Dean: Indiana voter IDs unfair....also an example of one caught in snare.

[madfloridian]

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=65033

Voters across Indiana headed to the polls today for the first time since the state's voter I.D. law took effect. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean issued the following statement:

"Indiana voters today became the first in the country to head to the polls and confront Republican efforts to use unfair voter identification laws to keep legitimate voters from casting their ballots. I applaud Hoosiers who headed to the polls today in the face of an unfair law that disproportionately prevents poor, minority, elderly, rural, disabled and student voters from being able to exercise their most fundamental right as Americans-the right to vote.

"I also strongly encourage anyone who faced difficulties in casting their ballots to call 1-888-DEM-VOTE to report any problems. We simply must stand up to the Republican effort to keep people from voting. I applaud the Indiana Democratic Party's ongoing efforts to overturn this unfair law and for fighting to make it easier, not harder for Americans to vote."

Also, there is a post telling how a congresswoman almost got caught in the snare.

http://wevegotdeansback.blogspot.com/2006/05/voter-id-howard-was-right-again.html

Indiana voters must produce a government-issued ID in order to vote today under Indiana's new Voter ID law. That law hit a snag early this morning:

Indiana's new voter-ID law had its first test Tuesday and ran into a snag moments after the polls opened when U.S. Rep. Julia Carson's congressional identification created confusion. Carson's card does not have an expiration date as the new law requires of valid voter IDs, and Indianapolis poll workers tried to reach election officials before allowing the five-term Democratic congresswoman to cast her ballot shortly after her polling place opened at 6 a.m.

"The inspector just went ahead and made the decision that it was OK because he couldn't reach anybody to get authorization," Carson said later. And she reasoned the expiration date should not have been an issue: "It says for the 109th Congress, so that takes care of that."

Carson is a five-term congresswoman. But what if she was Julia Carson, private citizen? Would she still have been allowed to vote?

Also a couple of weeks ago, according to the linked site...Howard Dean said even more about this ID.

Just two weeks ago, Howard had this to say about Indiana's new law:

In a telephone interview, he dismissed Republicans’ claim that the requirement is needed to prevent voter fraud.

“These laws have appeared all over the country and they’re always put in by Republicans. And the truth is, there’s no reason for a law like this. In the history of the state of Indiana, there’s not one single case of a voter being prosecuted for impersonating somebody else.

“There’s only one reason for this law, and it’s nothing to do with honesty in voting.”