Wellstone Action!

posted by Elana Wolowitz

MAY 05, 2008

On Monday, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of a democracy-destroying law in Indiana, which forces voters to present a state-issued picture ID at polls. Voters without IDs are allowed to cast provisional ballots, provided they show up at the county courthouse within 10 days to prove their identity. In Indiana, these picture IDs are given to citizens free of charge.

According to Indiana progressive and civil rights groups, this law is tantamount to discrimination, claiming it disproportionately affects poor, minority, and elderly voters. The law was passed under the banner of preventing voter fraud, but to demonstrate support for the majority opinion, Justice John Paul Stevens reached back to those tumultuous days of 1868 and the disputed poll outcomes and influence of Boss Tweed in New York's municipal elections. Don't we all remember that?

Critics of the law show evidence that if voter fraud is to be found, it's usually with absentee balloting. But despite the fact that their law is a solution in search of a problem, Indiana is now a model for other states like Oklahoma and Texas, which support the ID law and plan to pass similar restrictions. 25 states currently require some form of ID for voting.

Right on the heels of this decision, the good folks at Facing South report that African-American households in North Carolina are receiving fake robo-calls with inaccurate voter information. The automatic calls tell voters that they will soon receive a "voter registration packet" in the mail and that they must sign, date, and return the packet in order to vote. The official story is that this is an identity theft scam, and not a naked attempt at voter suppression in the African-American community.

And what do we glean from these stories from two states on the eve of their Democratic primaries? Whatever their intended purpose (securing the electorate, stealing identities, etc) the voter ID law in Indiana and the dirty tactics in North Carolina create a climate of confusion, fear, and distrust in our election process. It doesn't take many drops to poison the well, and give voters one more reason not to come to the polls and hold elected officials accountable.

Progressive groups and civil rights organizations need to continue to organize to stem the tide of voter disenfranchisement and actively engage in voter education to be sure voters have all the tools in hand to be able to exercise their rights.