Tea Party seems determined to push our country backwards?
This attack on voting surely has nothing to do with real voter fraud. A five-year investigation by the Bush Department of Justice showed a scant 86 voter fraud convictions, and most of these cases could not have been prevented by voter ID laws. Another study showed that only 24 people were convicted of or pled guilty to illegal voting between 2002 and 2005. Again, photo ID laws would not have prevented this fraud. Instead of attempting to suppress the vote, we ought to be encouraging it – we have one of the lowest levels of voter participation in the world.
In the middle of an economic crisis, legislators are passing laws that will cost millions of dollars to implement. Is this the price of democracy, of voting integrity? Hardly. It is the price of chicanery. It is officially sanctioned voter suppression that, when combined with informal intimidating tactics already keep millions from the polls. For example, in Georgia, at the cusp of an election, those who owed child support were sent letters warning them that their status might be checked at the polls. In an urban center, during an anticipated close election, voters in some precincts were called and told the election had been decided (it had not been) and they did not need to vote. Furthermore, efforts that have been made in the past to expand the electorate are now being eliminated. In some states, early voting and Sunday voting have been eliminated; in others, churches and community centers can no longer register voters. Civic organizations that once registered voters now will not because laws have been passed that make it difficult to comply with laws (such as registrations must be turned in within 24 or 48 hours), and that impose harsh penalties for noncompliance.
Some states are eliminating precinct voting. When you voted in your precinct you could walk down the street or around the block to vote. With “regional voting centers” several precincts are combined and it may be necessary to take public transportation, if there is such a thing in your area, to get to a polling place. If there is such a thing. Repressive states are refusing federal funds for public transportation because they have absolutely no interest in a mobile African-American population.
The bottom line – many are planning to make voting harder in 2012 than it was in 2008. They are planning to steal the 2012 election, and activist lawyers like Barbara Arnwine are passionately fighting back. Check out the Map of Shame at www.lawyerscommittee.org.
Julianne Malveaux is president of Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, N.C.
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