Limiting the Right to Vote

An invaluable post by Mark Kleiman, who notes that Georgia will now require government-issued photo ID to vote. Among other things, this also reminds us of the importance of winning Presidential elections; legislation like the Voting Rights Act is only as good as the administration that enforces it.

The importance of this issue really can’t be overstated; nothing about the 2000 election infuriated me more than the idea that people should just “get over” the election outcome. Yes, under the rules that were established the election was basically a statistical tie, but that’s not the point. Voters had every right to be upset after the fact, because they could have no confidence that their votes were counted accurately. It’s the same with Ohio in 2004. I do not think there is credible evidence that the voting problems there were decisive for Bush’s victory. But, again, that’s not the central issue: 3 hour lines and people being denied ballots illegally and unverifiable voting methods are completely intolerable whether or not they happen to alter the result in any given election. When it comes to voting, the fairness and reliability of the process mean everything; it’s the core of democracy. The willingness of Republicans to limit voting rights represents a slow-motion repeal of the civil rights revolution, and there are few greater priorities than stopping them.

UPDATE: Also, it’s important to remember the pending expiration of several provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.