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

[thereisnospoon]

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 In a 5-4 vote, the court ruled that the section was outdated, and left it to Congress to come up with a new formula for designating which regions of the country warrant special scrutiny.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.

Lewis is an old school hyper lib who lives in the 1960's...He has been regurgitating the NAACP company line and uttering radical musings that rival Macolm X...
Poll tax.....What a fucking maroon..
What it ironic is that anyone can obtain a state issued ID free of charge.....Those that don't are for the most part too lazy to get it done.

 

[thereisnospoon]

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

They can get one of those as well. It's pretty simple. Again, those who are complaining either do not wish to make the effort or they just want to have something to complain about.

 

[thereisnospoon]

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

They have one somewhere if they were born here...I suspect you just answered part of the problem

No, dumbass, many older people never ever had a birth certificate. In other words, one was never prepared or recorded. They were just born.

Google "voter suppression"...

That's a fucking bunch of bullshit. My parents are in their 80's and have them....All births are recorded. At one point everyone had an ID...They can get one if they really want one.
This is a non issue....Why is Lewis even bitching about this? His district would vote for him if he was in prison.

 

[thereisnospoon]

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?

Are you attempting to derail the thread you created?....

 

[thereisnospoon]

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.

Idiots like Lewis would claim that the travel cost to get the ID is the "poll tax"....

 

[thereisnospoon]

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....

1,000 miles away? Don't be ridiculous....In any event, each person could claim the same thing.
Are we ALL disenfranchised?
Seriously. You are out to lunch on this.
I have to drive 30 miles to get my license renewed. Am I disenfranchised?....

 

[thereisnospoon]

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.

Liberal talking point. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[hortysir]

But I must show id to buy a gun.

Which right is enumerated first?

 

[HenryBHough]

1,000 miles away? Don't be ridiculous....In any event, each person could claim the same thing.
Are we ALL disenfranchised?
Seriously. You are out to lunch on this.
I have to drive 30 miles to get my license renewed. Am I disenfranchised?....

Driving is a privilege. If you want to drive then get a license and pay for it.

Voting is a right. A constitutional right. To have to pay out one penny in order to be able to vote is a de-facto poll tax. The distance thing could be overcome simply by offering a reasonable opportunity, maybe once a year, for anyone to get an ID at no charge either within walking distance of their home or by mail (pre-paid postage).

Of course if you think voting ought to be limited only to those who can afford to vote then your points are well taken. BTW, check out my posting history and see how liberal I am. Easy to do - but you won't.

 

[Ernie S.]

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.

He's been marching that way since Selma.

 

[Ernie S.]

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.

Exactly! Voter ID's laws are designed to disenfranchise the ineligible voter constituency.

 

[Ernie S.]

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

We, of course, would prefer no one voted Democrat, but we seek only at this point to restrict illegal aliens and dead people from voting Democrat.

 

[Ernie S.]

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."

Or buy a gun.....

 

[Ernie S.]

1,000 miles away? Don't be ridiculous....In any event, each person could claim the same thing.
Are we ALL disenfranchised?
Seriously. You are out to lunch on this.
I have to drive 30 miles to get my license renewed. Am I disenfranchised?....

Driving is a privilege. If you want to drive then get a license and pay for it.

Voting is a right. A constitutional right. To have to pay out one penny in order to be able to vote is a de-facto poll tax. The distance thing could be overcome simply by offering a reasonable opportunity, maybe once a year, for anyone to get an ID at no charge either within walking distance of their home or by mail (pre-paid postage).

Of course if you think voting ought to be limited only to those who can afford to vote then your points are well taken. BTW, check out my posting history and see how liberal I am. Easy to do - but you won't.

The right to vote was not described in the US Constitution. Voter laws and qualifications were left to the States.
Several amendments have given people the right to vote who were previously denied the privilege, (blacks, women 18 year olds) but residency, registration and general qualifications are still state by state.
If California doesn't want ID laws, that's fine by me. If Iowa does, I'm cool with that. It shouldn't be a national debate.

 

[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

We, of course, would prefer no one voted Democrat, but we seek only at this point to restrict illegal aliens and dead people from voting Democrat.

Well you can say that, but it isn't true. A fair vote doesn't favor the GOP, which is why they try and stop people from voting.

All you have to do is issue every American a photo ID, like other nations do for their citizens, but you won't because that helps you not at all.

 

[Ernie S.]

Bullshit! We had a fair vote last November. Who did it favor?

 

[PaintMyHouse]

Bullshit! We had a fair vote last November. Who did it favor?

You didn't have a fair vote, by any means. Lots of people who should have voted didn't, not your fault, and because of these laws many weren't allowed to, your fault. You have put the cart before the horse, and that is to your advantage.

 

[hortysir]

1,000 miles away? Don't be ridiculous....In any event, each person could claim the same thing.
Are we ALL disenfranchised?
Seriously. You are out to lunch on this.
I have to drive 30 miles to get my license renewed. Am I disenfranchised?....

Driving is a privilege. If you want to drive then get a license and pay for it.

Voting is a right. A constitutional right. To have to pay out one penny in order to be able to vote is a de-facto poll tax. The distance thing could be overcome simply by offering a reasonable opportunity, maybe once a year, for anyone to get an ID at no charge either within walking distance of their home or by mail (pre-paid postage).

Of course if you think voting ought to be limited only to those who can afford to vote then your points are well taken. BTW, check out my posting history and see how liberal I am. Easy to do - but you won't.

But it's okay to place a monetary infringement on my right to bear arms

 

[Vigilante]

 

[hortysir]

Bullshit! We had a fair vote last November. Who did it favor?

When repubs took the House in 10 we heard about poll tax
When repubs took the Senate in 14, same thing

Never a peep when The Obama won in 08 & 12