Justice Department Investigates PA Voter ID Law
The Voter ID debate continues (and be sure to check back soon for the daily "Pop Issue" series to see what our interview with Rock the Vote reveals). Much of the of the root issue seems revolve around race/racial discrimination. The comments below could reflect some of what professor of sociology/social theorist Dr. Alana Lentin at University of Sussex is bringing to light through some of her hot work. Our thoughts and hers are that there are and have been deep connections between race, citizenship and identity and that policymaking citizenship law and race/immigration have historically caused problems - a history which is not typically addressed and continues to pop up in various situations such as this one. It's summertime, and the livin' is easy; but watch for this issue to take a front seat once more people become serious for the fall and the comment section heats up even further. We'll be tracking it for ya!
The U.S. Department of Justice is officially investigating Pennsylvania’s new voter ID law. The question is whether it could disenfranchise nearly one in 10 eligible voters—mostly people of color, students, seniors and low-income voters. The Justice Department gave the state election officials 30 days to provide documents to back up the state’s claim that the new law does not discriminate. The law is due to go into effect for the November election. Now for the comment soup.
What Others Are Saying...
It doesn’t make sense that someone can buy guns online without a background check but to vote folks may need an unconstitutional Voter ID. … I don’t understand why you need an ID to vote? As any 17-year-old can tell you, a phony one isn't hard to come by. … The sole purpose of the law is to depress voter turnout. Every Republican knows that heavy turnouts favor Democratic candidates. … Does it pain the GOP that much to try and sit and have a dialogue with minorities? … The republicans in PA have already told the world what their tactics for stealing the elections are.
We need to get rid of this law asap. … Someone in DOJ figured out which part of law is being infringed! … This is going to cause the federal government to issue a "voting ID" to each citizen, like a Social Security card, if it's pushed too far (and if the Democrats ever take over the D.C. government again). … If the Republicans were truly worried about voter fraud, they would be behind a FREE national id card. But, of course, it isn't really about voter fraud at all.
No doubt they'll find it violates the infamous "commerce clause", since this is one of those states that seem to import so many voters every four years. … The law discriminates against anyone that can't produce a valid I.D. … I guess the new "internal polls" must not look good. … The Democrat Party doesn't care where votes come from, only that they have more that the Republicans. And they want to protect those votes.