Thread: Voting laws pushed by GOP could affect millions

Voting laws pushed by GOP could affect millions
New York Times
by Michael Cooper
Monday, October 3, 2011

Since Republicans won control of many statehouses last November, more than a dozen states have passed laws requiring voters to show photo identification at polls, cutting back early voting periods or imposing new restrictions on voter registration drives.

With a presidential campaign swinging into high gear, the question being asked is how much of an impact all of these new laws will have on the 2012 race.

State officials, political parties, and voting experts have all said that the impact could be sizable. Now, a study being released today by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law has tried to tally just how many voters stand to be affected.

The center, which has studied the new laws and opposed some of them in court and other venues, analyzed 19 laws that passed and two executive orders that were issued in 14 states this year, and concluded that they "could make it significantly harder for more than 5 million eligible voters to cast ballots in 2012."

Republicans, who have passed almost all of the new election laws, say they are necessary to prevent voter fraud, and question why photo identification should be routinely required at airports but not at polling sites. Democrats counter that the new laws are a solution in search of a problem, since voter fraud is rare. They worry that the laws will discourage, or even block, eligible voters - especially poor voters, young voters and African American voters, who tend to vote for Democrats.

The Justice Department must review the new laws in several states to make sure that they do not run afoul of the Voting Rights Act.

"This year there's been a significant wave of new laws in states across the country that have the effect of cracking down on voting rights," said Michael Waldman, the executive director of the Brennan Center, who noted that 5 million votes would have made a difference in both the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. "It is the most significant rollback in voting rights in decades."

Just how much of an impact the new laws will have is a matter of some dispute. Republicans note that states like Georgia and Indiana moved to require photo identification from voters and that turnout there improved.

Five states passed laws this year scaling back programs allowing voters to cast their ballots before election day, the Brennan Center found. Ohio passed a law eliminating early voting on Sundays, and Florida eliminated it on the Sunday before election day - days when some African American churches organized "souls to the polls" drives for members of their congregations. Maine voted to stop allowing people to register to vote on election day - a practice that had been credited with enrolling 60,000 new voters in 2008. Voters in Maine and Ohio are now seeking to overturn the new laws with referendums.

The biggest impact, the Brennan Center said, will be from laws requiring people to show government-issued photo identification to vote. Before this year, only Indiana and Georgia had strict photo identification requirements for voters, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. This year, five more states - Wisconsin, Kansas, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas - passed laws to join their ranks.

The Brennan Center estimates that 11 percent of potential voters do not have state-issued photo identification. By that measure, it finds that the new laws would affect 3.2 million voters in the states where the change is scheduled to take effect before the 2012 elections.

This article appeared on page A - 7 of the San Francisco Chronicle

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... z1ZmQvo7IR

BC-VOTING-LAWS-(TRIMS)-NYT

svherald.com
The Associated Press
Mon, 10/03/2011 - 00:55

Since Republicans won control of many statehouses last November, more than a dozen states have passed laws requiring voters to show photo identification at polls, cutting back early voting periods or imposing new restrictions on voter registration drives.

With a presidential campaign swinging into high gear, the question being asked is how much of an impact all of these new laws will have on the 2012 race.

State officials, political parties, and voting experts have all said that the impact could be sizable. Now, a new study to be released Monday by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law has tried to tally just how many voters stand to be effected.

The center, which has studied the new laws and opposed some of them in court and other venues, analyzed 19 laws that passed and two executive orders that were issued in 14 states this year, and concluded that they “could make it significantly harder for more than 5 million eligible voters to cast ballots in 2012.â€

Voter Identification Requirements

Updated September 8, 2011
Introduction

Thirty states require all voters to show ID before voting at the polls. In 14 of these, the ID must include a photo of the voter; in the remaining 16, non-photo forms of ID are acceptable. Voter ID laws can be broken down into the three following categories:

Strict Photo ID (7 states): Voters must show a photo ID in order to vote. Voters who are unable to show photo ID at the polls are permitted to vote a provisional ballot, which is counted only if the voter returns to election officials within several days after the election to show a photo ID. At the beginning of 2011, there were just two states--Georgia and Indiana--with strict photo ID laws.

Two states--Kansas and Wisconsin--passed new strict photo ID laws this year, and three states with non-photo ID laws--South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas--amended them to make them strict photo ID laws. None of these new laws is in effect yet, although they likely will be before the 2012 elections. See the notes below Table 1 for more information regarding effective dates for new legislation.

Photo ID (7 states): Voters are asked to show a photo ID in order to vote. Voters who are unable to show photo ID are still allowed to vote if they can meet certain other critieria. In some states, a voter with ID can vouch for a voter without. Other states ask a voter without ID to provide personal information such as a birth date, or sign an affidavit swearing to his or her identity.

Voters without ID are not required to return to election officials after the election and show a photo ID in order to have their ballots counted in the manner that voters without ID in the strict photo ID states are. The seven states with photo ID laws are Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan and South Dakota.

Non-Photo ID (16 states): All voters must show ID at the polls. The list of acceptable IDs is varied and includes options that do not have a photo, such as a utility bill or bank statement with the voter's name and address.


