OpEd News: Bob Fitrakis on Ohio Republicans' New Jim Crow Voter ID law that Disenfranchises 900,000

[highplainsdem]

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Bob-Fitrakis-on-Ohio-Repub-by-Joan-Brunwasser-110404-211.html

Joan Brunwasser, co-founder of Citizens for Election Reform

http://www.opednews.com/author/author79.html

interviewed Fitrakis on this new law and how harmful it will be. Excerpts:

The Republican Party realizes that the only way they can win the presidency in 2012 is by winning Ohio. In order to win Ohio, they've made a conscious and cynical decision to shrink the electorate by disenfranchising nearly 900,000 voters. This is the passage of House Bill 159. They've deliberately targeted the core of Democratic voters by requiring every voter to have either a state driver's license or a state photo ID to vote. Only three states require government-issued photo IDs at the polls and Ohio is the most restrictive. For example, the public colleges and universities in Ohio are state institutions and issue photo IDs. Students can't use these to vote.

Nationwide studies indicate one in four African Americans lack government-issued photo IDs. 18% of those over the age of 65 don't have government-issued photo IDs. 15% of those with incomes under $35,000 lack government-issued photo IDs. And the student photo IDs won't be accepted. This is one of the largest disenfranchisements of voters since the Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965. The ACLU, which is generally been cautious, just had a press conference declaring that the Ohio election has been stolen with the passage of House Bill 159.

-snipping paragraphs about how the GOP in Ohio purged 305,000 voters in 2000-2002 and 1.25 million between 2004 and 2008-

Now, the Republicans are writing into law that everyone has to have a government-issued photo ID at the polling sites. The Republican Party has gone from covert purges to flagrant and open disenfranchisement of voters. The passing of House Bill 159 is blatantly anti-democratic and is an attempt to create a one-party system in Ohio. At the same time they're disenfranchising 900,000 primarily Democratic voters, they're destroying the public unions in Ohio which is the base of Democratic Party money.

-snip-

I think these tactics will be used in battleground states like Florida and Wisconsin where the Republicans are now firmly in control. They realize that they have a small window of opportunity before they're thrown out of office so their only chance to hang on to their seats is to rig the outcome of the elections by stripping people of voting rights.

-snip-

Fitrakis says he'd like to see more protests, demonstrations, and non-violent sit-ins, with voting rights advocates confronting these legislators. He'd like to see people occupy the Statehouse in Columbus and not leave until there's a public debate about this.

And he's asking people to gather April 28-29 at the Netherland Hotel (Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza) to demonstrate against ALEC, since it's behind this legislation. (See my compilation topic on the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) for more info on this group.)

[KaryninMiami]

1. Between these tactics and the machines we STILL VOTE ON

2012 is not going to be easy. Those Dems better wise up now- and we'd better get ready to be very busy because we're gonna need a landslide to be able to really have a shot at being able to counterbalance their criminal tactics.

[highplainsdem]

2. +1