Rigging our right to vote

August 21, 2012

The Virginian-Pilot reports, "The Department of Justice has cleared Virginia's new voter identification law. The law requires voters to present identification - everything from a drivers license to a utility bill is accepted - before voting. Those who don't will be given a provisional ballot, a vote not counted unless the voter subsequently presents election officials with proof of his or her identity... Many critics of the law say it unfairly discriminates against certain groups, who don't have identification, and attempts to prevent a form of voter fraud that is rare."

Progressive Point: Voting is a fundamental American freedom. But across the country, conservatives are waging a concerted campaign to keep Americans away from the polls. You see, if they can't be sure you're going to vote for them, they'd rather you not vote at all.

New anti-voting laws are designed to prevent eligible voters from casting a ballot. Seniors, people of color, low-income Americans, veterans and students will all face new hurdles to making sure their vote counts. It's bad enough conservatives are rewriting our laws to favor the big corporations funding their campaigns. Now they're working together to rig the vote--so the system stays rigged in their favor.

Get the Facts:

• The new voter ID law passed in Virginia forces voters who do not bring one of the approved forms of ID to the poll to cast a provisional ballot that will only be counted if they report to their election office with an approved ID within three days of the election. (Virginian-Pilot, July 30, 2012)

• Implementing these voting restrictions will cost Virginia between $522,000 and $1.26 million. (Washington Times, March 15, 2012)


• Proponents of the new Virginia legislation making it harder to vote say it's necessary to solve the problem of voter fraud, but even the bill's sponsor admits that voter fraud is not a problem and could not name an instance of it occurring. (YouTube)

• Currently in Virginia, "ex-felons must apply to the governor to have their voting rights restored after a waiting period." One of Virginia New Majority's goals is to have them restored automatically. Additionally, they are working to allow "no-fault" absentee voting which allows voters to vote absentee without needing an excuse as it is currently. (Washington Post, August 14, 2012)

Forward to a Friend via email

Share on Facebook

Tweet it: Rigging our right to vote http://bit.ly/QmWS8M via @ProgressVA