Another blow in the fight against voter suppression:
Voters in Minnesota will decide (in November) whether the state Constitution should require government-issued photo identification should when voting. The state Senate gave the measure final approval today on a 35-29 vote.
The ballot question will ask if the Constitution should be amended "to require all voters to present valid photo identification to vote and to require the state to provide free identification to eligible voters?"
Republicans say the requirement will prevent voter fraud, even though there's no real record of serious voter fraud in Minnesota or in other states. All the Democrats in the Minnesota Senate opposed it, and for good reason.
The question is written very cleverly. Notice it requires the state to "provide free identification," supposedly taking the issue of excluding the poor (and therefore, voter suppression) from the polls off the table.
In reality, these "free" identification requirements do not prevent voter suppression at all. Just the hassle of getting a voter ID, free or not, discourages/prevents certain people from exercising their right to vote, especially people of color, people with disabilities, students, low-income workers and seniors (all key voting blocks for Democrats).
Plus, it may still cost you money to get the necessary identification to qualify for a free voter ID as Dr. Caroline Heldman, Professor of Politics at Occidental University, explained to Ed back in December:
It's an issue that's very likely to impact your state sooner or later:
Oh, voters in Minnesota are also deciding on a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage in the state. Lovely.
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Thats GOOD = All Of These Changes Should Be Put-Up For A Vote OF THE PEOPLE = And NOT Left-Up To These Hellbent Dictatorship Governors !!!!!!!!
OOps !!! I Misread Parts Of This Writing !!!!! My Bad !!!!!
MD are governor is a Democrat and he veto the bill before so the repug know sent it to the voter to get there way.
Palm = Yep = I Misread This Posting - I Had Better Drink Somemore Coffee !!!! These tea-baggin-gop's Will Stop At Nothing To Get Their Way And Will NOT Accept NO For Their Hellbent Agenda !!!!! I Am With The 99ers - NOT The Goofballs !!!!!!
Palm = I Thought That It Was Wisconsin - Walkers State - OOppss - Again - MY BAD !!!!!
We have the same voter ID law now in PA under Herr Corbett. You know, in some countries, like Australia, they want everyone to vote. In fact, it's against the law not to vote!
Here, they don't want your vote unless you belong to their party!
MD/MI, That's some big beak you have.
I love lighthouses, but some people think they are phallic symbols. I would never think that.....
Well, not when Sanctimonius Santorum is in my state.
Bad news is. You just can't get some people to vote anyway. So why make it so hard for those of us who do?
My hubby has been spending some of his time sitting in front of businesses trying to make it easier to vote. He only gets some where around 5 people and hour to sign up. "He says some people just say why bother, it won't change anything."
He is doing it for the democratic party, but they sign up people from either party, they don't discriminate. He has had some interesting experiences from people who don't seem to understand that.
The Beak speakth the truth! Polly wanna a cracker?
xxx...
Please! I save that line for Paul the Patriot, whom I refer to as Pauly Parrot... He is always reoeating Republican talking points, without thinking, just like a parrot does... It is definitely meant as an insult...
If there is anything MD doesn't do, it's copy someone else...He is a TRUE Original!
maybe we should look at australia where you are fined if you dont vote. we can call it obamavote.
saying voter id laws hurts the disabled, seniors, low income is a lie. if you cant go to them they will drive to your residence take your pic and send you the voter id. by the way dont the disabled, low income, seniors need a photo id to cash a check now?
I live in Mn and they're to many dumb people and they see nothing wrong with this. Like me and others we try to tell them they just can see beyond their nose. I hope this will stop by the courts on the way to the voters and I hope this will be the end of this.
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/collections/special/columns/news_cut/
This is off subject....A woman found $12000.00 in a go-box scroll down and vote!
Minnesota should not vote yes...but as I have seen before on things like this when people sit on the fence it always comes out yes...
Every time I read of voter suppression in his country it makes me mad. We have shed American blood to give other country's the right to have there own elections. This is America and day by day we are loosing the most basic of freedoms. This year its voter ID , what will it be for next election? Andrea Mitchel sure hit the nail on the head. Everyone should have right to vote,and let the chips fall where they may. When you can"t win the election you have to create diversions, smoke and mirrors and disenfranchise our citizens.
