The whole leftist "argument" to the contrary is based on a sentiment that leftists always have to gin up among the cattle-masses to get people to think they have a valid point: feigned pity. The actual objects of the pity are often quite insulted by it.Despite these alleged racist roadblocks to the ballot box, in 2008 blacks voted at a higher percentage than whites. That same year, liberal Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens wrote one of the majority opinions in a 6-3 case that upheld Indiana's voter ID law, which required voters to show a photo ID -- such as a driver's license or passport -- before casting their votes. Stevens recognized "flagrant examples of (voter) fraud" throughout America's history and wrote that "not only is the risk of voter fraud real" but "it could affect the outcome of a close election." The additional burden on voters, Stevens argued, is more than offset by "the state's interest in counting only the votes of eligible voters."Blacks also support voter ID. A 2016 Gallup poll found that 77 percent of non-whites support voter ID, nearly as high as the 81 percent of whites who support it.The fact that voter ID is legal and popular does not, of course, affect the view that it "suppresses" the minority vote. The George Soros-supported website ThinkProgress ran a story last year with this menacing headline: "New Study Confirms that Voter ID Laws Are Very Racist."Citing research by three professors from U.C. San Diego, Michigan State and Bucknell University, the article says: "turnout among Hispanic voters is '7.1 percentage points lower in general elections and 5.3 points lower in primaries' in states with strict voter ID laws. The laws also reduce turnout among African-American and Asian-American voters. White turnout, according to their study, is 'largely unaffected.'"Case closed? Not exactly.A follow-up study by researchers from Yale, Stanford and the University of Pennsylvania found no evidence that voter ID laws have a statistically significant impact on voter turnout. This study examined the methodology and conclusions of the previous study. Its researchers wrote: "Widespread concern that voter identification laws suppress turnout among racial and ethnic minorities has made empirical evaluations of these laws crucial. But problems with administrative records and survey data impede such evaluations. ... We show that the results of the paper are a product of data inaccuracies (and) the presented evidence does not support the stated conclusion ... When errors are corrected, one can recover positive, negative or null estimates of the effect of voter ID laws on turnout, precluding firm conclusions."In other words, the data do not support the notion that the "brown-brown" are too dumb, too lazy or otherwise incapable of obtaining the necessary identification to vote.
Thursday, October 25, 2018
There's nothing racist or vote-suppressing about voter-ID laws
Per Larry Elder's latest column:
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Minority participation starts at a lower percentage, so placing a race-sensitive obstacle may well have only a minimal impact if, as these articles do, you only look at resulting turnout.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, if the State enforces a requirement for you to exercise your right to vote and a particular demographic already has a larger percentage that do not meet that requirement (say, rural and/or elderly blacks and college students, for example), then that just ain't right.
It depends on how you approach the issue. Is the eligibility to participate in the democratic process a right of every lawful citizen that must be vigilantly protected, or is it a privilege reserved for those with the means and the leisure to jump through hoops usually contrived and constructed by old white men?
There may not be evidence that voter ID (and other suppression tactics - see Georgia for a comprehensive deployment) has suppressed voter turnout, generally or specifically. Most current literature suggests that it will take a few more cycles for us to have enough good data to measure the true impact. However, if your objective is to increase participation and civic-mindedness among citizens currently underrepresented, these policies clearly are an obstacle to that goal.
It's not that hard to get ID. Everyone has seen the lists of places that require one. Liquor stores, banks, the floor of the DNC convention.
ReplyDeleteAnd, as Larry Elder points out, 77 percent of nonwhites support voter ID.
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DeleteTell it to North Dakota Navajos. It's not hard for YOU to get an ID, but there is a whole world past the end of your nose.
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