I'm glad to see that the Indiana law requiring a photo ID in order to vote is being heard by the Supreme Court. The more I think about it, the more inane this law seems! And yet I know it's quite the opposite - it's intentionally disenfranchising certain voters. There is a special place you-know-where for the perpetrators of this idea. There is no documentation of any voter fraud at polling places in Indiana - or Georgia or Minnesota, where leaders are trying to pass similar laws. The fraud comes at the vote-counting level, an issue this law doesn't pretend to touch.
But the League of Women Voters (LWV) has rightly jumped into the battle. If you're not familiar with it, the League is: "a nonpartisan political organization, [which] has fought since 1920 to improve our systems of government and impact public policies through citizen education and advocacy. It neither supports nor opposes candidates for office at any level of government." In other words, fols who care about the process and getting it right!
The League filed an Amicus Brief in the case, which (as I understand it) is a friend-of-the-court document from someone who doesn't represent either side, but has a relevant opinion in the case. According to LWV: "The brief points out that while those burdened by the Voter ID Law may be in the minority that does not change the fact that each individual has a fundamental right to vote." The League has documented several cases since the law passed in Indiana in which votes were either not counted, or people were simply not allowed to vote. (For example, although one can supposedly get a photo ID card for free, the birth certificate required to get it costs a fee. One woman found she would ave to spend $50 just to vote. Good grief.)
So YAY for LWV and people who care enough to step up and challenge those who would pervert our political process for their own selfish ends. Someone has to.
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