Reply #11: Exactly

[beaconess]

Proof of citizenship may be impossible for some people to obtain, and very hard for others. In certain parts of the country, for example, elderly African Americans and many Native Americans were delivered at home by midwives, and don't have birth certificates. People of color, people with disabilities, the elderly, young, and people who live in poverty are among the groups least likely to have documents to prove they are U.S. citizens.

The U.S. Department of Transportation estimates that between 6-12% of voters nationally do not have a government-issued photo ID. A number of other studies have documented that certain segments of the population are far less likely to have a photo ID than other Americans. For example, a University of Wisconsin study found that nearly 50% of African American and Latino men in Milwaukee do not have a government-issued photo ID.

A birth certificate usually costs $10 to $15. Only 25-27% of eligible Americans have passports, which now cost $97. Naturalization papers, if they must be replaced, cost $210. That may not be much for some people (like many of us on DU who can afford computers, online access, and the time it takes to use them). But many Americans, especially those living on the edge, just don't have this kind of money and this cost could be the difference between them voting and not voting.

But even if they have valid ID, many eligible voters will be turned away. Voter ID bills place an inordinate amount of discretion in the hands of overworked (and sometimes poorly trained) poll workers - not to mention those who are up to no good. Deciding whether the voter standing before them really is the person in the picture is a very subjective process and prone to mistakes or worse. In addition, if an ID card does not contain the voter’s current address, which is true of millions of Americans, they will likely be turned away, as well. The Voter ID laws don't address how disputes over the validity of ID should be settled, they will enable racial and ethnic discrimination at polling places.

Falsely claiming citizenship and voting fraudulently have long been federal offenses and should be prosecuted when it happens. But Voter ID fraud is extremely rare. For example:

• In Ohio, a statewide survey found four instances of ineligible persons voting or attempting to vote in 2002 and 2004, out of 9,078,728 votes cast – a rate of 0.00004%.

• Despite the invocation of fraud as support for the new Georgia law, Secretary of State Cathy Cox stated that in her ten-year tenure, she could not recall one documented case of voter fraud involving the impersonation of a registered voter at the polls.

• Nationwide, since October 2002, 86 individuals have been convicted of federal crimes relating to election fraud (including several offenses not remedied by ID requirements), while more than 196 million ballots have been cast in federal general elections.

These laws may sound good on their face - and they fool a lot of people. But they're really just a modern day poll tax that will keep eligible voters from exercising their constitutional right.