2011 Legislative Action

Voter ID has been the hottest topic of legislation in the field of elections this year. There are just three states--Oregon, Vermont and Wyoming--that don't have a voter ID law and didn't consider voter ID legislation this year. The voter ID legislation under consideration this year can be broken down into two types: proposals for new voter ID laws in states that don't presently require voter ID at the polls, and proposals to strengthen existing voter ID requirements in order to require photo ID at the polls.

New Voter ID Proposals

These 20 states did not have laws requiring voter ID at the polls at the beginning of 2011, but saw legislation proposing it this year. So far, two states have enacted new voter ID requirements--Kansas and Wisconsin. Governors in Minnesota, New Hampshire and North Carolina vetoed voter ID bills in 2011. In Minnesota, supporters have vowed to pass a new bill in next year's session that would bypass the governor and go to the voters for approval instead. This strategy is similar to what the Oklahoma legislature in 2009 and 2010. Mississippi voters will weigh in on a citizen initiative proposing voter ID in November 2011.

California--AB 663 and 945: failed

Illinois--HB 3058 and SB 2035: adjourned; carried over to 2012 session

Iowa--HF 8, HF 95, SF 142: adjourned; carried over to 2012 session

Kansas--HB 2067: enacted

Maine--LD 199: adjourned; carried over to 2012 session

Maryland--HB 288 and 701: failed

Massachusetts--multiple bills: all pending in joint committee
Minnesota--SB 509: vetoed

Mississippi--multiple bills: all failed

Nebraska--LB 239 and 605: adjourned; carried over to 2012 session

Nevada--SB 373 failed

New Hampshire--SB 129: vetoed

New Jersey--A 1725: pending in assembly

New Mexico--HB 308, HB 577, SB 363: failed

New York--multiple bills: carried over to 2012 session

North Carolina--HB 351: vetoed

Pennsylvania--HB 934: passed house; pending in senate

Rhode Island--SB 400/HB 5680: enacted

West Virginia--HB 3219: failed

Wisconsin--AB 7: enacted


Strengthening Existing Voter ID Laws

At the beginning of 2011, 27 states had non-photo voter ID laws. Fourteen of these 27 considered legislation this year to require photo ID at the polls. So far, four states--Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas--have enacted strict photo ID requirements. The new laws in Alabama, South Carolina and Texas can't take effect until they receive pre-clearance from the U.S. Department of Justice. Governors in Missouri and Montana vetoed stricter voter ID laws in 2011.

Alabama--HB 19: enacted

Alaska--HB 162: adjourned; carried over to 2012

Arkansas--HB 1797: failed

Colorado--HB 1003: failed

Connecticut--HB 5231, SB 604 and 647: failed

Delaware--HB 199 and HB 200; adjourned; carried over to 2012

Hawaii--HB 1359: adjourned; carried over to 2012

Missouri--SB 3: vetoed and SJR 2: approved (must be approved by voters in November 2012 before it takes effect)

Montana--HB 152: vetoed

Ohio--HB 159: passed house; pending in senate

South Carolina--HB 3003: enacted

Tennessee--SB 16: enacted

Texas--SB 14: enacted

Virginia--multiple bills: failed

(Much more info @ link)

http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?TabId=16602

I personally believe this is a load of hooey! In this day and age you have to show ID to cash a check... any check! You had to have ID to open a bank account and now you have to have ID to make a deposit or withdrawal, you have to show ID when using your insurance at the hospital or doctor's office. So really how many people have NO form of ID? I would dare say not many! The only ones with no LEGAL ID are illegal aliens, so that's who all these politicians are really worried about not being able to cast their vote, certainly not their LEGAL constituents.

Originally Posted by nomas

I personally believe this is a load of hooey!

It's a boat load of it.

There's no such thing as a disenfranchised voter in Texas because of the provisional ballot. The Liberal Liars should be exposed. I'm quite certain all the other states have built in provisions for persons showing up and trying to vote with out ID. Besides, Arizona has already proven that a very small minority have any ID issues but no disenfranchised voters and it's clear the Brennan numbers are exaggerated and speculatively inflated for the sake of Liberal scare tactics.

This study was conducted by a LIBERAL mouth piece the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. It's so obvious that it's named after Supreme Court Justice William Brennan aka the "Liberal Lion". Brennan Center is funded by the Carnegie Corp.

Democrats, your days of dirty voting are coming to an end.

Dixie

Why can't they just use the ID they had to show when they registered to vote? Duh...

Yeah illegals are voting and those picked up by the cops will be rewarded with a green card by ICE as future voters. So if we dont get a Congress and President who are willing to fulfill the promise they gave us in 1986, we are done. I will then retire so I will not have to pay taxes anymore. Something has got to give with this illegal thing. We can't trust the Federal government on regulating illegal immigration.

Originally Posted by jd421

Why can't they just use the ID they had to show when they registered to vote? Duh...

Here in NYC all it takes is a utility bill with the name and address of the applicant. So if each utility is in different occupants names that's how many can register to vote from that address.

Gas, electric, phone, cable, rent receipt...

I'm not positive but I think even bank statements are acceptable.

Not Required: Proof of Citizenship.