The premise behind Voter-ID laws is that there is rampant voter fraud and this measure is necessary to insure the integrity of the franchise. The reality, however, is starkly different from this narrative. Studies reveal no such runaway fraud is occurring. Voter errors and mistakes during registration are routinely caught and corrected. No one is showing up at my polling station with fraudulent paperwork to vote in my name. To seriously affect the vote outcome would require the coordination of thousands of such perpetrators appearing at polling stations to cast votes in someone else’s name – In the thousands. In addition no so-called illegal immigrants are appearing with falsified papers to vote. Fear of being identified keeps them from doing so.

Voter-ID laws in all red states are accompanied by logistical requirements that make the process of obtaining formal Voter-IDs more difficult. a) Legitimate IDs are obtained only from state authorized offices, generally DMV offices. Such offices are often relegated to those in primarily white communities, or remote areas with poor transportation services available making for difficulties for citizens from minority communities; b) Official hours are routinely restricted to times other than the lunch hour requiring taking off from work, again a hardship for minority citizens; c) an official stamped birth certificate (not a copy) is required to verify one’s identity, again a cost that more negatively affects minority communities; d) your current ID must coincide with your birth certificate; this has proven problematic for women who are married with a name different from that on her birth certificate. It is unclear how stringently this requirement is implemented in more affluent communities.

Studies of the effects of Voter-ID laws do not show that voter fraud is diminished or eliminated by the implementation of the law. The lack of clarity results from the difficulty of assessing whether someone was prevented from fraudulently voting. So-called Illegal immigrants are not likely to risk capture by voting so their numbers would be negligible in any case.

Actual study results on the other hand reveal that voting in minority areas are depressed by the implementation of Voter-ID laws. People who have regularly voted for years are being removed from voter rolls because they are not able to present the kinds of documentation necessary. Instead of addressing voter fraud Voter-ID laws are keeping voters from exercising their civil rights, and this is primarily affecting minority communities.

A simple test of the problem of voter fraud is easily conducted: Just visit any one of the thousands upon thousands of offices of Registrar of Voters in any state across the country. This could be in highly populated urban centers, or in less densely populated rural townships. Ask just two questions: 1) How many fraudulent votes are cast in this jurisdiction in any election? And 2) What measures are in place to deal with the problem of voter fraud?

You will hear something in the order of, “What fraudulent votes?” You will be told that occasionally there are mistakes made on initial registration forms, errors of omission or commission, but these are easily corrected. As far as fraudulent voting goes you will hear that it is not a problem.

The point is no jurisdiction anywhere in the country will report rampant voter fraud because it isn’t happening.

Voting is a right guaranteed and protected by the Constitution. It is not, as some would have you believe, a privilege like driving to which it is often compared. Driving is clearly a privilege and must be earned. It rightly requires demonstrating knowledge of the laws governing safe operation of an automobile, and showing competency in an actual driving test before a license is granted. In addition liability insurance is required as a legal and social commitment of a responsible participant within the wider community.

The right to vote on the other hand is granted by the Constitution by virtue of one’s citizenship by birth. As a right it “shall not be restricted on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” (Amendment XV, Section 1) All Voter-ID laws appear to seek to circumvent this guarantee under the guise of protecting our voting system. It is a false narrative that in fact violates this Constitutionally guaranteed right to of the franchise.

I have an observation: If the motivation of those in power in red states, or in any jurisdiction where Voter-ID laws are enacted, is true and concerned with the interests of all constituents, when results reporting that minority communities are negatively affected by Voter-ID laws that those in power would have moved to rescind or revoke these laws.

That they nave not done so leads me to believe their intent all along has been to suppress the vote and disenfranchise minority communities for political reasons.