GAO: Voter ID laws suppress voting, not fraud

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I sincerely wonder if the local licensing offices were close due to vandalism or burglary ; both very common occurrences in said low income areas. I can't blame them for closing offices that are being vandalised more than what could be considered normal.

As somebody already mentioned, it's hard to prove a negative, and there is exactly enough evidence to justify suspicion. Right here in my town, a woman admitted to voting a dozen times last election. She's only known because she bragged about it. How many others did the same, but had the sense to keep their pieholes shut? Unknown. There have been some close elections; can you say with 100% certainty that such blatant fraud has never made a difference, anywhere, any time? I doubt it. Has a truly impartial organization ever tried to look into that sort of thing? Unlikely.

The last time I voted, the kid in front of me, school books in hand, presented as proof of residence a utility bill. Why not vote in his home state, where his driver's license was issued? Because that state already leaned strongly one way or another, and this was a "swing" state. College kids can choose to cast their vote wherever it counts more, a choice the rest of us lack; to the extent that they tend to vote for one party, this is manifestly unfair. Can you say with 100% certainty that this kind of rules-fudging has never made a difference in an election, anywhere, any time? I doubt it. Has a truly impartial organization ever tried to look into that sort of thing? Unlikely.

From where I stand the issue is purely partisan. If students, minorities, and the urban poor started voting Republican, you'd start calling for a standard voter ID such as nearly every other country uses, and the GOP stalwarts would start screaming "disenfranchisement!"

Okay, one woman voted multiple times. What evidence is there that there were others?

As for college kids - they live where they study, so why shouldn't they be be concerned about local politics?

And the only reason why minorities, the poor, and college students would start voting Republican is if that party actually represented their concerns. So far, that's unlikely, outside the odd Uncle Tom or Young Republican.

Blaming it on poor people, now? From what I understand, no.

What evidence is there that there weren't?



I don't object to them voting here, I object to them having a special privilege the rest of us lack. This election, if polling is closer in his home state, he can choose to vote there this time, and then switch back in two years. Pick one or the other, as adults who live in one state but work in another must.



So Walter Williams or Thomas Sowell or any other nonwhite person whose philosophy differs from yours is an Uncle Tom, eh? You know, you put on an affable mask, but every now and then your inner hatred comes bubbling to the surface.

Wut?
Oh, so you're saying that low income areas aren't fraught with vandalism and burglary to name few crimes?
On what planet do you live?

BTW: You're missing a good pissing contest in the current events forum (it should have been started here). It's about the republican governor of S. Carolina sucking up to CEO's and marginalising minorities over the confederate flag. Make sure you start from the very beginning.

Wat dat?

A former official in the Oakland County Democratic Party in Michigan was sentenced to one year probation for his part in a scheme last fall to split the Republican vote by putting fake Tea Party candidates on the ballot.

In October, former chairman of the Oakland County Democrats Michael McGuinness pleaded no contest to the charges, which involved perjury and forgery. He was sentenced Wednesday to "one-year probation, 180 hours of community service and $1,965 in fines," according to the Detroit News.

"My sentence will pale in comparison to what you have done to yourself," Oakland Circuit Judge James M. Alexander told McGuinness, adding: "You were on the fast track for political office. ... It was all there for you, and you threw it all away."

The ex-operations director for the Oakland Dems, Jason Bauer, also pleaded no contest to the charges, and will be sentenced January 12.

The charges relate to a scheme to put several candidates on the ballot in November 2010, without the candidates' knowledge. The sham candidates, who were listed as members of the Michigan Tea Party, were designed to split the Republican vote. The two Democrats were charged with forging the supposed candidates' signatures and falsely swearing under oath to qualify them to enter the race.

And the only reason why minorities, the poor, and college students would start voting Republican is if that party actually represented their concerns. So far, that's unlikely, outside the odd Uncle Tom or Young Republican.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/ ... rty-scheme



This was just the most prominent case, it's gone on quite a bit.

So you think minorities all should think and act a certain way because they're minorities? I think there's a word for that...

No, but I think there is something wrong with a person who votes against his or her own economic or social interests for the sake of ideology, fear, or whatever. I would say the exact same thing about those white blue collar workers who vote Republican out of fear of bogeymen like gay marriage, instead of paying attention to stagnant wages, slashed benefits, and outsourcing.

Maybe other people have differing opinions on their own best interests, and perhaps they know them better than you do? Don't you think it's just a tad condescending to infantalize so many people as being unable to think for themselves, simply because they've come to different conclusions than you?

Sure, someone is entitled to believe banning gay marriage is more important than civil or labor rights, but it flies in the face of common sense. So if you think I'm being condescending, then fine, but putting "hot button" ideas ahead of one's legitimate self interest for the sake of fear or prejudice is nonsensical as far as I'm concerned.

You're still assuming that you know best and that everyone who thinks otherwise must be brainwashed or acting on some kind of religious nuttery, as opposed to having legitimately come to their beliefs. Take me, I support a lot of things that you'd think would be against my interests, but I've come to a different conclusion based on evidence and logic; do you really think you know my interests better than I do? Or, to put a finer point on it, do you think you're smarter and better informed than I am, and have a better grasp of what is and is not in my best interest?

If we're talking about people who are swayed to vote against their own economic and social interests when the "evils" of gay marriage and other distractions are jangled in front of them, then yes, I have to question their intelligence, and their priorities. If that makes me an arrogant assh*le who questions what they think is best for them in your eyes, then there's nothing I can do to dissuade you.

I'm saying vandalism was not the reason why any licensing offices were shut down - rather, the lame excuse of budget cuts was used. As those budget cuts were only in poor areas, I have to think something smells like bullsh*t.