An unusual admission of regret by of one of America’s top judges throws new light on Queensland’s misguided attempts to tackle the non-existent problem of voter fraud. In a rare turnaround, Judge Posner of the United States Court of Appeals recently admitted that he was wrong in a landmark case he decided 7 years ago. Crawford v Marion County allowed the state of Indiana to require voters to show photo identification at the ballot box and was later upheld by the US Supreme Court. … Judge Posner’s turnaround should be on the mind of Queensland Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie this week. Bleijie has announced plans to introduce laws requiring voters to produce identification in order to cast their vote at Queensland elections, making Queensland the only state or territory to have a voter ID requirement.
The rationale for the law, according to Bleijie, is to prevent voter fraud. But the Queensland Government’s own discussion paper on the topic acknowledged that there is no evidence that voter fraud is occurring at the ballot box.
The laws would create unnecessary hurdles for all Queenslanders wanting to vote in elections, but they would be especially tough on particular groups.
Requirements for voters to show ID would make voting particularly difficult for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as well as people experiencing homelessness, young people, old people and people with disability who are less likely to have a driver’s licence or other ID.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/voter-id-laws-politically-motivated-20131021-2vw6v.html#ixzz2iLBwS615
Full Article: Voter ID laws politically motivated.