Pennsylvania’s voter ID law has recently been making headlines across the country. It is unfortunate, however, that many news organizations and some politicians are ignoring an important point about the legislation.
I was waiting for the day when a news organization would use the example of the grandma who would not be able to vote because of the ID law. Grandma is used for everything – even in the healthcare debate. Somehow I knew grandma would be used to set the narrative that the voter ID bill will suppress voter turnout. I was right.
On Wednesday morning, July 18, 2012, NPR ran a segment about a 78 year old woman in PA who did not have a vehicle to go get an ID. Nowhere in the report did NPR mention that a vehicle is required to get out and vote. In addition, NPR highlighted how the woman needed assistance in walking and would face difficulty waiting in line for an ID. Again, nowhere in the report did NPR mention the same difficulty she would face in waiting in line to vote. For the elderly and disabled, PA provides an alternative ballot where physical access is not possible. NPR, like many other media outlets, are using the voter ID bill in Pennsylvania and Texas to frame the narrative that the legislation will result in voter suppression. It should – in a way.
An AP report published July 18th, 2012 revealed that in Philadelphia alone, irregularities were found in the Philadelphia primary. DAILY TIMES, which serves Delaware County, PA, picked up on this report most likely from an aggregation script and posted on their site. But would news directors allow it? Within a day, the report was pulled from the DAILY TIMES.
The report stated how some divisions had more votes than registered voters, including non-registered people. Specific evidence of voter fraud was mentioned.
And don't forget the others:
- Numerous investigations of fraud in ACORN since 2008 in Pennsylvania alone.
- Luis R. Torres-Serrano was charged with 19 counts of identity theft in connection with voter registration forms in July of 2008.
- 5000 rejected ACORN registration forms due to non-existent addresses. Others were rejected due to incorrect birthdays, social security numbers, or age restrictions.
- Ex-ACORN worker Jemar Barksdale was arrested on felony theft and forgery charges linked to dozens of falsified voter-registration applications.
The media ignores any mention of fraud and continues the assault. In some cases they’ll make it a racial issue. Recall the audio clip THREATCORE PROJECT obtained, in which a syndicated FM morning radio host declared the law as pushing us back to a time "when blacks couldn’t vote". It aired over Philadelphia airwaves.
Paul Drucker is another example. Drucker, a candidate for Pennsylvania’s State Representative 157th district is one person who pushes these one-sided articles through his Twitter campaign with links to stories published on progressive websites such as salon.com. He also stated in a March 21, 2012 self-written article that voter fraud is a "fictional problem".
But what is critical in this debate is the point which the media fails to mention: NOBODY will be denied voting rights – even if they do not have an ID.
According to the Pennsylvania State website:
"NO ONE legally entitled to vote will be denied the right to do so. If you do not have a photo ID, or are indigent and unable to obtain one without payment of a fee, you may cast a provisional ballot, and will have six days to provide your photo ID and/or an affirmation to your county elections office to have your ballot count."
The provisional ballot page states: "Voters who forget to bring ID to the polls in the November 2012 General Election can vote by provisional ballot."
Any voter fraud is a crime. One vote out of a million is a crime. The argument that the percentage is so small does not justify the need to ignore the issue.
The murder rate among Americans is small at 0.0000048%, and substantially less than claimed voter fraud percentage – does that make murder acceptable?
