“There isn't even agreement as to how many of those are out there – although it's definitely more than a half million people,” AP reporter David Royse wrote.
There are only two states that do not revoke the right to vote as a result of felony conviction; Maine and Vermont.
Restoring the right to vote to ex-felons is an integral aspect of reintegration into society. Consistent policies are necessary to prevent large-scale disenfranchisement not only of the ex-felons themselves, but also of the communities to which they belong. Society as a whole benefits when government truly represents all its citizens.
Not surprisingly, voters from socio-economic communities similar to those of former felons are potentially disenfranchised by ID requirements, according to the Journal Gazette editorial: “Those who could be turned away are more likely to be poor and/or minority voters – who tend to vote Democratic.”
Indiana is one of 26 states that goes beyond the voter ID mandates of the Help American Vote Act of 2002. Even Richard Posner, the federal appeals court judge who wrote the ruling upholding Indiana's ID law, recognized it would deny some people from voting, according to the editorial. Voter ID is generally implemented as a safeguard against voter fraud, but has been shown to suppress voter turnout while at the same time, address a problem that simply does not exist. Between 2002 and 2005, just 24 people were convicted of illegal voting, averaging 8 convictions per year.
Requiring ID at the polls for eight convictions per year is a hefty price to pay for many Americans. In many cases people simply don’t have the required documents. A recent Brennan Center for Justice survey found 11% of Americans do not have government-issued photo ID. This amounts to more than 21 million citizens, disproportionately including the elderly, students, women, people with disabilities, low income people and people of color. Additionally, Voter ID has been shown to disproportionately suppress the turnout of minority voters.
Government at all levels has an obligation to help citizens exercise their rights, including the right to vote. After all, unlike others rights, such as speech, government controls all the mechanisms by which this right is exercised. Laws that create barriers to voting must prove that they are not hindering more legally eligible citizens from voting than they are catching ineligible voters. Given the infrequency of voter fraud in America and the Eagleton Institute findings that show voter ID laws reduce minority participation, voter ID laws clearly fail this cost-benefit test. More information on voter ID can be found in this Project Vote report.
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