Voter ID - Nuns Can't Vote!

About 12 Indiana nuns were turned away Tuesday from a polling place by a fellow sister because they didn't have state or federal identification bearing a photograph.

Sister Julie McGuire said she was forced to turn away her fellow members of Saint Mary's Convent in South Bend, across the street from the University of Notre Dame, because they had been told earlier that they would need such an ID to vote.

The nuns, all in their 80s or 90s, didn't get one but came to the precinct anyway.

...

Late Tuesday, Secretary of State Todd Rokita was unapologetic.

"Indiana's Voter ID Law applies to everyone. From all accounts that we've heard, the sisters were aware of the photo ID requirements and chose not to follow them," he said in a statement released by his office.

Republicans and Voter ID in Cartoon

It's here.

Good Coverage of Republican Efforts to Supress Votes in 2004

Brew City Brawler covers it here in relation to the Biscupic case.

I had the Dem voter protection lawyer for our area working out of my place that day. I heard him talking about the "HAVA Volunteers" in Milwaukee and Racine.

--Paying individuals $160 to wear orange "HAVA Volunteer" T- shirts and patrol polling places. In large part these individuals (who were not volunteers) knew nothing about the Help America Vote Act, and several wrongly suggested that HAVA required an alreadyregistered voter to produce identification in order to
vote.
--Impersonating authorities at the polling places. The Reports reflect instances of orange-shirted observers stating that they were authorities, and instances of persons claiming to be "election officials" and giving out incorrect information about the registration process.
-- Walking up and down voting lines with printed lists in hand and suggesting that persons "not on the list" were not allowed to vote.
--Using attorneys to lodge challenges to voters pursuant to S 6.925, Wis. Stats. In many cases Republican attorneys would lodge a challenge, disrupt the voting process, and then abandon the challenge, after forcing a voter to answer questions under oath, by refusing to execute sworn statements supporting the claimed challenges.
-- Challenging the authority of election inspectors during every step of the election day process, including: (a) challenging the use of special deputy registrars for same day registration (despite an October 27, 2004 City of Milwaukee Elections Commission resolution authorizing the process); (b) challenging inspectors' attempts to continue to process votes during machine breakdowns; (e) asking an inspector to sign a form stating that a machine was not inspected; and (d) challenging the use of volunteers to help process same day registration cards.
-- Using law enforcement agents to harass Election Protection volunteers attempting to assist voters standing in line. For example, at about 5:30 p.m. at Holton School, four men, one with visible handcuffs, walked through the polling place and told Election Protection volunteers not to assist voters attempting to locate the correct polling place. Threatening to "call the authorities" if election inspectors did not act as instructed by Republican attorneys.
--Challenging any absentee ballot that did not have a Wisconsin- return address in the certificate, despite the fact that an out- of--state return address is legal and
appropriate for out-of- state absentee voters.
-- Challenging valid student registration with photo IDs matched to student directories, and thereafter challenging any student who corroborated another student's residence.

WI State Elections Board: Republicans Are Lying to You

The full press release is here.

Wisconsin Elections Have No ‘Integrity Problem’ News Release Falsely
Claims Voter Registration System is Down

MADISON, WI – The Republican Party of Wisconsin’s claim that the Statewide Voter Registration System (SVRS) is broken is false, an Elections Board official said today.

“We can provide public officials and elected representatives with the facts,” said Kevin Kennedy, executive director of the State Elections Board. “Claims such as these undermine the public’s trust in Wisconsin’s election system.”

The Republican news release called the SVRS a “voting system,” and said
the State has already spent its budgeted $27 million on the project. Neither is true.
...
Kennedy said the party’s claims of systemic voter fraud are unsubstantiated.

“It is irresponsible to claim that voter fraud has resulted from use of the SVRS,” Kennedy added.

LWV on VoterID

Here is the release.

Here are excerpts:

...
Let’s put this issue to rest before wasting the paper and ink: this proposal would not improve our elections, but would prevent citizens from voting. Recent studies and common sense say the Legislature should kill this proposal immediately.

Allegations of widespread voter fraud do not hold up to investigation. There is no record of voters acting en mass to misidentify themselves or vote multiple times.
...
The New York Times1 recently confirmed common sense fears: requiring photo IDs to vote keeps people from the polls. The United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC) has decisive statistics verifying that minorities are most affected by this barrier to voting. We have long understood that poll taxes and literacy tests are unfair: they keep specific, targeted populations from voting and lead to a farce of democracy in which only some are represented. Photo ID requirements work the same way.
...
Those with low incomes or disabilities have the most difficulties obtaining an ID. Students and other mobile populations have a difficult time maintaining current IDs. These voters should not be punished.
...
Requiring a photo ID to vote is a proven method of keeping voters from the polls. That is a loss our democracy cannot afford.