Restricting democracy: Republicans trying to prevent college-age students from voting

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/27/opinio....html?_r=2

Next fall, thousands of students on college campuses will attempt to register to vote and be turned away. Sorry, they will hear, you have an out-of-state driver’s license. Sorry, your college ID is not valid here. Sorry, we found out that you paid out-of-state tuition, so even though you do have a state driver’s license, you still can’t vote.

Political leaders should be encouraging young adults to participate in civic life, but many Republican state lawmakers are doing everything they can instead to prevent students from voting in the 2012 presidential election. Some have openly acknowledged doing so because students tend to be liberal.

Seven states have already passed strict laws requiring a government-issued ID (like a driver’s license or a passport) to vote, which many students don’t have, and 27 others are considering such measures. Many of those laws have been interpreted as prohibiting out-of-state driver’s licenses from being used for voting.

It’s all part of a widespread Republican effort to restrict the voting rights of demographic groups that tend to vote Democratic. Blacks, Hispanics, the poor and the young, who are more likely to support President Obama, are disproportionately represented in the 21 million people without government IDs. On Friday, the Justice Department, finally taking action against these abuses, blocked the new voter ID law in South Carolina.

Republicans usually don’t want to acknowledge that their purpose is to turn away voters, especially when race is involved, so they invented an explanation, claiming that stricter ID laws are necessary to prevent voter fraud. In fact, there is almost no voter fraud in America to prevent.

William O’Brien, the speaker of the New Hampshire State House, told a Tea Party group earlier this year that students are “foolish” and tend to “vote their feelings” because they lack life experience. “Voting as a liberal,” he said, “that’s what kids do.” And that’s why, he said, he supported measures to prohibit students from voting from their college addresses and to end same-day registration. New Hampshire Republicans even tried to pass a bill that would have kept students who previously lived elsewhere from voting in the state; fortunately, the measure failed, as did the others Mr. O’Brien favored.

Many students have taken advantage of Election Day registration laws, which is one reason Maine Republicans passed a law eliminating the practice. Voters restored it last month, but Republican lawmakers there are already trying new ways to restrict voting. The secretary of state said he was investigating students who are registered to vote in the state but pay out-of-state tuition.

Wisconsin once made it easy for students to vote, making it one of the leading states in turnout of younger voters in 2004 and 2008. When Republicans swept into power there last year, they undid all of that, imposing requirements that invalidated the use of virtually all college ID cards in voter registration. Colleges are scrambling to change their cards to add signatures and expiration dates, but it’s not clear whether the state will let them.

Imposing these restrictions to win an election will embitter a generation of students in its first encounter with the machinery of democracy.

(Do note this article is an Op-Ed)

It has already happened in Wisconsin and in a few other states. And it could go nationwide if this isn't stopped soon. This ain't democracy if Republicans are willing to restrict a certain - and particularly large - voter-eligible group just so they have a better shot at staying in office.

Republicans usually don’t want to acknowledge that their purpose is to turn away voters, especially when race is involved, so they invented an explanation, claiming that stricter ID laws are necessary to prevent voter fraud. In fact, there is almost no voter fraud in America to prevent.

I feel as if this summed it up pretty well.

Trying to persuade younger Americans to switch to Republican is proving to be too much of an effort eh?

Trying to persuade younger Americans to switch to Republican is proving to be too much of an effort eh?

Or alienating current college-age Republicans. Which is one small thing I find quite ironic, as the current Republican efforts could affect them too.

Or alienating current college-age Republicans. Which is one small thing I find quite ironic, as the current Republican efforts could affect them too.

Especially when you consider that students who come from poor homes and are not exceptionally bright are far more likely to be studying in their home state... It's the rich ones who bought their way into an Ivy League school that are more likely to have no heart.

Anyway, wouldn't it be simpler to try and raise the minimum voting age?

Especially when you consider that students who come from poor homes and are not exceptionally bright are far more likely to be studying in their home state... It's the rich ones who bought their way into an Ivy League school that are more likely to have no heart.

Anyway, wouldn't it be simpler to try and raise the minimum voting age?

Methinks they're trying to be more subtle with hopes of less public outcry.

Anyway, wouldn't it be simpler to try and raise the minimum voting age?

I doubt many kids vote until at least after they have their own place which probably wouldn't happen until mid 20s, so with that in mind, invalidating everyone instead of doing this is a pretty retarded move.

Trying to persuade younger Americans to switch to Republican is proving to be too much of an effort eh?

I believe a Doonesbury comic summed it up pretty well.
"By mandating strict ID requirements, we can disenfranchise the poor, the infirm, students, minorities- anyone who can't be counted on to vote responsibly!"
"So instead of making your tent bigger, the strategy now is to make the Democratic tent smaller?"
"Right!"

...And the hole gets deeper...

This is why we need these kids to be able to vote... So stupid pomegranate like this doesn't happen.

Uh.. I don't even..

Do they not think that these college students will one day be eligible for voting by THEIR requirements?

holy pomegranate this is just goddamn disgusting
i can't wait for all the elderly politicians to just fucking die off
their outdated policies are fucking ruining this nation.

Eligibility to vote should be revoked upon decision to vote Republican. That's how things should work.

Eligibility to vote should be revoked upon decision to vote Republican. That's how things should work.

LOL! Couldn't agree more!

I doubt many kids vote until at least after they have their own place which probably wouldn't happen until mid 20s, so with that in mind, invalidating everyone instead of doing this is a pretty retarded move.

I disagree. I think that plenty of college students vote before they are in their 20s or before they have their own place. To assume that most people wait until their 20s is kind of ridiculous although it is true that the % of the eligible voting pop. that actually votes is rather low. Either way, once again, LOLREPUBLICANS and LOLTHISCOUNTRY.

holy pomegranate this is just goddamn disgusting
i can't wait for all the elderly politicians to just pineappleing die off
their outdated policies are pineappleing ruining this nation.

You just gave me an idea, why not instead of not letting college students vote make it so that voting has an age limit both ways (e.g. 18-65)?

Eligibility to vote should be revoked upon decision to vote Republican. That's how things should work.

This.

Eligibility to vote should be revoked upon decision to vote Republican. That's how things should work.

Not to be a stickler, but the same goes for Democrat. Both parties are equally bad.

Eligibility to vote should be revoked upon decision to vote Republican. That's how things should work.

Not to be a stickler, but the same goes for Democrat. Both parties are equally bad.

This is going to go badly, keep it civil.

You just gave me an idea, why not instead of not letting college students vote make it so that voting has an age limit both ways (e.g. 18-65)?

Older people vote conservative, I don't know which party is considered "conservative" in America, in Canada they generally name themselves after their political views in relation to the left-right scale we use here.

Conservative = Republican
Liberal = Democrat

Republican has majority of House iirc so it's hard for the Democratic president to do anything about the stuff being tossed at him, thus it makes him look bad when in reality it's congress' fault.