by James Parks, Apr 19, 2011
The anti-middle class agenda of conservative legislators across the country is not limited to attacks on collective bargaining, education and the nation’s safety net. Even before some legislatures took up state budgets and anti-worker legislation, they began trotting out claims of potential voter fraud to try and disenfranchise large groups of voters.
With the White House and control of Congress on the line in 2012, Republicans are pushing changes that would make it significantly more difficult for some traditionally Democratic voters to even cast a ballot–college students, immigrants, rural voters, senior citizens, the disabled, the poor and the homeless.
One popular tactic being used to block votes is to require voters to present their birth certificate before registering to vote and show a DMV-issued photo identification at the polls. In its Progress Report, the Center for American Progress Action Fund (CAP) estimates voter ID bills would depress Latino turnout by as much as 10 percent. The bills also would cost taxpayers millions of dollars.
Conservatives have claimed their assault on voting rights is necessary to combat the threat of mass voter fraud. Yet a study by New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice found that voters are more likely to be struck by lightning than commit voter fraud. In fact, the Bush Justice Department’s five-year so-called “War on Voter Fraud” resulted in only 86 convictions out of 196 million votes cast.
