Lou Dobbs Fans....Question: Why is he in Favor of Voter I.D.?

[KoKo]

Is it just because he doesn't want "Undocumented Workers" voting (like a bunch of "illegals" are going to chance the reaction from little old lady voluneers at the polls) or is it that he's trying to make a connection that Bush is strong on borders with fence and that VOTER I.D's" make sense if one hates "undocumented workers" or as Lou Dobbs calls them: "Illegal ALIENS?"

[proud2BlibKansan]

1. I stopped trying to figure out Lou Dobbs a long time ago

[napi21]

2. I am a Dobbs fan, and I honestly think it's because he doesn't want

anyone voting who shouldn't. Let me tell ya, I moved to Ga in 2000. I'm now 63, and had a drivers license since I was 16 and been voting since I was 21. When I went to get my Ga. DL license and register to vote, they weren't happy with my out of state license, and they even turned down my (57 year old) birth certificate from Pa. because it didn't have the State Seal on it. They made be pay to order a new one from Pa. before they would issue me a DL or allow me to register to vote. I did all that, griped the whole time, but did it anyway.

Ihave to admit, when I first heard about a State issued photo ID, I didn't have any problem with it either. Many people have pointed out to me the problems that can arise and how many people can be prevented from voting just by the inconvenience of the requirement.

However, I also have to say, I thought it was really weird that, at the polls, all someone had to produce as proof of ID was a utility bill in "your" name. Truely, without at least some photo ID, Osama could shave his beard, produce a utility bill, claim to be whoever's name was on the bill and cast a vote!

I don't know what the answer is. Maybe mobile registration busses that went to all sections of the State to insure everyone who wanted to register could do so. Then what do you do for people from New Orleans? Most of all their records were destroyed. Do the State recordsstill exist to provide a duplicate Birth Certificate? I don't know. The real answeris going to have to be made by someone with far better ideas than mine!

[SeaBob]

5. voting

Voting is a right, that is spelled out in our constitution. Who should not vote? and Why?

[napi21]

6. Anyone who is not a citizen should not be allowed to vote in a

US campaign. You're right, It is a right, but a right to US citizens! Even residents do not have the right to vote! A good friend of mine proudly displayed his green card to me, and when I asked himwhat the difference was between what I could do and he could not, he promptly said The only thing I cannot do is vote!

[Doremus]

3. Dobbs is not a liberal. He is a conservative/libertarian.

'Nuff said?

[bowens43]

4. I think he's a racist.

I saw him tonight for the first time and his story about the ninth circuit court over turning Arizona's voter ID law was so biased that I had to check to see if I was watching Faux News.

[doc03]

7. I am totally in favor of voter ID, would you like a Republican

voting a half a dozen times? As far as illegal aliens or undocumented workers whatever you want to call them go, they are (illegal residents) and just like other felons don't deserve to vote here and I don't care if they (all) vote Democrat. Tell me just what is wrong with requiring a person to prove who he is to vote?

[beaconess]

8. There is absolutely no evidence of any measurable fraud at the polls

by people pretending to be someone they're not. This Voter ID bill is, at best, a solution in search of a problem. At worst, it is an attempt to suppress the vote of minorities and low-income people. Either way, it will result in minorities, the elderly and low-income voters not casting their votes.

It is a modern day poll tax, pure and simple.

The real problem of fraud in voting occurs with absentee voting. Funny - these Voter ID bills don't address that.

Moreover, this Voter ID bill does more than just require someone to prove they're who they say they are. It requires them to prove their citizenship, something that can only be done with a passport or certified birth certificate. A significant portion of the population (especially the elderly, minorities and low-income voters) do not have such documentation and it will be expensive and inconvenient for them to acquire it. People should not have to jump through hoops in order to exercise a constitutional right.

[doc03]

12. Give me a break there are counties in WV where

more people vote than actually live there and that is a fact. I believe that there were some Republican areas in Ohio the last election like that also.

[tkmorris]

15. Sure, BUT

There is no evidence to suggest that the cause of those overvotes is people showing up at the polls to vote who should not. In most cases it isn't even possible to get overvotes like that due to ID issues, since no matter who a voter claims to be they still can't vote more than once.

It seems far more likely to me, especially in the West Virginia case I remember, that the vote results were skewed by ballot box stuffing, that is someone within the system adding illegitimate ballots to the properly cast ones to skew the result.

[doc03]

16. Here is an example, I am going to vote absentee this

year. I know my brother hasn't voted for years, they have closed two of our three voting locations this year, since nobody will know me at the new location what's to keep me from voting for my brother if they don't require some kind of ID? By the way I am voting absentee because Ken Blackwell has closed many polling places, the excuse they use is it is a mandate from the (would you believe) the "Help America Vote Act".

[beaconess]

9. Lou Dobbs - 21st Century Howard Beale - and CNN loves exploiting him

just as Beale was exploited in "Network." The difference, of course, is that "Network" was a satire.

[Imagevision]

10. How many would not be able to vote and what is their party? -> Dems

would lose in numbers because the majority who are poor and below poverty levels are Democrats who haven't the means to get a license or afford travel to secure a Photo ID.

[beaconess]

11. Exactly

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.

[doc03]

13. The only ID you need here is the last 4 numbers of your

SSAN, a drivers license or State ID card. There is no requirement to prove your citizenship or provide a birth certificate. Wouldn't an elderly person have a SS number, if not how the hell do they get their checks? Without ID what is to keep someone from voting several times, this can work both ways you know. I have seen many DUERS complain that in Ohio some Republican areas had more people vote than actually lived there, where they making that up? Why would you even want a person to vote if he sleeps under the bridge and isn't even aware of current events. How is it a poll tax, nobody pays anyone to vote. But, whats to keep the local Republican from giving a wino a bottle to vote their way. People have been buying votes in southern WV for decades. Nothing against JFK but he got his nomination buy buying votes in WV.

[shance]

14. Dobbs is a white, privileged corporatist and racist.

That is why.

[mrreowwr_kittty]

17. Because he takes voter ID laws at face value

He really thinks they are going to guarantee that only citizens can vote. He is wrong about that. Arizona's ID law (which just got a court stay so can't be enforced in this election) requires photo ID. A driver's license issued after 1996 suffices. The thing is, it's incredibly easy for undocumented residents to obtain a driver's license. On the other hand, people who don't drive for whatever reason are finding it difficult to obtain photo ID. So you have poor people, young people, nursing home residents, and disabled disabled folks being disenfranchised while not actually preventing non-citizens at all.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.