Setting the Record Straight on Voter ID Laws

Republicans across the country have been pushing voter ID laws claiming that they would make voting more secure. But the truth is, all they do is make voting more difficult while doing nothing to improve the integrity of our elections. In fact, the problem they say they are trying to fix – voter impersonation – is incredibly rare with a recent analysis revealing only 31 credible instances since the year 2000. These laws are part of a cynical GOP strategy to keep people from the ballot box. Today’s Republican Party is so out of touch with the American people that they know their best path to victory is if fewer voices are heard, if fewer Americans exercise one of their most basic constitutional rights.



'Villagers' know that our country is stronger when more voices are heard. Don't we want to live in a country committed to expanding rights not taking them away – we want to empower people, to break down barriers and to expand opportunity for all Americans. And one of the best ways to do that is to make sure they have all the facts. So take a look at this video to learn the truth about some of the most common GOP myths on voter ID laws.

The current unrest in Ferguson, Missouri is a clear example of the truism, 'Elections Have Consequences'. The Black community in that city had single-digit turnout to vote ... and as a result the town's political power structure doesn't have many Black participants.

We need to vote! Can you make the commitment to vote this year?

Cost of Freedom Project

Open Letter to Proud Black Voters,

I am writing to ask for your support for the Cost of Freedom Voter ID App, a user-friendly app that will cut through the confusion and help voters get an official photo ID.





As you know, the Justice Department blocked South Carolina from implementing its voter ID law; rulings on Texas and Mississippi are pending. As of this writing, strict photo ID requirements will be in effect in Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Tennessee and Wisconsin. There’s a 50-50 chance that Pennsylvania, a battleground state, will enact a voter ID law this year.

In 2000, we didn't know about the butterfly ballot design or clogged punch-card voting machines. Today, we know millions of citizens do not have government-issued photo ID. In Wisconsin, a swing state, 55% of African American men and 46% of Latino men do not have a driver’s license. Similarly, 49% of Black women and 59% of Latino women lack an official photo ID.

Among African Americans aged 18-24, 78% of Black men and 66% of Black women do not have a driver’s license. If the Wisconsin election is close, photo IDs could affect the outcome.

Casting a provisional ballot is not a solution. In 2008, 1,000 voters in Indiana were turned away because they did not have government-issued photo ID. That may not sound like a lot but George W. Bush won Florida by 537 votes.

Florida Rep. Frederica Wilson told MSNBC: "All of a sudden after the 2008 election, these (voter ID laws) miraculously appear. Why? Because we have a Black president in the White House and it is to stop all of the people of color from … coming out to vote."

The Cost of Freedom Voter ID App will quickly give users information on how to get a voter ID. With the rollback of hours at the DMV and bureaucratic delays in processing requests for birth certificates, voters cannot wait until September to get ready. They need to be educated about their state’s photo ID requirements and provided assistance now.

Please visit the Cost of Freedom Voter ID App campaign today and make a pledge. The civil rights generation fought for the right to vote. As voter ID laws proliferate across the country, it’s now our responsibility to remove impediments to the ballot box.

The struggle continues.

Sincerely,
Faye Anderson, Chief Evangelist
Cost of Freedom Project

The High Cost of a Voter ID

Guest Blog Post by: Faye Anderson.

I spent the weekend at the Random Hacks of Kindness hack-a-thon at Drexel University. The event brought together developers and subject matter experts to build mobile and web apps “to make the world a better place.”

I’m a voting rights advocate so I shared the problem facing millions of registered voters who, for the first time, must present government-issued photo ID in order to vote. Voters without a photo ID can apply for a free voter ID, but they need a photo ID to establish their identity.

Some background: In eight states – Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin – registered voters must show government-issued photo ID to vote.


In Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, the U. S. Supreme Court held that states with strict photo ID requirements must provide free IDs. While the voter ID is free, the document a citizen must produce to establish his or her identity is not free. Those documents include birth certificates and passports. Of course, if a voter has a passport, there would no need to get a voter ID.

The cost of obtaining a birth certificate ranges from $5.00 in Indiana to $25.00 in Georgia. In addition to the state fee, an applicant will have to pay for postage and photocopying (if requested by mail), transportation (if requested in person) or the VitalChek.com fee (if ordered online).

The strict photo ID requirements will disproportionately impact young and minority voters.

Voting rights groups, including the ACLU and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, are challenging the constitutionality of photo ID laws, as applied. But the countdown to Election Day 2012 has begun and voters without government-issued photo ID need assistance right now.

So on Sunday, we presented a prototype for the Cost of Freedom App, a voter education tool.

Developed by Joe Tricarico, John Campbell, Maneesha Sane and yours truly, the mobile and web app will provide voters with the information they need to apply for a voter ID. If they do not have documents to establish their identity, users will be able to type in their address to find out how to obtain a certified copy of their birth certificate and the cost. If they want to apply in person, they will be given the office location, office hours and directions using public transportation.

You don’t have to be a developer to help build the app. If you want to get involved, join the conversation on Facebook. On Twitter, use the hashtag #costoffreedom.

Michigan Considers New Voter Suppression Laws

Michigan may soon join states like Florida and Tennessee in implementing major new voting rights restrictions.

A new bill designed to make registering voters more difficult is currently working its way through the Republican-controlled legislature. As Project Vote details, SB 754 would put new regulations in place to require photo ID in order to register, create new restrictions on nonprofit organizations who register voters, and undercut voter registration drives by requiring completed registration forms to be submitted with 24 hours when the election is nearing.

Read the rest of the ThinkProgress article.

Emanuel Cleaver, Artur Davis Spar Over Voter ID Laws

Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) criticized former Rep. Artur Davis today for his recent support of voter ID laws, saying that his changed stance has led to speculation that the Alabama Democrat is considering becoming a Republican.

“I don’t know why Artur Davis ... wrote what he did,” Cleaver said about an opinion column by Davis that appeared last week in the Montgomery Advertiser. Davis wrote in support of voter ID laws like the one in his native Alabama and alleged that voter fraud is widespread in parts of the Black community.

Read the rest of the article.