In advance of Wednesday’s hearing in the U.S. Supreme Court on the landmark case concerning the Republican Photo ID polling place restrictions in the state of Indiana, USA Today reports…
The league, in a court filing, refers to Mary Wayne Montgomery Eble, 92, who had no driver’s license or ready access to the birth certificate she needed to get an alternative ID.
Ray Wardell, a stroke victim, made one trip to a state office for an alternative ID in vain. He did not have the proper document and returned home on foot with the aid of his walker.
Kim Tilman, a mother of seven whose husband, a janitor, is the family’s sole source of income, found it would cost $26-$50 to round up the necessary papers for a proper ID.
The league is among the groups backing Indiana challengers to the law who say it impinges on the right to vote and mostly hurts elderly, disabled, poor and minority voters. A Republican-controlled Legislature passed the measure in 2005.
Backers of the law have been unable to cite a single case of “voter fraud”, apparently in Indiana history, that would have been prevented by this law, which is, as BRAD BLOG readers know well by now, meant to do little more than keep as many Democratic-leaning voters from being able to exercise their right to cast a legal vote in an election.
UPDATE 1/8/08: Where USA Today did themselves proud with the article linked above, they did themselves in by giving space to discredited GOP operative, snake-oil salesman, vote suppression front man, Thor Hearne to blog in reply. Hearne shouldn’t be allowed outside of a jail cell, much less allowed to post his lies, disinformation and propaganda with impunity at USA Today. And I’ve said as much in the comments section (typos and all, in my middle-of-the-night, outraged response) below his blog item at the newspaper’s website.
It’s incredible that USA Today did not note Hearne’s dozens of conflicts of interest with the very item he wrote on their pages. As to Hearne, it would hardly be the first time this conman has slid by without telling the truth about who he actually is.
Shame on USA Today. If readers here are unaware who and what Thor Hearne is, see our years long special coverage on him and the GOP propaganda scam he has been running right here: www.BradBlog.com/ACVR.
Is the decision going to go Bush v Gore ?
I’m betting yes
Lest anyone forget, the Guv of Indiana is Mitch Daniels; remember him ?
And it’s not only this insanity he’s propagating but polluting the Great Lakes as well:
http://www.counterpunch.org/blair01072008.html
USA Today = United States of Amurka propaganda rag #435 …
Has Brad has been successfully diverted from covering this election?
I smell a stinking rat with hillary’s lead in N.H. … here we go again.
Crocodile’s cry Crocodile tears … and I was a clinton supporter . . .
Oops … My Bad … thats what I get for being impatient !!!
Brad comes through.
Will the toy newspaper accept a rebuttal blog post?
I grew up in Chicago and requiring ID’s is a good idea. It’s very easy to get an ID with a picture. (It seems like it could even be some business opportunity to help people get ID’s.) Sure, there a few old and immobile people who will have problems, but that is a small price to pay for some assurance that the people voting are who they say they are.
They don’t use the words “Democratic Machine” because of efficiency, it’s been about manufacturing votes. Asking for an ID is not asking too much.
#7
AL,
And when votes are mailed in they had to show exactly what kind of Government Issued ID?
Oh that’s right none at all.
Hmmm… Ain’t Fixing problems that don’t exist called legislating from bench… and ain’t jokes that do that shit called activist judges. . .
… and who the fuck may they be … benito alito, antonin “va funculo” scalia, john “rectal” roberts, Token “uncle clarence thomas” & kennedy.
The despicable republiKKKan fascist block of the KANGAROO SCOTUS.
Especially if they rule in favor of the Indiana voter ID law.
Phil, the idea is to deal with the fraud. Maybe there shouldn’t be mail ins? Maybe you have to go to a county office to vote if you can’t be there? It’s not asking too much, is it? Of course it isn’t because voting is an important responsibility of citizenship and we all need to feel that it was judged correctly.
The reality is the system is basically run by the foxes and using ID’s is a quick and cheap way to ensure better elections that people can believe in.
You naysayers want good elections don’t you? Well?!