I'm starting to support the idea of Voter IDs

[sjdnb]

As long as the ID used is only issued after you have passed a written test on the basic Constitution, US and World History, and have at least some understanding of and respect for National and International law.:sarcasm: (Sorry, it appears the emoticon is required)

[Redstone]

1. Never mind, now that the sarcasm has been made clear.

Redstone

[ret5hd]

2. All that's missing is a poll tax.

[Warpy]

3. Consider you're 80 years old and partially blind

and are able to care for yourself at home, but need to use a walker.

Just how are you going to get to a test site, be able to read the test, and get home with the license, especially if you live out in the country and there is no mass transit for handicapped people to get into the city where these wonderful tests are given?

Why do people who want to restrict voting ASSume everybody is under 40 and in perfect health?

[alarimer]

4. That's how they used to keep minorities from voting

We cannot go back to those old, ugly days, though Republicans badly want us to.

[sjdnb]

5. I find the perpetuation of this type of thinking disturbing

That may be the 'thinking' of some, but my daughter in law to be has her Masters and DEFINITELY a better understanding and knowledge of these topics than anyone in the Administration - and, so do most of her friends - even the ones without degrees. You don't have to be in the majority or have a degree to have common sense and know right from wrong.

[Redstone]

7. Not necessary, now that there's the sarcasm indicator.

Redstone

[sjdnb]

8. Read again - the ID comment was sarcasm

The comment regarding people who assume minorities can't be/are not as knowledgeable as others was not.

[Redstone]

9. OK, thanks for adding the sarcasm thing. It's good that you did so, so the people

who don't know you well can understand.

Redstone

[sjdnb]

10. Maybe I should modify it to be ...

those running for office. Probably a better idea. It was borne out of reading some rw blogs that made me cringe.

[Captain Hilts]

6. An i.d. helps protect your right to vote. nt

[stillcool]

11. Been there...done that..

When the Constitution was written, only white male property owners (about 10 to 16 percent of the nation's population) had the vote. Over the past two centuries, though, the term "government by the people" has become a reality. During the early 1800s, states gradually dropped property requirements for voting. Later, groups that had been excluded previously gained the right to vote. Other reforms made the process fairer and easier.
1790 Only white male adult property-owners have the right to vote.
1810 Last religious prerequisite for voting is eliminated.
1850 Property ownership and tax requirements eliminated by 1850. Almost all adult white males could vote.
1855 Connecticut adopts the nation's first literacy test for voting. Massachusetts follows suit in 1857. The tests were implemented to discriminate against Irish-Catholic immigrants.
1870 The 15th Amendment is passed. It gives former slaves the right to vote and protects the voting rights of adult male citizens of any race.
1889 Florida adopts a poll tax. Ten other southern states will implement poll taxes.
1890 Mississippi adopts a literacy test to keep African Americans from voting. Numerous other states—not just in the south—also establish literacy tests. However, the tests also exclude many whites from voting. To get around this, states add grandfather clauses that allow those who could vote before 1870, or their descendants, to vote regardless of literacy or tax qualifications.
1913 The 17th Amendment calls for members of the U.S. Senate to be elected directly by the people instead of State Legislatures.
1915 Oklahoma was the last state to append a grandfather clause to its literacy requirement (1910). In Guinn v. United States the Supreme Court rules that the clause is in conflict with the 15th Amendment, thereby outlawing literacy tests for federal elections.
1920 The 19th Amendment guarantees women's suffrage.
1924 Indian Citizenship Act grants all Native Americans the rights of citizenship, including the right to vote in federal elections.
1944 The Supreme Court outlaws "white primaries" in Smith v. Allwright (Texas). In Texas, and other states, primaries were conducted by private associations, which, by definion, could exclude whomever they chose. The Court declares the nomination process to be a public process bound by the terms of 15th Amendment.
1957 The first law to implement the 15th amendment, the Civil Rights Act, is passed. The Act set up the Civil Rights Commission—among its duties is to investigate voter discrimination.
1960 In Gomillion v. Lightfoot (Alabama) the Court outlaws "gerrymandering."
1961 The 23rd Amendment allows voters of the District of Columbia to participate in presidential elections.
1964 The 24th Amendment bans the poll tax as a requirement for voting in federal elections.
1965 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., mounts a voter registration drive in Selma, Alabama, to draw national attention to African-American voting rights.
1965 The Voting Rights Act protects the rights of minority voters and eliminates voting barriers such as the literacy test. The Act is expanded and renewed in 1970, 1975, and 1982.
1966 The Supreme Court, in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, eliminates the poll tax as a qualification for voting in any election. A poll tax was still in use in Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, and Virginia.
1966 The Court upholds the Voting Rights Act in South Carolina v. Katzenbach.
1970 Literacy requirements are banned for five years by the 1970 renewal of the Voting Rights Act. At the time, eighteen states still have a literacy requirement in place. In Oregon v. Mitchell, the Court upholds the ban on literacy tests, which is made permanent in 1975. Judge Hugo Black, writing the court's opinion, cited the "long history of the discriminatory use of literacy tests to disenfranchise voters on account of their race" as the reason for their decision.
1971 The 26th amendment sets the minimum voting age at 18.
1972 In Dunn v. Blumstein, the Supreme Court declares that lengthy residence requirements for voting in state and local elections is unconstitutional and suggests that 30 days is an ample period.
1995 The Federal "Motor Voter Law" takes effect, making it easier to register to vote.

2003 Federal Voting Standards and Procedures Act requires states to streamline registration, voting, and other election procedures.

[McCamy Taylor]

12. Wow. Did you post this without the sarcasm emoticom the first time?

You are a braver man than I, Gunga Din.

The ultimate poll tax: 1.you have to do it in person (because White folks automatically pass and their fee is always waived if they say they can not afford it) 2. it requires a large fee, 3. there is a written portion that requires 12th grade reading level and you have to follow the instructions exactly or it is destroyed (after you leave and you are not notified). If you are a member of a minority group, you will be told it is a crime for anyone to help you fill out your form. 4. you have to bring your birth certificate (and not a copy). If you are a naturalized alien, too f**king bad for you. 5. if you are a member of a minority group, someone will tell you, (for your own protection) that if you owe any back child support or have ever been convicted of even a misdemeanor or if you have any outstanding parking tickets, attempting to get the ID is a federal felony. 6. if you are a member of a minority group, a voter challenge will be sent to your house about 90 days before the election, since, as someone who got an ID successfully, you are considered to be at high risk for voting while Black or Brown.

Sarcasm implied.

[sjdnb]

13. Yeah, I figured given the venue ...

But, I suppose there are trolls here, too. So, I can understand why people took it the wrong way the first time around. It came after reading some rw comments on blogs.

But, I am kind of concerned about the residual belief that minorities could not/would not do well on such a test. I know that stats, but much of this is common sense and morally based and I'm not quite ready to concede that whites have anything up on any minority in those areas. I am also not confident that the current education and testing system are accurate indicators of minority knowledge or academic achievement.

Further, given the history of civil rights in this country, my guess is minorities may have a better understanding/more accurate interpretation of the Constitution, than others - some other folks just like to put their own interpretive 'spin' on it.

[alarimer]

14. Most people would fail these days

But back when there was a lot more illiteracy among the poor especially, it was used to keep minorities away from the polls. So were dogs and firehoses and guns. That's a simple historical fact.

[KG]

15. well, that would eliminate the freeptard vote!

[Hippo_Tron]

16. I think those need to be qualifications to run for office