Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Ballot Rulings Cause Confusion In States
There have been many court rulings about voting rules that seem to be causing confusion. One of the most recent ones have been the cut in early voting in states. The case in Ohio presents a split between Republicans and Democrats. The debate has been over the pre-stated voting restrictions, but the critics argue the restrictions discourage African-Americans, students or low income voters and those who side with the Democrats from voting.
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What interested me most about this article was the fact that African-American citizens were twice as likely to vote in the early voting period than in the regular voting period. While it does seem like the Republican Party has an ulterior motive, I can understand the concern regarding the "golden week." Allowing people to register and vote in the same week is asking for fraud because the votes would be cast and counted before the paperwork could be processed. One statistic referenced in the middle said that early voters made up 2% of the voting population, or "enough to sway very close races." Yes, they aren't eliminating early voting; they're only eliminating the extra weekend and evening hours that enable many working parents to vote outside of their work schedules.
ReplyDeleteI think it is important for state governments to tighten voter regulation laws only in the name of preventing fraud. But when some officials impose these stricter laws to discourage voter participation it becomes a problem. Take Wisconsin, for example, officials are trying to enforce voter identification laws only a month before elections. That is simply not enlighten time for most people to get the necessary documents if they need to.
ReplyDeleteI don't think changing voting procedures so last-minute is necessarily a good thing. It causes confusion, and takes away the possibility for many people to get a chance to vote. In class, we have been talking about the major decline in voter participation over the years; this will only add to that decline. The article continuously mentions that studies show there is no real problem with voter fraud; if there's no serious problem then what's the point?
ReplyDeleteVoter ID laws I think are, to a certain degree, definitely a good thing. However, I think that if state governments are going to make laws like these, they need to go ahead and distribute State photo IDs for everyone. This makes everyone happy. It makes the Republicans happy because it keeps illegal aliens from voting, I mean, " stops voter fraud". It makes the Democrats happy because if all citizens have photo IDs, then the laws wont disenfranchise any legitimate voters.
ReplyDeleteIf there is controversy surrounding voting laws and procedures then yes, the issues should definitely be dealt with in a logical and timely manner. However, dealing with them months, weeks, even DAYS in advance to a voting period is only going to cause more confusion - just like it's doing. And rather than solving issues, they are only creating new ones! There are now debates that the laws being put into place are "about voter suppression." The situation is only becoming increasingly confusing, rather than being cleared up.
ReplyDeleteI feel like this article was portraying election day confusion as a modern day poll tax. I do not believe this is the case. It is each individual's responsibility to stay informed as to when they will be allowed to vote. In modern society, where fraud and corruption is prevalent, it is perfectly reasonable to require identification at the polls. In addition, it seems to me that voting should be a rather straight forward process. What is all of this nonsense about early voting etc. Wouldn't it just be a lot simpler if we set a standard 2-3 week block of time in which everyone must vote?
ReplyDeleteSchafer, I agree that it is everyone's responsibility to stay informed on these matters and that Voter ID is important to maintain the integrity of elections. However, in reality, it is unreasonable to assume that everyone will keep up to date on voting requirements. Many people will figure out that there is a rule change, but many other people will not. In addition, it may not be easy for everyone to get the necessary documents in such a short period of time. I am all for these laws, but I believe they are untimely and it would be best if they were implemented after this election.
ReplyDeleteSchafer, I respectably have to disagree. First, if anything compulsory voter registration is much more similar to the poll tax (both having a requirement that needs to be done before you can vote) than Election Day confusion. Second, while I am with you that the individual should be aware of voting requirements, I do believe it is also true that the government should provide in a timely manner the specific information that the people need to be aware of.
ReplyDeleteImagine if Mr. Danson announced on the last day of school in December that there would be a test on the day right after the break. Furthermore, imagine if the test would be on a chapter we hadn't gone over in class and would be reading during the break. While we may know about it and check the site to see what the test is on, they would still have to have a firm understanding of what we read, rearrange any plans we had for the break in order to study at the last minute and do all of this while lacking the vital resources of time and direction.
While students/the public are responsible for knowing what needs to be done, those in charge (the teacher/government) have to give ample time to prepare.
While reinstating older methods might cause confusion, it would cause considerably less confusion than instating changes that people are learning about on short notice.
Good idea, Malachi.... Heh, heh, heh...
DeleteI question the need for Voter ID laws in the first place. As the article stated, in-person voter fraud is very rare. While other forms of voter fraud may be prevalent, it is not a major issue that state governments need to be addressing. If it were, then these laws would seem reasonable, but at the moment there have not been reports of massive voting fraud in recent elections that have changed their outcome. As Rachel said, if it is not an issue, then what is the point of having these laws if they are unnecessary?
ReplyDeleteHowever, since state governments have decided to pass them, it is their responsibility to make sure that everyone who intends to vote knows the law and any sudden changes that may be made to them. Otherwise, you have voter confusion, which could ultimately affect the results of the election as people are discouraged from voting, particularly those who do not have the time nor means to go out and get state issued IDs or to vote on election day.
I think that staes should simply give everyone photo IDs. That would solve the problem here.
DeleteThe most prominent part of this article for me was the idea that these new regulations were to be enacted in order to discourage African-Americans, students, and low-income voters, who tend to favor Democrats. There is definitely some validity to this claim, evident by a survey of research estimating that participation by registered voters declined by 2 percent. 2% may not sound like much, but when you are talking about hundreds of thousands of people, 2% is pretty significant. As well as the fact that voters don't have enough time to vote due to time constraints. Personally, I think that the existence of voter ID's is necessary. Although, as Charlie stated, Rachel says that in-person voter fraud is nearly as common as other types of fraud, that doesn't mean that the topic should not be addressed. Earlier in the 20th century, the government only really made policy in response to occurrences. But throughout the 20th and into the 21st century, the government have become more adept at predicting possible sources of future strife, and making policies addressing them. While in-person voter fraud may seem minuscule compared to other topics, just leaving it untouched could give room for it to become a problem in the future.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Schafer, these demands for simplifying the voting process are uncalled for. Thankfully today all American citizens have the right to vote, but it is each individual's responsibility to adhere to the very reasonable identification requirements in whatever state they reside.Unfortunately, voter fraud does occur and any effort to limit it should be welcomed, not challenged in court.
ReplyDeleteThis article was interesting to read. I personally think changing the laws last minute was wrong, because it led to so much confusion. Although voter fraud does happen, it doesn't happen often. Like Rachel said, why even bother? Especially because having many, many restrictions on voting is just going to lead to less people voting. The amount of people who actually vote is already pretty low so why make it even harder?
ReplyDelete