I'm angered by the voter suppression moves we're witnessing from the Republicans. Legal challenges to the voter-suppression laws are worthwhile, and I hope they succeed, but in the mean time we need to organize to fight voter suppression on a second front. What's the best way to promote voter enfranchisement in the face of Republican roadblocks?
On a long drive home from a work site today, I found an NPR station to listen to. They had good news and current events programming, and as luck would have it the Terry Gross show Fresh Air was about to start. Today's topic was "Do Voter ID Laws Prevent Fraud, Or Dampen Turnout?" A topic I'm very much engaged with.
Dave Davies, filling in for Terry Gross, conducted interviews with people connected to the subject. First up: Pennsylvania Republican state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, a proponent of the voter ID law that was upheld in court today.
Says Metcalfe:
People need photo ID to function within our economy, and we've left ample time passing this law early in the year — not requiring it until November. We've left ample time for every citizen that didn't have ID to secure the documents they would need to get that ID.
"Ample time"? Seriously? You'll have to listen to the interview to hear the smug tone coming from this guy. To his credit, Davies kept after him about the concern that legitimate voters would be disenfranchised by this law.
There was a bit of (somewhat) good news from my home state. The Secretary of State has backed off on the flagrantly unequal pre-election voting rules Republicans were engineering. So that's a small consolation.
So, after a bit of venting, I have a question. Aside from legal challenges, how do we counter this? Clearly, it's important to help people who lack photo ID to acquire them before election day. Even when the state offers "free" photo ID, it's often the case that a birth certificate is required. There are elderly people who don't have a certificate and can't afford the fees to get one. Is there an organized effort to help them?
Here in Ohio, and in several other states, absentee voting is offered as an alternative to early voting. What's the best way to get out the word that people need to apply for absentee ballots if they can't make it to the polls?
Another possible threat is that voters in places like Pennsylvania may think they have a valid ID, only to find out on election day that the state doesn't recognize the particular ID because it wasn't issued by the state or Federal government. Is there a way to reach these people before election day? We need to get the word out.