A year from now, the people of Wisconsin will be going to the polls to exercise one of the most cherished rights of our democracy: the right to vote. It is the fundamental pillar of our democracy that in the voting booth we are all equal – black or white, young or old, rich or poor. When we cast our ballot, we all raise an equal voice to determine the shape of our government. Wisconsin legislators would deny that right. Strict new voter identification laws were proposed in 34 states, including our own. Wisconsin’s new voter identification restrictions, which passed the Legislature this year, are now the strictest in the country.
Wisconsin’s new law requires voters to produce a non-expired Wisconsin or federal government-issued photo identification, prohibiting use of many forms of identification that effectively verify voters’ identity, such as student IDs, state employee IDs, out-of-state licenses, expired licenses and even a voter registration card. Touted on the guise of addressing so-called voter fraud, these laws are expensive to implement, disenfranchise voters, create long lines at the polls and do not prevent the very voting problems they purport to address.
Widespread voter fraud is a myth. You are far more likely to be killed by lightning than to see a prosecutable case of voter fraud. An extensive analysis of data from all 50 states by the U.S. Justice Department found that incidents of voter fraud are exceedingly rare. A vigorous investigation of fraud allegations in Wisconsin in 2004 led to the prosecution of only 0.0007% of voters. Most instances of improper voting involve registration and eligibility issues, none of which would be prevented by a state photo ID restriction.
Full Article: Voter ID law attacks democracy – JSOnline.