John Lewis Says Voter ID Laws Are 'Poll Taxes By Another Name'

[SassyIrishLass]

Keep in mind this is the same John Lewis who claimed the n-word was being shouted at him over and over and cameras at the event caught nothing. He screams racist at every turn and he's a liar

Yeah, he's just another ******...

You said it not me, I said he's a lying racist

 

[Political Junky]

Congressman John Lewis is correct.

 

[Jarlaxle]

We used to live in Indiana and they had voter ID, anyone that couldn't afford a state ID could get one free of charge, all they had to do was tell the DMV they needed ID to vote. SCOTUS upheld the law

Yeah, that sounds nice - but it certainly isn't that easy everywhere. Some people don't even have a birth certificate.

Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About Voter ID Laws - ProPublica

So? My grandmother has no birth certificate. My wife cannot get her birth certificate. Yet, neither had any trouble getting valid ID!

 

[Jarlaxle]

WASHINGTON -- Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) said Thursday that voter ID laws are a modern-day version of poll taxes once used by Southern states to disenfranchise black and poor people.

In a piece called "The Unfinished Work of Selma," Lewis reflected on the Supreme Court's decision in June 2013 to strike down a core piece of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. That provision, Section 4, determined which states and localities with a history of suppressing minority voters had to get permission from the Justice Department to change their voting laws. In a 5-4 vote, the court ruled that the section was outdated, and left it to Congress to come up with a new formula for designating which regions of the country warrant special scrutiny.

Congress hasn't done anything since. As Lewis noted in his piece, published on Mic, Republicans in statehouses around the country have moved quickly to pass laws making it harder for people to vote.

"Couched in language about 'protecting the ballot box,' Republicans have pushed voter ID laws that disproportionately impact certain blocks of voters -- African-Americans, women, Latinos, the poor and young people -- who tend to vote against them," he wrote. "In Texas alone, 600,000 voters were at risk of being disenfranchised by the new voter ID requirements."

Lewis said it's important to call those laws what they are.

"We should not mince words: These are poll taxes by another name, the very types of discrimination we marched against 50 years ago," he said.

Since the Supreme Court ruling, states that previously required pre-clearance from the federal government -- Mississippi and Texas, to name two -- have been able to pass laws that make voting more difficult for people who are poor, disabled or a minority, through such means as requiring a government-issued photo ID in order to vote. More than half the states in the country have introduced voter ID laws since 2011.

John Lewis Says Voter ID Laws Are 'Poll Taxes By Another Name'

The Unfinished Work of Selma - By Congressman John Lewis (D-GA)

Rep. John Lewis should know. He marched with Dr. King in Selma.

So what? Marching with King makes him old, but not right.

Was Dr. King wrong?

Doctor King now?.... He was sane and rational. John Lewis never has been and has lost all touch with reality in his later years.

I wonder if he is going senile.

 

[HenryBHough]

If a person has to pay even one cent to get ID that would be acceptable then it's tantamount to a poll tax. If a person has to pay anybody anything to reasonably get to where FREE IDs are available then that, too, is tantamount to a poll tax, using economics to disenfranchise voters.

This time the left has a point. But I don't see anybody on the left offering to sponsor legislation at any level of government to make free ID easily available to anyone anywhere.

 

[SassyIrishLass]

If a person has to pay even one cent to get ID that would be acceptable then it's tantamount to a poll tax. If a person has to pay anybody anything to reasonably get to where FREE IDs are available then that, too, is tantamount to a poll tax, using economics to disenfranchise voters.

This time the left has a point. But I don't see anybody on the left offering to sponsor legislation at any level of government to make free ID easily available to anyone anywhere.

Sort of splitting hairs, and again, someone can't function without a valid ID, it's impossible

 

[HenryBHough]

Sort of splitting hairs, and again, someone can't function without a valid ID, it's impossible

Several thousand people I personally know will differ with you on that. They live in remote areas where births are at home, there are no banks and the closest thing offering ID services is the state Department of Motor Vehicles whose office is 100 to 400 miles away. No roads to drive there so no cars. No paths to walk. Yes, there is air service but you need ID in order to get to DMV to get acceptable ID. ID only (not a driver's license) is available for $10 but free if over 65. Said ID not valid for life; only for four (4, libs) years. Not a problem as they don't have money to buy airline tickets anyway. Still, they do function quite well in their own way.

 

[tinydancer]

South Africa and many third world nations have voter ID laws. The Carter Center mandates voter ID before they will work with a country to monitor an election.

Why the hell is it that Democrats believe that America's minorities are dumber than a box of rocks and incapable of getting voter ID?

I mean come on. South Africa? Honduras? Voter ID laws.But liberals believe Americans can't get their shit together?

 

[tinydancer]

Even in America voter ID was required by the Carter Center for the Cherokee Nation.

What's wrong with voter ID Dems? You think minorites are such dumb fucks that they can't get it together to get ID?

You must because you keep whining, moaning and wailing that this places an impossible hardship on your voters.

Shit man. You libs are pathetic.

One Cherokee, One Vote … With Valid ID, Just like Post-Apartheid South Africa Requires

One Cherokee One Vote With Valid ID Just like Post-Apartheid South Africa Requires

 

[Jarlaxle]

If a person has to pay even one cent to get ID that would be acceptable then it's tantamount to a poll tax. If a person has to pay anybody anything to reasonably get to where FREE IDs are available then that, too, is tantamount to a poll tax, using economics to disenfranchise voters.

