Voter Fraud is Not Prevalent Issue
The proposed voter ID law purports to stop widespread voter fraud — a crime that simply does not exist. The voter ID law is only effective in preventing impersonation of other voters at the polls. Most states use provisional ballots, which are used when voters cannot prove up-front that they are eligible to vote. Their votes are recorded, but are not counted unless they provide the required documentation to poll workers. For this reason, the problem of impersonation fraud is largely unlikely.

Out of the 400 million votes cast in general elections since 2000, there’s only one recorded attempt at impersonation fraud, and nine unresolved cases where the crime was suspected but not proven.

Many accusations are improperly labeled as “voter fraud” when they are mistaken for other types of election misconduct.

Allegations include ballot tampering, inaccurate vote tallying, vote buying, voting by ineligible citizens and multiple voting in the voter’s own name — all misdemeanors that should not be looped into the category of voter fraud.

Furthermore, allegations that arise from unsubstantial claims make voter fraud appear far more prevalent than is actually the case. Technological glitches in voting machines, for example, can result in inaccurate tallies.

Honest mistakes are also oftentimes at fault — a convict may attempt to vote without knowing that he has been rendered temporarily ineligible to vote. Some cases of fraud are enacted by outside actors and not the voters themselves– in the past, opposing parties have intentionally spread misinformation as to the proper procedures for voting, or hired thugs to intimidate voters at the polls.Voter fraud has only ever existed in a few isolated cases — implementation of this law is unnecessary and would simply divert attention away from real election issues.
— Hilary Lee
Staff Writer

ID Law Increases Voter Security
On Nov. 8, Mississippi became the 31st state in the past decade to approve tougher voter ID laws.

Supporters say that these laws are good cautious measures that uphold the integrity of the voting process by keeping it secure and democratic.

While some groups such as the NAACP and ACLU are considering challenging the laws in court with the claim that the language in the laws is vague and could suppress minority votes, Chris Elam, a spokesman for the Republican Party of Texas disagrees. He says that the law includes a “laundry list” of exemptions for people who may have a hard time obtaining the required identification, such as living more than 50 miles away from the closest DMV.

These laws are necessary to eliminate voter fraud. Without ID checks at the polls, there little to no way to track how many illegal votes are cast.

From stuffing ballot boxes during the Gilded Age to the Georgia State Senate Seat in 1962 where supposed voters were out of town or incarcerated at the time, the United States has had a long history of electoral fraud.

The Georgia State Senate race involved future president Jimmy Carter, who was able to get the results overturned.
Sen. Joey Fillingale (R-Miss.) says that the laws create more open and honest elections, and while the law isn’t a cure-all, it keeps people “in the cemetery” from voting.

The fact of the matter is, the United States holds a long history with voter fraud and these laws add an extra safeguard of security and integrity in the voting process, help cut down on fraud and ultimately keep the voting process democratic.

— Aleks Levin
Staff Writer

Political Scheme in Disguise
Like the Jim Crow laws of the past, new legislation is being passed that would significantly affect the voting rights of those without government-issued identification. By passing voter ID laws, politicians restrict the right to vote of minorities, the poor and the youth who disproportionately vote Democratic.

About 11 percent of voters nationwide will be affected by these new laws, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU. Specifically, 15 percent of low-income voters and 18 percent of young voters will be restricted because they don’t have proper identification. This is especially troubling since 68 percent of voters ages 18 to 29 voted for Barack Obama in 2008.

The NAACP states that 25 percent of blacks do not have the proper documentation to vote under these laws, and 74 percent of blacks lean Democratic, according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

This year 34 states have considered voter ID legislation — five of which have already passed laws.  Of these five, Wisconsin and South Carolina will be battleground states in 2012. Considering that Republican governors passed these laws and how disproportionately Democratic the affected people are, it is undoubtedly an underhanded political move.

It is blatantly obvious that some Republicans are enacting these laws to disenfranchise Democratic-leaning voters. The Republican House Speaker of New Hampshire, Bill O’Brien, said these laws should be passed to restrict college students who will vote liberally. Conservative blogger Matthew Vadum argued that letting the poor vote is un-American since they will vote for additional welfare programs.

The Brennan Center concluded 44 millionths of 1 percent of votes are cast fraudulently. There is no problem, only a cheap political scheme to get ahead.
— Saad Asad
Staff Writer