NYT: Lower Voter Turnout Is Seen in States That Require ID

[DeepModem Mom]

Suppressing Democratic and minority votes --

Lower Voter Turnout Is Seen in States That Require ID
By CHRISTOPHER DREW
Published: February 21, 2007

States that imposed identification requirements on voters reduced turnout at the polls in the 2004 presidential election by about 3 percent, and by two to three times as much for minorities, new research suggests.

The study, prepared by scholars at Rutgers and Ohio State Universities for the federal Election Assistance Commission, supports concerns among voting-rights advocates that blacks and Hispanics could be disproportionately affected by ID requirements. But federal officials say more research is needed to draw firmer conclusions about the effects on future elections.

Tim Vercellotti, a professor at the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University who helped conduct the study, said that in the states where voters were required to sign their names or present identifying documents like utility bills, blacks were 5.7 percent less likely to vote than in states where voters simply had to say their names.

Dr. Vercellotti said Hispanics appeared to be 10 percent less likely to vote under those requirements, while the combined rate for people of all races was 2.7 percent.

“Do people not even go to vote because they don’t want to hassle with the requirements, or is this occurring at the polling place, when they’re told they can’t vote without further ID?” Dr. Vercellotti asked. “If we can answer this question, then policymakers can develop procedures and voter awareness campaigns to mitigate it.”...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/21/us/21voting.html

[yourout]

1. Mission accomplished.

So says the RNC.

[CountAllVotes]

2. or so they think

Do they all have the "proper" ID?

I bet not!

:kick:

[L. Coyote]

3. Hispanics appeared to be 10 percent less likely to vote....

Cause for civil right litigation, I suspect! Any lawyers read this?

[L. Coyote]

4. Requiring Voter ID at the Polls Reduces Minority Turn-Out

Commentary: Requiring Voter ID at the Polls Reduces Minority Turn-Out, So Why Are the Feds Pushing It?

Date: Friday, February 23, 2007
By: Judge Greg Mathis, Special to BlackAmericaWeb.com
http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/sayitloud/mathis223

Election reform is a serious issue in this country, one that has to be dealt with. But denying American citizens the right to vote is not the way to do it.

And that’s exactly what’s happening in states that implement new identification requirements. A new study shows that voter identification requirements designed to combat fraud may actually reduce turnout, particularly among voters of color.

....

If this government is committed to ensuring all Americans are able to participate in the political process, then it has to find a way to combat election fraud without compromising the voting rights of citizens.

==========

Judge Greg Mathis is national vice president of Rainbow PUSH and a national board member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.