The Myth of Voter Suppression

It's been a recurring theme of the political left that the Republican Party, on a state-by-state level, has been actively and deliberately engaging in a campaign of voter suppression by either demanding photo identification from voters at the polls or purging lists of ineligible voters (such as those with felony records).  Opponents of the latter action point out that there is a higher prevalence of potentially Democratic voters among those purged voters and that the GOP is trying to rig the elections in their favor.  And I've heard the argument as well that asking for adequate ID at the voting precinct is tantamount to those earlier Jim Crow era literacy test demands that discouraged blacks from voting.  I'm a little at a loss here...are they saying that having a photo ID is a racial issue?  And if it is, then who exactly is responsible for that situation? 

As for the voter-roll-purging accusation against the Republicans, an equally charged argument can be made that Democratic administrations deliberately refused to purge those ineligible votes in order to tip the numbers in their favor.  And that the Republicans are just cleaning up someone else's mess.  Regardless how you look at it, if they are complying with the demands of the law, I don't see the problem...except that I think that if you're a free person, past felony conviction or not, you should get to vote.  But with that it's the law, not its enforcement, with which I take issue.

As for asking for a photo ID before voting, I can't recall a time in recent memory when the worker behind the table at the polling station didn't ask for mine anyway...new law or not.  To me this is just common sense and does not mean anything...except that the Republicans seem to be the only party interested in mandating it. However, according to critics, in close elections, the demand for a photo ID can suppress Democratic-leaning voters and give the Republicans narrow victories in close contests.  So this isn't fair, is it?

Well, regarding voter suppression, I have to just come right out and state for the record that it IS happening, and on a scale much larger than what may or may not be going on with voter ID laws or the purging of ineligible voters. And this suppression I guarantee does very often tip elections...and also contributes greatly to the problem of wealthy corporate fatcats "buying" elections with expensive media campaigns.  This voter suppression is nothing other then the self-suppression by the large majority of the registered voters who don't think it is worth their time and effort to just pull off the road into their local precinct for a few minutes on election day and cast their ballots.  Even in heated elections for president, upwards to 40% of the registered voters simply don't vote...and it has nothing to do with supposedly nefarious voter suppression laws. But then, what about non-presidential elections?

Nearly a month ago, we here in Gainesville had a local election for three city commission seats. This is our local government and affects everyone living here...how much taxes do we pay, how is that tax revenue spent, what are the priorities with various issues such as the roads, parks, police, business zoning, and so on.  I went late in the afternoon on election day to cast my ballot.  The senior recreation center, where my precinct is, happens to be located directly across the street from a Super Wal-Mart.  The rec center was full, as I walked through it, but not of voters...just elderly folks enjoying the facilities.  I walked into the voting center in a back room and discovered that I was the only voter there.  So lonely. When the worker opened up the voting register to the page where my name was, the ENTIRE PAGE was empty: I was the first one on it to vote...at about four in the afternoon!  And yes...crime of all crimes, they asked for my photo ID, so I forked out my drivers license.  And voted.  Meanwhile, across the street Wal-Mart was packed with customers. Going there and waiting in insanely long lines apparently wasn't too inconvenient for people...but then, I suppose we're talking about food and "stuff" here...not civic responsibility. Oh by the way, the official city-wide voter turnout for this election was 15%: 85% of the registered voting population FREELY CHOSE not to vote!  Now THAT is voter suppression...and it's the voters themselves doing it, not any evil political party with ulterior designs on power.  This lack of general voter interest and civic responsibility is what I believe is driving the skyrocketing corporate campaign spending.  The ads that are mailed out or shown on TV aren't necessarily aimed to change people's minds as much as they are to motivate their targeted voter group to get all emotional (usually in a negative sense involving outrage against the opposing candidate) and flock to the polls in droves.  This is why Barack Obama could win Florida in 2008 and 2012, but in 2010 Rick Scott, a far-right tea party candidate, could win the governor's race with a much lower overall voter turnout.  And why he also stands a good chance for reelection this year.  If the registered voters would just step up and perform their duty consistently in every election, the effect of specially motivated voting blocks would be minimized and we'd have a more consistent representation of the general population's preferences...