder to vote. You need a photo ID, but you didn’t need a photo ID for decades before so is it really necessary now? They claim that there’s wide spread abuse and voter fraud, but nothing documents, nothing substantiates that.
There isn’t widespread abuse, and so these kinds of procedures that are being put in place to slow the process down, make it likely that fewer Hispanics and African Americans might vote. I think they’re going to backfire, because these people are going to come out do what they have to do in order to vote and I encourage that."
Colin Powell: There is no fraud.
"Former Republican Secretary of State Colin Powell criticized North Carolina's voter ID law Thursday and claimed voter fraud did not exist in a speech attended by NC Governor Pat McCrory.
'You can say what you like, but there is no voter fraud,' Powell said, according to the News & Observer. 'How can it be widespread and undetected?' According to the publication, Powell was the keynote speaker at the CEO Forum in Raleigh, North Carolina and made his remarks moments after Gov. Pat McCrory left the stage.
McCrory was in the audience for a portion of Powell’s speech.
'It immediately turns off a voting block the Republican Party needs,' Powell said. 'These kinds of actions do not build on the base. It just turns people away.' "
