(Enacted in 2012)New Hampshire will showcase danger of voter ID laws

[cali]

week, voters in New Hampshire will cast their ballots in two hotly contested presidential primaries that could determine the direction of the rest of the election. But this year, thanks to a new state voter ID law, many New Hampshire voters’ voices may not be heard at all.

In presidential election years, particularly when there are open contests for both parties, voter excitement is at an all-time high. If past is precedent, more than three times as many New Hampshire voters may go to the polls as in regular, non-presidential state primary years. But this year, for the first time in the New Hampshire presidential primary, voters must show photo identification before they can cast a ballot. If voters can’t produce the ID, they will have to sign an affidavit and then mail a letter back to elections officials confirming their voter eligibility.

This sounds simple enough in theory, but the heaviest burden of such laws falls on new voters, infrequent voters, and voters without access to the information and identification they need to cast a ballot: primarily young people, people of color, low-income voters, and seniors.

The Granite State isn’t the only place where voters’ ability to fully participate in this year’s presidential election is at risk. Voter ID and other restrictive voting laws—passed after Republicans made historic gains in taking over state legislative chambers in 2010—have made it increasingly harder for voters to cast a vote and know it will be counted.

In Wisconsin, for instance, strict voter ID laws mean that out-of-state driver’s licenses, technical college student IDs, and even veterans’ identification aren’t acceptable forms of voter identification. As many as 300,000 Wisconsinites–largely Hispanic and African American voters—may not be able to vote because of these laws. Meanwhile, Kansas has purged thousands of voters from the rolls for being unable to provide citizenship documents—documents that young voters, low-income voters, and seniors are less likely to have access to.

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http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/opinion/columnists/other/lauren-harmon-new-hampshire-will-showcase-danger-of-voter-id/article_1da1fcdb-ffec-5ca6-a2b0-9190c9080f08.html

[farleftlib]

1. K & R

This sounds simple enough in theory, but the heaviest burden of such laws falls on new voters, infrequent voters, and voters without access to the information and identification they need to cast a ballot: primarily young people, people of color, low-income voters

IOW, likely Sanders (or Dem party) voters.