Voter Id Position Paper
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AP Gov P2
10/3/12
Position Paper for Voter ID Laws
Voter ID Laws are laws that have been enacted in 30 States that require voters to showcase their ID (What form/how stringent the policy is varies from state-to-state) before they can vote. These laws have recently come under the national spotlight and have caused a controversy in both public and political opinion. First adopted as early as 2003, these laws are designed to prevent voter-ID fraud (People registering as someone they are not and voting). Interestingly enough, the voter ID law was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2008.
Proponents of voter ID laws claim that they help combat voter fraud. Republicans, the majority of whom support these laws, state that these laws ensure the integrity and quality of the voting system. For those who say that these laws undermine the voting rights of the elderly, low-income and poor because it potentially restricts them from casting their vote, supporters of the law reject this notion by stating that there are not many people who will be un-eligible to vote solely due to the voter ID laws. They support their argument by claiming that Democrats simply exaggerate the effect that voter ID laws would have and that they are only making it an issue because they fear that Democrat-leaning voters will be unable to cast their ballot.
Opponents of voter ID laws claim that they disenfranchise certain groups of voters and discourage voters as a whole. They see these laws are just another obstacle on the already-much-avoided path to voting. More specifically, they claim that these laws curb the rights of the minority, low-income and elderly as they have a more difficult time in obtaining proper ID. Ironically enough, the 3 aforementioned groups tend to typically vote Democrat. Democrats often draw a parallel between these voter ID laws and Jim Crow Laws, which placed restrictions on the ballot and severely curbed the power of blacks to cast their
----
AP Gov P2
10/3/12
Position Paper for Voter ID Laws
Voter ID Laws are laws that have been enacted in 30 States that require voters to showcase their ID (What form/how stringent the policy is varies from state-to-state) before they can vote. These laws have recently come under the national spotlight and have caused a controversy in both public and political opinion. First adopted as early as 2003, these laws are designed to prevent voter-ID fraud (People registering as someone they are not and voting). Interestingly enough, the voter ID law was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2008.
Proponents of voter ID laws claim that they help combat voter fraud. Republicans, the majority of whom support these laws, state that these laws ensure the integrity and quality of the voting system. For those who say that these laws undermine the voting rights of the elderly, low-income and poor because it potentially restricts them from casting their vote, supporters of the law reject this notion by stating that there are not many people who will be un-eligible to vote solely due to the voter ID laws. They support their argument by claiming that Democrats simply exaggerate the effect that voter ID laws would have and that they are only making it an issue because they fear that Democrat-leaning voters will be unable to cast their ballot.
Opponents of voter ID laws claim that they disenfranchise certain groups of voters and discourage voters as a whole. They see these laws are just another obstacle on the already-much-avoided path to voting. More specifically, they claim that these laws curb the rights of the minority, low-income and elderly as they have a more difficult time in obtaining proper ID. Ironically enough, the 3 aforementioned groups tend to typically vote Democrat. Democrats often draw a parallel between these voter ID laws and Jim Crow Laws, which placed restrictions on the ballot and severely curbed the power of blacks to cast their