Sure. Wasn’t that the point?
The news: According to new research by University of Massachusetts Boston sociologist Keith Bentele and political scientist Erin O’Brien, the states that have enacted tougher voter ID laws in the past few years are also the same states where both minority and lower-income voter turnout had increased in recent years. Focusing further analysis on just 2011, when the vast majority of voter ID regulations were passed, the researchers found that states which passed the legislation were highly likely to have:
– Republicans in control of both houses of the state legislature and the governorship
– Strong probabilities of being swing states in the 2012 elections
– Minority turnout which was higher in the 2008 election and with high proportions of African-American voters
– Larger numbers of allegations of fraud in 2004, though these had a “much smaller substantive impact relative to partisan and racial factors”The authors note that the study’s results carry ominous implications and demonstrate voter ID laws have “an uncomfortable relationship to the political activism of blacks and the poor.” Their paper further situates voter ID within a realm of policies that “collectively reduce electoral access among the socially marginalized.”
When voting districts are gerrymandered (drawn) in such a way that Democrats always lose or Republicans always win, what does it make who is and who is not allowed to vote? Gerrymandering is the real issue here. Concern about voter suppression is the “black flag” operation. Here is another real issue. We have spent $3.3 trillion dollars + fighting terrorism since 9-11-01. As we all know terrorism is a tactic which can never be defeated by armies and bombs. So how much of that $3.3 trillion was spent fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan? How much has been spent on our drone programs? The cost per drone death? How much has been spent by the NSA to spy on every American? How much profit have the war profiteers made over the past 12 years? Has anyone been allowed to vote on those questions?