In this same act, Congress also found (Sec. 1973Gg) that:
- the right of citizens of the United States to vote is a fundamental right;
- it is the duty of the federal, state, and local governments to promote the exercise of that right;
and - discriminatory and unfair registration laws and procedures can have a direct and damaging effect on voter participation in elections for federal office and disproportionately harm voter participation by various groups, including racial minorities.
I think it is pretty clear that we do have a constitutional right to vote, at least in federal elections for president and members of the US Congress. There may be a less well-defined RIGHT to vote in state and local elections or for regional issues such as bonds, school boards, county commissioners, and so on.
If the right is constitutional and the same Constitution states that a citizen cannot be denied a right absent individual due process, can states demand their citizens to bear the burden of proof of their citizenship as a condition before they exercise a constitutional right?
In other words, if you or I present ourselves at a poling place without an ID to prove citizenship, should your state have a right to summarily deny you your right to vote without any duty to prove you are not a citizen eligible to vote? Being a citizen is automatic if you are born here and as such you are automatically afforded the full protection of the Constitution absent loss subject to due process.
I repeat what I stated above: The 14th Amendment declares: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."
It is my humble opinion that one part of this should be a direct violation of the 24th Amendment as a poll tax unless states waive all fees necessary to obtain the credentials. Perhaps someone should demand a free state ID or driver's license in any state that requires same in order to exercise their right to vote. Should driver's licenses and IDs be required to be free for all voting adults in any state that requires them to vote?
Any patriotic citizen should be expressing outrage at any political party or lawmaker who advocates or votes for any voter-ID law. These laws are designed for one purpose only, political advantage for one party.
The notion that it should even be considered reasonable to potentially deny the right to vote to tens of thousands, perhaps millions of citizens, in order to prevent 10 fraudulent votes, nation-wide, per election (that is two-tenths of one vote per state), should make you red with rage.
These voter-ID laws are, themselves, what threaten the integrity of our elections.
How often have we seen these same right-leaning politicians defend guns, saying the government cannot infringe on the right to own, while taking direct action to infringe on those same citizen's rights to vote? Would seem they like to pick and choose which parts of the Constitution are valid depending upon their agenda at the time.
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