Eric Holder says Texas ID law would harm minorities

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

http://news.yahoo.com/ag-says-texas-id-law-harm-minorities-155909283.html

By PETE YOST | Associated Press – 1 hr 27 mins ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday he opposes a new photo ID requirement in Texas elections because it would be harmful to minority voters.

In remarks to the NAACP in Houston, the attorney general said the Justice Department "will not allow political pretexts to disenfranchise American citizens of their most precious right."

Under the law passed in Texas, Holder said that "many of those without IDs would have to travel great distances to get them — and some would struggle to pay for the documents they might need to obtain them."

Holder made the comments amid a trial in federal court in Washington over the 2011 law passed by Texas' GOP-dominated Legislature that requires voters to show photo identification when they get to the polls.

"I don't know what will happen as this case moves forward, but I can assure you that the Justice Department's efforts to uphold and enforce voting rights will remain aggressive," the attorney general said.

He said the arc of American history has always moved toward expanding the electorate and that "we will simply not allow this era to be the beginning of the reversal of that historic progress."

The attorney general spoke at the 103rd convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which is launching a battle against new state voter ID laws. NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous has likened the fight against conservative-backed voter ID laws passed in several states to "Selma and Montgomery times," referring to historic Alabama civil rights confrontations of the mid-1960s.

[Ban Hammer 13,724]

we have to show photo id here in kansas to vote. when's holder coming to town to fix that?

[Obama 2012 1,714]

#1 - 99% of people have IDs already

#2 - You register to vote when you get an ID

#3 - You have to have an ID for everything else in your life: buying a house, a car, a bank account, to buy cigs, liquor, etc...

So if someone doesn't have an ID they are living off the grid and wouldn't be registered to vote to begin with.

[X Factor 1,112]

#1 - 99% of people have IDs already

#2 - You register to vote when you get an ID

#3 - You have to have an ID for everything else in your life: buying a house, a car, a bank account, to buy cigs, liquor, etc...

So if someone doesn't have an ID they are living off the grid and wouldn't be registered to vote to begin with.

So I suppose none of those minorities have ever had to cashed a check. No ID - no cash

[Obama 2012 1,714]

So I suppose none of those minorities have ever had to cashed a check. No ID - no cash

Well, in all fairness welfare checks are direct deposited these days.

The last time I checked though DHS usually requires atleast a state ID as well to get 'services.'

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

I don't see a problem with ID laws per say. To be fair I'm not up to speed on this issue, but I assume it kills the mail in ballot? What happens to people who are temp. out of state at college, or those who can't leave their homes?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I don't see a problem with ID laws per say. To be fair I'm not up to speed on this issue, but I assume it kills the mail in ballot? What happens to people who are temp. out of state at college, or those who can't leave their homes?

Your assumption would be wrong. As is the assumption that these voter ID laws target voter fraud. You see, absentee voting - the easiest way by far to commit voter fraud - remains very much intact. Obviously, there's no ID requirement to vote by mail-in ballot.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

Your assumption would be wrong. As is the assumption that these voter ID laws target voter fraud. You see, absentee voting - the easiest way by far to commit voter fraud - remains very much intact. Obviously, there's no ID requirement to vote by mail-in ballot.

Absentee votes are another one that needs to go. No mail in ballots. You either show up to vote or forget it.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Your assumption would be wrong. As is the assumption that these voter ID laws target voter fraud. You see, absentee voting - the easiest way by far to commit voter fraud - remains very much intact. Obviously, there's no ID requirement to vote by mail-in ballot.

In that case it seems somewhat illogical to target one element of voting only, and yet absentee ballots are an important part of voting.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Absentee votes are another one that needs to go. No mail in ballots. You either show up to vote or forget it.

Thats how much of the military votes when deployed. In fact I think some states are allowing them to vote by email instead of mail.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

Thats how much of the military votes when deployed. In fact I think some states are allowing them to vote by email instead of mail.

I would think they could have a voting office at each base where ID's must be presented and the ballots sent in by an appointed person.

[Póg mo 1,749]

I am not sure voter fraud is as big a problem as some people try to make out. More of a way to cut as many people from the register as possible. I guess it's only a happy coincidence that most of the people being cut are more likely to vote democrat, than vote republican.

Anybody know of any substantive studies proving me wrong?

Voter ID Laws Study: Voter Fraud Even Rarer Than The Odds of Winning Mega Millions

Edited July 10, 2012 by InKorea

[Teddy B 17,252]

So I suppose none of those minorities have ever had to cashed a check. No ID - no cash

If they don't have an id, they're probably working under the table, if at all, and they deal only in cash. There are also stores in most neighborhoods that will cash checks without an id for a fee, usually 10% or so. Like someone already said, if they don't have an id, they have probably never attempted to vote anyway.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Absentee votes are another one that needs to go. No mail in ballots. You either show up to vote or forget it.

Absentee votes favor Republicans which is why we're not worried about this method of voting which happens to be most inviting for voter fraud when claiming to fight, well, voter fraud. It's like closing the window while leaving the front door wide open. Republicanism for you.

[rocks 494]

#1 - 99% of people have IDs already

#2 - You register to vote when you get an ID

#3 - You have to have an ID for everything else in your life: buying a house, a car, a bank account, to buy cigs, liquor, etc...

So if someone doesn't have an ID they are living off the grid and wouldn't be registered to vote to begin with.

99% of people don't have an ID. Lots of people don't own a car or have a bank account. I know that's hard to grasp in your world of everything being perfect.

In this state you need a certified copy of a birth certificate to get an ID. To get a birth certificate you must send a copy of your ID.