Its been said all is fair in love and war. WTF I guess I could as well may say life's a bitch and than you die!
this is the way repubs have decided to steal this election, if that is possible.
with the breakup of acorn its obvious we need photo ids. democrats acorn scandal reinforces the need for it.
But not in a Republican primary, right? Because Republicans never try to steal elections.
Except you made those up while ignoring the real deal in 2000 when the SCOTUS appointed GWB president and in 2004 when GWB won Ohio thanks to Diebold.
Republicans do not control the voting process in a Republican election...that is decided by the local and state election officials and laws. They can not require an ID if it is not required by law.
Why is it that the unions REQUIRE voter ID in order to be able to vote in a union election but they are against it for the general elections?
Things that make you go hmmmmm....
Show proof where dead people voted then you have a case. Just because dead people are still registered doesn't mean they vote. BTW the SCOTUS stopped Gore from proceeding with vote counting in Florida, just because you want to say they didn't means nothing. As far as the rest of your nonsense it has been answered farther down.
slacker,
according to the WALL STREET JOURNAL (pro-republican), on nov. 27, 2000, the mini riot outside the canvassing board in miami-dade was a full-scale republican operation. the riot demonstrators were NOT LOCAL repubs, but capitol hill aids on all expenses paid trips, courtesy of the bush campaign.
the WALL STREET JOURNAL was informed by several GOP aids that the office of repub congressional whip, tom delay, took charge of the operation on capitol hill, givng them offers they couldn't refuse. beach front hotels, free air-fare, free food in the sunshine state, all paid for by the bush campaign.
tom delay, along with newt gingrich, one of the most extreme wing-nut repubs in congress, also played the central role in the Clinton impeachment.
200 repub congressional staffers from washington signed up for the florida operation. as many as 750 operatives were rotated in and out of the state from nov. 7, 2000, until bush was annointed president by daddy's friends. staffers involved in the operation were given their marching orders by memo't that were pushed under their hotel-room doors late at night. one aid told the journal, "no one knows who is calling the shots".
after miami, they also moved to broward country (west palm beach) where the recount was still underway.
do some research if you care to learn the facts of how the bush campaign and the repub party used mob tactics, combined with threats to mobilize extreme right cuban exile fanatics to sabattage and halt recount of votes in miami-dade that had been ordered by the florida supreme court.
Al Gore was fighting the REPUBLICAN MACHINE. Al Gore contested the results before a REPUBLICAN APPOINTEE, leon county judge sanders saulS. SAULS RULED AGAINST GORE'S BID FOR FURTHER RECOUNTS.
oh, and what happened to the "miami riot squad"? they were rewarded with high-profile jobs working for the bush white house, the RNC, repub congressman and consulting groups.
get the facts straight. the florida recount was just the beginning of how bush would dictate his presidency with lies and schemes and trickery, ALL BASED ON THE FACT THAT HE SAID HE WAS A CHRISTIAN.
the repub party, do as i say, not as i do.
in regard to Franken's win, norm coleman contested that as long as he could, for several months. he gave up when he realized that Franken won. stop blaming MORE VOTES than people, ACORN, or felons voting for the win of Al Franken. Minnesota voted for AL Franken.
he won fair and square.
again, do some research, and stop repeating the spin you hear from fox news.
bill having sex with monica never bothered me. what concerned me is he was stupid enough to get caught.
deal with haters through the justice department because they are running in fear. deal with them with something they don't have intelligence
Just out of curiosity...didn't these people have to prove citizenship by producing some form of ID when they registered to vote? What is the big hurdle to do it again?
Everyone does have the right to vote...if you are a legal citizen of this country. All you have to do is produce a small ID that confirms you are.
But not until a black man is in office.
WOW....it didn't take long for the racist card to be played...why I am not surprised?
Because you are a storm trooper and true to form you pretend to be just a concerned citizen. But then we know just how honest you are and what your word is worth, DS.
if all americans were required to vote we would never have a democrat in the wh
Right that explains why the GOP are trying so hard to make it harder to vote. BOL
whomitmay, you are suspended for a day for violating rule # 1 of the Code of Honor.
Thank you
mika,
if all americans were required to vote, we would never have a democrat in the wh
you are wrong.
the more people who vote, the more likely a democrat will be elected.
why do you think repubs don't want everyone to vote? repubs do better when voter turnout is SMALL.
