That boogie-man problem: Voter Fraud.
Here are some essential Voter Fraud Stats from a Federal Study, that the GOP rather you NOT know about:
STUDY: Feds Prosecuted Only 38 Cases Of Voter Fraud Between 2002-05, 14 Were Thrown Out
ThinkProgress -- May 16, 2007
[...] The study “makes unmistakably clear” that “the government’s failure to prosecute or convict more than a handful of people for voter fraud isn’t for lack of trying.”
Since 2002, the Justice Department’s Ballot Access and Voting Integrity Initiative has, as [Alberto] Gonzales put it, “made enforcement of election fraud and corruption offenses a top priority.” And yet between October 2002 and September 2005, just 38 cases were brought nationally, and of those, 14 ended in dismissals or acquittals, 11 in guilty pleas, and 13 in convictions. [...]
Here’s a chart from the study:
Here are some more Voter Fraud Stats -- there's a busload of Mickey Mouse impersonators, about to sway an election near you!
In 5-Year Effort, Scant Evidence of Voter Fraud
by Eric Lipton and Ian Urbina, NYTimes -- April 12, 2007
Five years after the Bush administration began a crackdown on voter fraud, the Justice Department has turned up virtually no evidence of any organized effort to skew federal elections, according to court records and interviews.
Although Republican activists have repeatedly said fraud is so widespread that it has corrupted the political process and, possibly, cost the party election victories, about 120 people have been charged and 86 convicted as of last year.
Most of those charged have been Democrats, voting records show. Many of those charged by the Justice Department appear to have mistakenly filled out registration forms or misunderstood eligibility rules, a review of court records and interviews with prosecutors and defense lawyers show.
[...]
larger
Voter fraud is a highly polarized issue, with Republicans asserting frequent abuses and Democrats contending that the problem has been greatly exaggerated to promote voter identification laws that could inhibit the turnout by poor voters.
Image Source: Why New Photo ID Laws Mean Some Won't Vote -- by Corey Dade, NPR.org -- Jan 28, 2012
Here's a case in point, from a Tea Party State -- that has thrown the proverbial baby out with the bathwater -- to supposedly solve a Voter Fraud problem THAT doesn't really exist:
Walker signs photo ID measure; legal challenge possible
by Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel -- May 25, 2011
The legislation should prevent people from voting in another's name, but not the most commonly prosecuted form of voter fraud in the state -- felons voting while on state supervision.
The state Department of Justice and Milwaukee County district attorney's office have prosecuted 20 cases of voter fraud from the November 2008 election. None involves people voting in someone else's name at the polls.
20 cases of voter fraud.
out of 475,192 Total Votes Cast -- Milwaukee County Fall General Election 2008.
0.004%
that is 1 Voter out of 23,760 Voters in Milwaukee County "trying to sway the Election their way" ... it's a Scourge Sweeping America!
Quick make all those Students and Seniors, get their State-sanctioned Ids. That'll Fix it -- NOT.
Watch out America, there will soon be an epidemic of Stories like these -- of American Citizens being denied their most basic Constitutional right ...
Voter ID laws often end up restricting seniors, poor
The Modesto Bee, Editorial -- Jan 05, 2012
[...]
Elderly voters can be particularly hard hit by voter ID laws. Not only are they less likely to have driver's licenses -- which they either never had or relinquished -- but many also lack valid birth certificates.
A 93-year-old cleaning lady from Tennessee was unable to obtain a voter ID in that state because she was delivered by a midwife in Alabama in 1918 and never got an official birth certificate.
Another elderly Tennessean was initially denied a voter ID when her birth certificate with her maiden name did not match her married name and she was unable to locate her decades-old marriage license.
And a World War II veteran didn't get his voter ID because he was unable to stand in the long line at Tennessee's DMV office where voter IDs were issued.
All of that thanks to Tennessee's voter ID law, which took effect Jan. 1 -- just in time for the presidential election.
[...]
Watch out America, there's a barrage of clever-criminal-activity sweeping through the Country -- "trying to steal your Vote!"
And that scourge was kicked off by ALEC-led State Legislators -- NOT by an army of conniving grandmas, as they would like to have us believe.
They can bake their cookies, and pay their Taxes -- but if they Don't Drive, well -- they can't Vote.
At least 3.2 million of them, that is.
What a system! Talk about a Fix, not really fitting the virtual Crime.
When will they just change the Voting System -- to base it on our individual incomes?
1 vote per $100,000 in income, even for Corporate-Persons -- because that's where this is all heading ... when they can so easily take away our most basic of Constitutional rights, based on a faux problem, that barely even exists: Voter Fraud.
And the easily-swayed people, just let it happen.