This time the left has a point. But I don't see anybody on the left offering to sponsor legislation at any level of government to make free ID easily available to anyone anywhere.

Following that, *ahem* "logic", you MUST now agree that they be provided with transportation to and from the polling places, free of charge.

 

[HenryBHough]

Following that, *ahem* "logic", you MUST now agree that they be provided with transportation to and from the polling places, free of charge.

Yes, I am indeed arguing just that. If people are forced to make any expenditure in order to get an acceptable ID then it's nothing more than a poll tax. Don't have the money to get on the plane to go where the closest IDs are available? In that case you're disenfranchised.

How would like it, Jar, if you were told your closest polling place were 1,000 miles away and you had to vote in person, getting there at your own expense? Would you not feel disenfranchised?

That, of course, assumes you actually do vote or might sometime down the road. And we all know about ASSumptions....

 

[Jarlaxle]

Then you're insane. Consistent, but insane. By that "logic", I demand you pay for a taxi so I can get to the polling place and back!

I have voted in every election since I was 18.

 

[HenryBHough]

Then you're insane. Consistent, but insane. By that "logic", I demand you pay for a taxi so I can get to the polling place and back!

I have voted in every election since I was 18.

If there is no polling place within reasonable walking distance and if there is no provision for voting by mail then you damn well deserve to be given at least bus fare. Certainly, too, returning a mail-in ballot should not require you to even buy a postage stamp. That, too, would be a poll tax.

 

[Liminal]

WASHINGTON -- Civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) said Thursday that voter ID laws are a modern-day version of poll taxes once used by Southern states to disenfranchise black and poor people.

In a piece called "The Unfinished Work of Selma," Lewis reflected on the Supreme Court's decision in June 2013 to strike down a core piece of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. That provision, Section 4, determined which states and localities with a history of suppressing minority voters had to get permission from the Justice Department to change their voting laws. In a 5-4 vote, the court ruled that the section was outdated, and left it to Congress to come up with a new formula for designating which regions of the country warrant special scrutiny.

Congress hasn't done anything since. As Lewis noted in his piece, published on Mic, Republicans in statehouses around the country have moved quickly to pass laws making it harder for people to vote.

"Couched in language about 'protecting the ballot box,' Republicans have pushed voter ID laws that disproportionately impact certain blocks of voters -- African-Americans, women, Latinos, the poor and young people -- who tend to vote against them," he wrote. "In Texas alone, 600,000 voters were at risk of being disenfranchised by the new voter ID requirements."

Lewis said it's important to call those laws what they are.

"We should not mince words: These are poll taxes by another name, the very types of discrimination we marched against 50 years ago," he said.

Since the Supreme Court ruling, states that previously required pre-clearance from the federal government -- Mississippi and Texas, to name two -- have been able to pass laws that make voting more difficult for people who are poor, disabled or a minority, through such means as requiring a government-issued photo ID in order to vote. More than half the states in the country have introduced voter ID laws since 2011.

John Lewis Says Voter ID Laws Are 'Poll Taxes By Another Name'

The Unfinished Work of Selma - By Congressman John Lewis (D-GA)

Rep. John Lewis should know. He marched with Dr. King in Selma.

The only reason to have these so called voter ID laws is to disenfranchise certain specific constituencies. End of story.

 

[HenryBHough]

The only reason to have these so called voter ID laws is to disenfranchise certain specific constituencies. End of story.

Well yes! They're intended to disenfranchise ineligibles. Ineligible because they're not (yet) citizens. Ineligible because they're trying to vote more than once. So you want those folks free to vote? In the latter case, how many times do you feel would be OK for them to vote in the same election? Twice? Five Times? Put a number on it!

But to vote once MUST NOT cost anyone anything. Nothing. Nada. Zip. If an ID is readily available and free of cost it serves only the purpose of keeping elections honest. ONLY that purpose.

 

[Jarlaxle]

The only reason to have these so called voter ID laws is to disenfranchise certain specific constituencies. End of story.

No matter how many times you repeat that line of bullshit, it is still bullshit!

 

[PaintMyHouse]

The only reason to have these so called voter ID laws is to disenfranchise certain specific constituencies. End of story.

No matter how many times you repeat that line of bullshit, it is still bullshit!

It's hard to make a lie out of something the GOP admits to...
6 Other Times Republicans Admitted Voting Restrictions Are Just About Disenfranchising Democrats - The National Memo

 

[blackhawk]

Wow you found a Democrat who has a problem with voter I.D. laws shocking just schocking I tell you.

 

[mikegriffith1]

And if John Lewis said the Earth were flat, you'd throw away your globes.

It is obscene and disgraceful to compare voter ID laws to poll taxes. You can't buy alcohol or cigarettes and can't fly on a plane without showing a photo ID. When I go to make changes to my AT&T cell phone account at an AT&T store, they won't make any changes until I show a photo ID.

So how in the world is it "discrimination" or "voter suppression" to simply require a photo ID to perform the crucial act of voting? Why don't you folks demand that all minorities be exempt from showing a photo ID when they buy alcohol, buy cigarettes, or fly on a plane?

But, of course, you probably stopped reading after the first sentence because your brain flashed a message saying "Warning: Logic and Reason Detected. Brainwashing Could Be Ruined If You Continue to Read."

 

[HenryBHough]

So many on the left cannot resolve the difference between rights and privileges.