tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5438008.post4753073311902209238..comments2024-03-27T06:40:56.148-04:00Comments on EagleSpeak: Pennsylvania Voter Identification Law: Let the Whining Begin!Mark Tempesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18172703868541571574noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5438008.post-7921041491599277632012-07-07T19:28:51.168-04:002012-07-07T19:28:51.168-04:00Read the link and wonder how these 6 have survived...Read the link and wonder how these 6 have survived in modern society without birth certificates, which, in my experience, are required to join the military, go to school, get a job, get social security, etc.<br /><br />That being said, states have a "delayed" birth certificate process if the person never had one issued at birth. Thus, it is a misstatement to state that "six of the petitioners simply cannot obtain one of the forms of ID that they will need to vote under the Photo ID Law, and will be unable to vote in any future election"<br /><br />As I said above, let the whining begin.Mark Tempesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18172703868541571574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5438008.post-41085425800819808372012-07-07T19:02:45.987-04:002012-07-07T19:02:45.987-04:00Well, my reading of the case is the court did not ...Well, my reading of the case is the court did not hold that photo ID laws are per se <b>unconstitutional</b> but may be upheld even if there is a slight burden on some people because of a overwhelming state interest in fair and honest elections, more specifically in preventing voter fraud and impersonation.Mark Tempesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18172703868541571574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5438008.post-10953705844306327632012-07-07T16:07:26.803-04:002012-07-07T16:07:26.803-04:00Several voters -- all citizens (one a veteran) who...Several voters -- all citizens (one a veteran) who are registered to vote and have been voting for years -- sued to challenge the PA Photo ID Law because they do not have have and, more importantly, cannot obtain one of the approved forms of photo ID. You can read more about it here: http://freeandequalpa.wordpress.com/summary-of-applewhite-petition/freeandequalpahttp://freeandequalpa.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5438008.post-48937848926477141662012-07-07T16:04:39.133-04:002012-07-07T16:04:39.133-04:00"Do you know that the Supreme Court upheld th..."Do you know that the Supreme Court upheld the validity of requiring a photo ID to vote in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board (2005)?" <br /><br />That is overstating the holding of Crawford. The Court did not hold that photo ID laws are per se Constitutional, but rather held that the plaintiffs who challenged the Indiana photo ID law had not come forward with enough evidence to show that the law violated the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Justice Scalia highlighted that in his concurring opinion: "The lead opinion assumes petitioners' premise that the voter-identification law 'may have imposed a special burden on' some voters, but holds that petitioners have not assembled evidence to show that the special burden is severe enough to warrant strict scrutiny." So if different plaintiffs came forward with solid evidence on the burden issue in some future case, the Court could easily reach the opposite conclusion.freeandequalpahttp://freeandequalpa.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5438008.post-80327671178409077592012-07-06T21:52:39.798-04:002012-07-06T21:52:39.798-04:00I have started making a list of ordinary things th...I have started making a list of ordinary things that people do all the time that require photo id. Examples include: getting medical care, get on an airplane or train, enter a federal building or military base, check into a hotel, go to Michelle Obama's book signing, get into a hospital as a visitor, and on and on.<br /><br />The fact that photo id is too much of a burden to vote is bull sh*t. It is probably one of the most effective means of preventing voter fraud.<br /><br />Of course, it might not prevent all fraud. For example, my father died six years ago. He was a lifelong Democrat. My brother is a Junior. He could show a photo id and claim to be Dad. I wonder who Dad will vote for in November.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5438008.post-21890881280640329982012-07-06T10:29:26.032-04:002012-07-06T10:29:26.032-04:00You might also want to take a look at the Carter-B...You might also want to take a look at the Carter-Baker report <a href="http://www1.american.edu/ia/cfer/report/report.html" rel="nofollow">Building Confidence in U.S. Elections<br />Report of the Commission on Federal Election Reform<br />September 2005</a> which contains the following:<br />"Second, to make sure that a person arriving at a polling site is the same one who is named on the list, we propose a uniform system of voter identification based on the "REAL ID card" or an equivalent for people without a drivers license. To prevent the ID from being a barrier to voting, we recommend that states use the registration and ID process to enfranchise more voters than ever. States should play an affirmative role in reaching out to non-drivers by providing more offices, including mobile ones, to register voters and provide photo IDs free of charge. There is likely to be less discrimination against minorities if there is a single, uniform ID, than if poll workers can apply multiple standards. In addition, we suggest procedural and institutional safeguards to make sure that the rights of citizens are not abused and that voters will not be disenfranchised because of an ID requirement. We also propose that voters who do not have a photo ID during a transitional period receive a provisional ballot that would be counted if their signature is verified."Mark Tempesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18172703868541571574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5438008.post-6365679362239306292012-07-06T10:17:13.399-04:002012-07-06T10:17:13.399-04:00I guess, carried far enough, having to cross stree...I guess, carried far enough, having to cross streets at crosswalks is a form of taxation, as is being forced to wear clothes or go to school, registering to vote, registering for the draft, etc.<br /><br />Speaking of school, did you ever learn the US Supreme Court held in 1937 that poll taxes were legal, which was overruled by a Constitutional amendment for federal elections and finally by a series of Supreme Court rulings in the 1960's for state and local elections? <br /><br />Do you know that the Supreme Court upheld the validity of requiring a photo ID to vote in <a href="http://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/07-21" rel="nofollow"> Crawford v. Marion County Election Board (2005)</a>? This, in the face of the very argument you attempt to make that the photo ID requirement is some sort of "poll tax?" <br /><br />As for my "policy preferences" - they include fair elections at which all eligible voters can participate. Any exclusion involved in this matter seems to be one of "self exclusion" given the <i>de minimis</i> burden of acquiring a free photo ID.Mark Tempesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18172703868541571574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5438008.post-10725727219061894732012-07-06T08:03:47.030-04:002012-07-06T08:03:47.030-04:00good to know that you support poll taxes to keep t...good to know that you support poll taxes to keep those people from voting --- why risk your policy preferences to the votes of all citizens --- much easier to exclude voters than to convince them...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5438008.post-75618086311700244292012-07-05T23:24:25.807-04:002012-07-05T23:24:25.807-04:00The correct response to any lawsuit challenging th...The correct response to any lawsuit challenging this law is, "Piss off, [optional personally derogatory expletive]!"Ken Adamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05964472361213569789noreply@blogger.com