I’m sure the Democrats/Liberals/Progressives will endorse this plan, since they are so dead set (sic) against voter fraud
The battle over voting rights will expand this week as lawmakers in Missouri are expected to support a proposed constitutional amendment to enable election officials to require proof of citizenship from anyone registering to vote.
The measure would allow far more rigorous demands than the voter ID requirement recently upheld by the Supreme Court, in which voters had to prove their identity with a government-issued card.
Sponsors of the amendment — which requires the approval of voters to go into effect, possibly in an August referendum — say it is part of an effort to prevent illegal immigrants from affecting the political process. Critics say the measure could lead to the disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of legal residents who would find it difficult to prove their citizenship.
What a fantastic idea: making sure someone is a legal citizen of the United States of America in order to vote. The ACLU will chime in soon saying how much they love the proposed law, which is also being considered in 19 States, as they are the champions of making sure that only those legally eligible to vote can vote.
“Three forces are converging on the issue: security, immigration and election verification,†said Dr. Robert A. Pastor, co-director of the Center for Democracy and Election Management at American University in Washington. This convergence, he said, partly explains why such measures are likely to become more popular and why they will make election administration, which is already a highly partisan issue, even more heated and litigious.
Well, yes. Illegal immigrants should not be able to vote. Nor should even those who are visiting legally. They are not US citizens.
Remember, when you go to the voting booth on a designated voting day (as opposed to early voting), you give them your name, and they check your name off. The logical extension is for the voting precinct works to look at an ID that shows that your are actually the person voting, though, again, you have no Right to vote in a federal election, per the Constitution. That Right is generally conferred by State constitutions and/or State law. That Right could be removed, BTW. That is the basic reason why it is Constitutional to disenfranchise felons.
All that said, I would recommend that the Missouri law not be implemented prior to the 2008 elections. It might actually be tough for some people to verify that they are US citizens in the face of what we know is government incompetence. It may take some people awhile to find the documentation necessary. Of course, this is up to the people of Missouri to decide on, and approved by the 10th Amendment of the Bill of Rights.
Critics say that when this level of documentation is applied to voting, it becomes more difficult for the poor, disabled, elderly and minorities to participate in the political process.
Yawn. Could the left please come up with new talking points? This one is stale and predictable. Personally, I am all for disenfranchising people who couldn’t answer a simple test on what they are voting for.
Of course, those liberals who love to make sure that elections are fair, such as Firedoglake, Hullabaloo (who calls it voter fraud fraud), Prairie Weather, and Eschaton, are all for the measure. They love it!
