Voter Identification Controversy

It 's been 51 years since the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law, yet it seems as if voter discrimination may still be going on today. Some of the legal barriers, that it was originally meant to overcome, such as preventing African Americans from voting, have been rising in many other forms through voter identification laws. Lizette Alvarez in "G.O.P. Legislators Move to Tighten Rules on Voting", discusses some of the requirements that Republicans have tried to add to voter identification laws over many years such as photo ID’s. Kristen Clarke in "Burdening The Right To Vote: Assessing The Impact Of Mandatory Photo Identification Requirements On Minority Voting Strength", discusses how requiring photo ID’s can greatly affect African

In recent years, “requirements for photo identification have been hotly debated” (Drew A16). There are many different views of both political parties. While mostly Democrats are opposed to these laws, the main proponents who have been promoting voter-ID requirements are Republican state lawmakers claiming that they are needed to help prevent voter fraud. “Republicans say that large jumps in the immigrant population have also prompted them to act to safeguard elections” (Lizette A1). In other words, Republicans are claiming that fraudulent voting is an issue in the electoral process and having to provide further identification such as a photo ID is a solution. “Democrats say the changes have little to do with fraud prevention and more to do with placing obstacles in the way of possible Democratic voters, including young people and minorities” (Lizette A1). In other words, Democrats do not see this is a real issue because there is “scant evidence of voter-impersonation fraud” (Lizette A1) and say that Republicans are just using this as a better sounding defense in order to accomplish more voter discrimination towards particular groups of

According to Kristen Clarke, “linking the right to vote to the presentation of specific photo identification significantly burdens that right and denies minority voters equal and unfettered access to the political process” (9). This means that voters lacking a photo ID would be limited and could not exercise their right to vote. Lizette agrees, stating that “Election experts say minorities, poor people and students -- who tend to skew Democratic -- are among those least likely to have valid driver 's licenses, the most prevalent form of identification” (A1). The result of these requirements could affect the democratic votes of an