I tried to post this last night, unfortunately dorm internet sucks at times. I apologize for diarying about something already on the rec list, but Indiana is so rarely in the news, I like to put a local perspective on it.
Last night I saw Anderson Cooper 360, talking about ACORN's apparent fraudulent voting. The story is here. And here is a video (not from AC360, but pretty much the same story):
Nothing is too clear at this point, but I'm shocked. I have no idea if voter registration fraud actually happened, usually that's a Republican thing to do. I'm just surprised at how hard it is to find out whether or not someone exists or not in the United States.
What I will say is this: This is an annoying distraction.
What is even more puzzling is that this is happening in Indiana. And to vote in Indiana, you need a government issued ID that is not expired. I would know, I've voted there three times in these past two years. Oh yeah, and that voter ID went to the Supreme Court and was ruled constitutional.
State and federal courts around the country have issued conflicting rulings on voter ID laws. Such a law in Missouri was found unconstitutional, but similar laws in Georgia, Arizona and Michigan were found to be proper.
Liberal activists claim such measures help Republican candidates by keeping away many voters who might be inclined to vote Democratic, a charge state and national GOP leaders strongly deny.
Which I thought was a fair enough point, since the BMV is opened all of five seconds normally (all hours that normal people are working) and you only get a free ID if you come in like the day before the election. But what do I know...
There is a caveat, however:
Voters voting absentee-by-mail are NOT required to show photo ID.
But there also is this:
NOTE: Certain voters who registered by mail are required to provide additional personal identification documentation before voting an absentee ballot by mail. Contact your county voter registration office for information if you think this requirement may apply to you.
So, my point is, what is the point of this voter ID requirement if ACORN and registration fraud seems to signal the apocalypse? Why are people being inconvenienced into having to get IDs at the dreadful BMV?
I think there is an important point ACORN made (that was mentioned in TocqueDeville's post):
Fact: Voter fraud by individuals is extremely rare, and incredibly difficult. There has never been a single proven case of anyone, anywhere, casting an illegal vote as a result of a phony voter registration. Even if someone wanted to influence the election this way, it would not work.
So basically, this is an attempt to make Obama look bad. Sure, registering more voters usually means more people will vote for a Democrat, except that didn't really work in the last election. And sorry to say this, but Lake County needs to get it's act together. During the primaries, it took forever for them to report their results. It was ridiculous. Not that it's not affecting Marion County too (where I live).
I read a column online at IndyStar.com, and there are some things that calmed me down or I just thought good to know:
Fraudulent registration is a Class D felony, [Secretary of State Todd Rokita] said.
Mowery said the state's voter ID law, which requires voters to show an accepted photo identification to cast a ballot, should safeguard against voter fraud.
And it's noteworthy,
Laughlin McDonald, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Voting Rights Project, said that could be a way to suppress new registrations at a time when new voters are disproportionately Democrats.
"Unfortunately, there has been a past and continuing history of political parties using these techniques to suppress the rights of voters, typically of the opposing party, and particularly by Republicans in recent years," he said. "Those least likely to have a state-issued driver's license or identification are minority and disabled voters and the poor, who also are more likely to vote Democrat."
The article also mentioned the use of the last 4 digits of the Social Security as protection against actual voter fraud. This is disconcerting, because I did not give these numbers when requesting an absentee ballot (they're optional). Looking back I probably should have, but it was confusing because it said to give either your Driver's License number or these four digits. I have a Learner's Permit, not an actual license. I figured it'd be best to leave it blank since it was optional to avoid confusion. I should be fine, this is not my first time voting.
What I would ultimately like to say is it sounds like a few people played an extremely annoying prank (Jimmy John's? REALLY? I'm sure that was a high schooler). CNN, other news media, get over this. It's annoying, but the way you portray it it sounds like actual voter fraud is happening, which it won't, or else you have the voter ID law to blame. By giving it this much attention, you're really only encouraging this in the future. Plus, I'm terrified that actual legitimate voters will not be able to vote, far more likely than an illegitimate voter being able to vote. And if Indiana is going to have a prayer at turning blue, we're going to need those voters.
To me, this doesn't sound like Obama or Democrats are trying to fake registrations (which the media seems to imply), this sounds like Republicans are just trying to think of ways to discourage voters.