Voter ID Laws Don’t Stop People Voting

image credit: texastribune.org

In favor of Voter ID laws:

No difference across race, gender, or party, analysis finds

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Charles Fain Lehman at Washington Free Beacon (h/t Instapundit) reports:

Strict voter ID laws do not suppress turnout, a new paper finds, regardless of sex, race, Hispanic identity, or party affiliation.

Requiring photo ID to vote is a hotly contested subject in American political discourse. Proponents argue that it is necessary to insure against fraud and preserve the integrity of the American electoral system. Opponents argue that it will disenfranchise otherwise eligible voters—many of whom would be poor and of color—who are unable to easily obtain ID.

In total, 10 states, ranging from Georgia to Wisconsin [and including Ohio], require voters to show ID in order to vote. Seven of those states require a photo ID, and three do not. An additional 25 states "request" that voters display ID, but may still permit them to vote on a provision ballot if they cannot. The remaining states "use other methods to verify the identity of voters," according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The new research, from an economics professor at the University of Bologna and another at Harvard Business School, indicates that "strict" voting laws of the type implemented in those ten states do not have a statistically significant effect on voter turnout.

Full report is here. Ohio’s Voter ID laws are considered “strict.”  See here.  

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Ohio primary bills and Photo ID Lobby Day info

Photo credit: oxlre.org

These just in from Ohio Tea Party Patriots via Marianne:

Ohio's Turf in Play There is a bill that just passed the House that would push our primary date back another week.  That would mean six more states would do their primaries before us, making Ohio less relevant in the process.   Also, Ohio is a winner take all state.  That means the candidate that received the most delegate votes, receives all the delegate votes, rather than the ones that actually voted for the candidate. Assuming Governor Kasich intends to run for President, if he received one more delegate vote than all the other candidates, he would receive all the delegate votes from Ohio. Why would our legislature want Ohio to be LESS relevant in an election cycle.  Could it be because Kasich is concerned about the lack of support he'll garner from his own state, especially since our state budget has expanded under his leadership?   Could it be because Kasich went against the will of the people and his legislature when expanding Medicaid, which is now 33% higher than projected? Could it be because Kasich continues to lie about Common Core and insult the parents of the children forced to deal with it, while he sends his girls to private school? If they should be changing anything, it should be the "winner takes all" rule.

It's About the Party Not the People Unfortunately, this battle over turf happens at every level, Federal, State and Local.  The role of the Party is to protect the Party and its turf, that is the only way to be successful in the party's agenda, whatever it may be. So how do we protect the people?  It starts at the local level. Become the Party.  Ask yourself: Who is my precinct rep in my county party? If you don't know, find out by calling your Central Committee Chair or your County Board of Elections.  If you don't have one, run for the office.  All you need is five valid signatures on your petition (always get more). Your precinct rep is your voice at the local level.  Know who they are or become one. If you need help, let CTPP  know.

Photo ID Lobby Day Just a reminder for this Wednesday's Photo ID Requirement Lobby Day: WHEN: Wednesday, April 29th: 10:00 a.m. - Attend press conference 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. - Meet with legislators WHERE: Ohio Statehouse Atrium (East Entrance) If you are unable to attend, please contact your state Representative and Senator and let them know that you support voter photo identification.  Ask them to show support and co-sponsor the legislation. Click here to contact your representative   Click here to contact your Senator # # #

Photo ID law in Wisconsin is upheld

Earlier this week, Cleveland Tea Party Patriots learned about the initiatives to require Photo IDs in order to vote. Chris Long addressed the issue as it concerns voter fraud as opposed to voter integrity. Ohio voters can take a look at a recent development on a voter ID law in Wisconsin, via Hot Air:

Surprise: SCOTUS upholds Wisconsin voter-ID law

POSTED AT 12:01 PM ON MARCH 23, 2015 BY ED MORRISSEY

Or maybe not such a surprise after all. The path to today’s Supreme Court decision to refuse an appeal by the ACLU against Wisconsin’s voter-ID law has been strewn with appellate decisions that supported its implementation, although a last-minute stay by SCOTUS kept it out of play for the midterms. The law will fully take effect for the 2016 election, which may complicate efforts by Democrats to keep the state blue:

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday left intact a new Republican-backed law in Wisconsin that requires voters to present photo identification when they cast ballots.

The court declined to hear an appeal filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, which challenged the law. …

A federal judge blocked the state’s voter ID law in March 2012 soon after it took effect and entered a permanent injunction in April, finding the measure would deter or prevent a substantial number of voters who lack photo identification from casting ballots, and place an unnecessary burden on the poor and minorities.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals blocked the decision and subsequently ruled in October that the law was constitutional. Wisconsin’s Supreme Court upheld the voter ID law in a separate ruling.

The SCOTUS stay in October had more to do with the timing of the law, thanks to the scheduling of the challenges through the courts. Regardless, the election still went in favor of Scott Walker and the GOP, preventing Democrats from repealing the voter-ID provision before it could come into effect.

This will put a huge dent in the Obama administration’s efforts to squelch voter-ID laws in other states. In order to grant certiorari, the ACLU would have needed four justices to vote to add it to the docket. The fact that they couldn’t even move the liberal wing to unite against a voter-ID law shows that the justices consider the issue settled. Requirements for identification at polling stations are legitimate, in the eyes of the court, as long as enough options for no-cost qualifying ID exist to keep the poor from being disenfranchised.

The dismissal of this challenge to the law will also help boost Walker’s efforts outside of Wisconsin. He’s known for reforming the public-employee unions, balancing the budget, and most recently for signing Right to Work legislation even if he advised the Republican-controlled legislature to move more slowly on the latter. Some forget that Walker backed the voter-ID legislation as part of his reform package that got him elected in 2010, and then reconfirmed in 2012 and re-elected again in 2014. It gives Walker an argument to position himself as the reformer who has a real track record of conservative change in a purple state, change that could turn the state red for good.

However, the Supreme Court decision isn’t keeping the ACLU fromdemanding yet another delay, on the same basis as the last one:

The Wisconsin state elections board says it is awaiting direction from the state Department of Justice about what comes next now that the U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear a challenge to the state’s voter identification law.

The American Civil Liberties Union asked a federal appeals court to block implementation of the law for the April 7 election.

If the ACLU gets its waiver, it had better enjoy it — because it will be its last.

Update: It’s more accurate to say that the refusal to grant cert in this case upholds the law rather than approves it, although functionally it’s the same thing. I’ve changed the headline from “approves” to “upholds.”

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