Making voting harder

When was the last time you heard of individuals casting multiple ballots in elections? Of non-citizens voting? Of dead people being registered to vote?

Our guess is that you haven’t heard of any of these problems beyond an apocryphal tale—because they don’t exist to any significant degree. Rep. Wally Herger, however, seems to think they do. He says they’re why he, in lock step with his fellow Republicans in the House, voted for HR 4844, which would mandate onerous new voter ID requirements. “Election fraud makes a mockery of our time-honored civic right and responsibility to vote,” he stated in a press release.

Well, yes it does, which is why we wish Herger would take a closer look at electronic voting machines. Otherwise, though, election fraud is a non-issue. No, the real purpose of HR 4844 is voter suppression. It’s designed to decrease Democratic turnout in future elections.

If the bill becomes law, it will require voters to provide proof of citizenship in order to register and a photo ID in order to vote. For many people this is merely an inconvenience, but for certain groups—the poor, the disabled, minorities and the elderly—it can readily discourage voting.

These people, who tend to vote Democratic, are less likely to have cars—and driver’s licenses. They can obtain special ID cards, but the bill’s backers know they’re unlikely to go through the hassle if they don’t need them to drive.

The voter ID requirements are a modern-day version of the poll taxes once used in the South to keep black citizens from voting. Several states have passed similar laws, but all have been ruled unconstitutional. Earlier this month judges in Missouri and Georgia struck down voter ID laws in those states. They understand that the goal in America should be to invite people to vote, not discourage them.