With midterm elections on horizon, many states are finalizing their voter ID laws. The Supreme Court has played a large part in deciding whether or not voter ID laws will be upheld in particular states. Currently, the battleground for voter ID laws is in Texas, which is reported to have the most restrictive laws. This is because they have the smallest amount of acceptable forms of photo IDs and does not make accommodations for the elderly or the poor. Officials say that Texas will only accept Texas drivers license, a military ID, passport, or a Texas gun license in order to allow citizens to vote. In other states such as Wisconsin with voter ID laws, there is a wider range of acceptable forms of ID, such as state school IDs. By only allowing a few forms of ID to vote, Texas is limiting the voices of voters who potentially do not have the resources to obtain an ID.
With these new laws, over a half million registered voters in Texas will not be able to vote. This means that these people who would normally be heard, would not be eligible strictly because they cannot present a photo ID. What President Obama and many Civil Rights groups note is that many of these registered voters without IDs are minorities, which leads to the question of what is the actual intention behind these laws. The discussions seem far more based around the political agendas of Republicans, as they try to alienate the Democratic vote. Yet, these political lines resemble the struggle between minorities and the dominant group, allowing political parties to support discriminatory policies without them being too obvious.
The Supreme Court ruled this week that Texas would be able to enforce their new laws; stating that it was too close to election season to make any changes. However, many critics argue that while it would be difficult to retrain government officials involved in distributing ballots, it could also be detrimental to outcast a half million people from voting with such short notice. The effects of limiting the number of voters so shortly could largely benefit the Republican party because it will stop minorities who would often vote Democrat, from voting in general.
The trouble with laws such as these, is that many claim that they are not racist simply because the civil rights movement has ended. However, as Justice Ginsburg stated “racial discrimination in elections in Texas in no mere historical artifact.” Discriminatory policies are still being formed and upheld in the US, which reveals that there is still a long way Americans have to go before they can eventually establish equality. In order to promote equality in US society, there needs to be more discussion about the statistical data behind race and how it affects modern politics.
I have abided by the Wheaton Honor Code.
Work Cited
Howell, Kellan. "Supreme Court Clears the Way for Texas Voter ID Law." Washington Times. The Washington Times, n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
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