Mika..
Suzette is right...when you take the 46% of the people who don't pay taxes and get most of them to vote, the real taxpayers in this country don't stand a chance.
But that doesn't change the fact the Republicans want legal citizens to vote.
David J, if you show up this may interest you.
http://wordplay.newsvine.com/
Excellent, dear one! I sent a request to join, and put it on my watchlist...
Of course, since lauhal clipped the limerick contest to it, I need not post my limericks directly...
MD got ears
Has anyone watched 30 Rock yet? Is it any good?
many have died for our right to vote and democrats refusing to get off thier lbj great society couch to get a free photo id is pathetic. i bet if a store gave out free potato chips to anyone with a photo id dems. would stampede to get the id.
Make it food stamps & beer & its a deal! I'm gettin thristy!!!!
Nah I prefer coffee myself, I don't have to worry about wanting to drown republicans tea bagging in bathtubs drinking coffee. I mean really they want to spend millions on voter ID's in states that are claiming financial hardships for a problem that doesn't exist just proves how dense they are and they don't need to be more then enough to drown in a bathtub, that is way the US IQ rates will increase a few dozen points without the tea bagged republicans around dumbing down the country.
Gotta stamp out that 3 1-millionths of a percent, no matter how many are prevented from voting.
Just a coincidence that a black man is in office.
@TheRealChris,
Even the blue Minnesota, that stood by Walter Mondale in 1984 supports Voter ID. From the last polls it was over 80%. This will pass and should (no matter what color man is in office).
@TheRealChris,
I have been watching the polls in Minnesota and about 80% are going to vote for the voter ID Law. Do you believe that this is racial? Your #10.3 post suggests that this is a racial issue.
Do you really think this a racial issue? C'mon Chris, this is Minnesota for crying out loud.
C'mon, it was never an issue until a black man was in office, for crying out loud.
Like the birth certificate.
Republicans live in a world of coincidences.
Was there ever a controversy about any previous president not being born in the US so that there could be a request for a birth certificate? Wasn't it a Democrat who originally asked the question..oh yes...that's right...HIllary. I guess she is a racist also.
If you have been following Minesota elections, you would realize that this has nothing to do with President Obama. It has to do with the voter irregularities that our Secretary of State, Mark Richie, refused to investigate in the Senator Franken election in 2008 and the Governor Dayton election in 2010. I think it's funny that people would claim that the bluest state in the Union, where 80% of it's citizens are in favor of Voter ID, are only voting for this because the President is black. It's laughable.
Come on Minnesota voters. You're up. Step up to the plate. Suppress the suppressors.
to,the ed show..you got the real story why Republicans in Power are trying to close the POST OFFICE they have corporate friends who will spread the money to them when private delivery services fill in the void.I WISH THESE POOR EXSCUSE FOR HUMAN BEINGS would crawl back in the slime they came from!
a good step would be to stop 6 day a week delivery. 5 days a week is enough. we are the only country in the world that has 6 day a week delivery. as for private delivery services ups which is private is far , far more efficent than the post office. then again the post office is our largest employer of military veterans. so there is logical debate on both sides.
I will comment on this because it is my state. I do not see a problem with 'PROVING WHO YOU ARE", before you vote. At the last election, I made a sort of joke that I would vouch for my 4 and 5 year old and provide a utility bill to prove residency. Everyone at the polling place laughed, but that's the joke now in Minnesota. That's all it takes.
Minnesotans, vote for voter ID.
They laughed at how silly that was to say. Not at the idea that one can file a provisional vote using that info. until proved otherwise. The vote after undergoing scrutiny in this case may or may not be counted.
TM they are still upset the Al won instead of the GOP clown. So of course it wasn't that voters liked Al more then the GOP guy, nope it had to be cheating because that is what they would do.
Yep..reminds me of how the Dems reacted after Bush won in 2000 and 2004. Their guy didn't win, so it had to be cheating, because that is what they would do.
I was wrong TM,
All I needed to do was vouch for them because I was already a legal voter in their precinct. I didn't need to provide the utility bill. Yes, legal voting in Minnesota is a joke. At least the new Voter ID law that will pass in this next election will give some legitimacy to voting in this state.
Glad to see Texas finally joined the 21st century, requiring an ID! Just wish the rest of the country would!