North Carolina Voter ID law --"discriminatory intent"

[Guinevere]

The Fourth Circuit reverses the trial court decision and orders a permanent injunction.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/c ... law-226438

"The record makes clear that the historical origin of the challenged provisions in this statute is not the innocuous back-and-forth of routine partisan struggle that the State suggests and that the district court accepted," Judge DIana Motz wrote on behalf of Judges James Wynn and Henry Floyd. "Rather, the General Assembly enacted them in the immediate aftermath of unprecedented African American voter participation in a state with a troubled racial history and racially polarized voting. The district court clearly erred in ignoring or dismissing this historical background evidence, all of which supports a finding of discriminatory intent."

[Sue U]

Wow, and from the 4th Circuit! Don't know the judges on this particular panel, but the 4th as a whole has a super-conservative reputation. NC files for rehearing en banc in 3...2...1...

[Guinevere]

Yes, and yes. But if a rehearing is granted, unlikely to happen before November.

[Big RR]

I'm impressed with the panel's decision!

[RayThom]

About a year ago a "friend" who I've known since 1970 unfriended me on facebook because of my commie, subversive, (liberal) views on Voter ID laws.

Guin, I just fb messaged the link you posted above to my old pal -- no 'hi', no 'bye', just the link. This will surely give him a severe case of agita which I'm sure he must discuss amongst his fellow, noted and bloated, Trumpanzees down in Boca.

And life is good.

[MajGenl.Meade]

I'd like to see a National Identity card requirement for all US citizens and that it be produced to open bank accounts, buy a car, vote, etc. Ite works in South Africa

[Guinevere]

For what purpose, exactly? We already have a variety of identity documents available. And why do you need an identity document to purchase a car?

[Big RR]

Yep, and then whenever asked, we would have to produce our papers. We could be tracked and followed wherever we went and our government could keep even better tabs on our activities. maybe we'd even have to get permission to move. I think a lot of Americans would object--I know I would.

And FWIW, South Africa is not the country I'd most like to emulate.

Guin--so we can make sure "they" can't purchase cars or open a bank account, and so we can continue to disenfranchise those who have "no business being here".

[MajGenl.Meade]

Yes - so?

We foreigners in South Africa need to produce our passports (since we don't have SA ID) even to join the library. Or purchase a phone chip. To them, it's no different than producing a driver's license - except that everyone must have one.

[Guinevere]

In case you haven't noticed, this isn't South Africa. As BigRR said, not a country I wish to emulate.

[Guinevere]

To join my library, you need to show ID that simply shows are are a resident, no citizenship required. Free public libraries and free public education are cornerstones of Massachusetts, and one of the reasons we have the most highly educated and one of the most well paid population in the Nation. Other states and other countries would do well to emulate us.

[Guinevere]

Meade -this article contains a link to the full opinion (for some reason, the URL for the opinion is being blocked so I cannot post it directly). Please read it (and yes, its long and full of legalese), in the context of what you've also been reading about Reconstruction, the Voting Rights Act, and the 13th and 14th Amendments. I think you may find it enlightening.

http://www.wral.com/federal-appeals-cou ... /15887722/

[MajGenl.Meade]

To join my library, you need to show ID that simply shows are are a resident, no citizenship required. Free public libraries and free public education are cornerstones of Massachusetts, and one of the reasons we have the most highly educated and one of the most well paid population in the Nation. Other states and other countries would do well to emulate us.

I will read the linked article in the other post - thanks.

I bet you have books published since 1989 too! That's different to the Bloemfontein public library.... mostly.

[MajGenl.Meade]

I think these the most telling points early on in the opinion:

The pre-Shelby County version of SL 2013-381 provided that all government-issued IDs, even many that had been expired, would satisfy the requirement as an alternative to DMV-issued photo IDs.

J.A. 2114-15.

After Shelby County, with race data in hand, the legislature amended the bill to exclude many of the alternative photo IDs used by
African Americans.

African Americans disproportionately used the first seven days of early voting. After receipt of this racial data, the General Assembly amended the bill to eliminate the first week of early voting, shortening the total early voting period from seventeen to ten days.

Similar investigation of black voting patterns and practices preceded changes in same-day registration and provisional voting.

Those four above are exactly the equivalent of literacy tests, district gerrymandering, peculiar qualifications and forcing people to walk in front of armed white thugs to deposit ballots in glass jars. No wonder the court reversed the earlier ruling.

[Gob]

Why all the fuss, only a third of you bother to vote in any case?

[Guinevere]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/won ... ?tid=sm_fb

Today, a federal court struck down North Carolina's voter-ID law, one of the strictest in the nation. In addition to requiring residents to show identification before they can cast a ballot, the law also eliminated same-day voter registration, eliminated seven days of early voting and put an end to out-of-precinct voting. The federal court ruling reinstates these provisions, for now.

Supporters of the law, like North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, have long maintained that requirements like these were necessary to prevent voter fraud. But time and time again, scholars and legal experts have found that the type of fraud these laws are meant to combat is largely nonexistent.

One of the most comprehensive studies on the subject found only 31 individual cases of voter impersonation out of more than 1 billion votes cast in the United States since the year 2000. Researchers have found that reports of voter fraud are roughly as common as reports of alien abduction.

The federal court in Richmond found that the primary purpose of North Carolina's wasn't to stop voter fraud, but rather to disenfranchise minority voters. The judges found that the provisions "target African Americans with almost surgical precision."

In particular, the court found that North Carolina lawmakers requested data on racial differences in voting behaviors in the state. "This data showed that African Americans disproportionately lacked the most common kind of photo ID, those issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)," the judges wrote.

So the legislators made it so that the only acceptable forms of voter identification were the ones disproportionately used by white people. "With race data in hand, the legislature amended the bill to exclude many of the alternative photo IDs used by African Americans," the judges wrote. "The bill retained only the kinds of IDs that white North Carolinians were more likely to possess."

The data also showed that black voters were more likely to make use of early voting — particularly the first seven days out of North Carolina's 17-day voting period. So lawmakers eliminated these seven days of voting. "After receipt of this racial data, the General Assembly amended the bill to eliminate the first week of early voting, shortening the total early voting period from seventeen to ten days," the court found.

Most strikingly, the judges point to a "smoking gun" in North Carolina's justification for the law, proving discriminatory intent. The state argued in court that "counties with Sunday voting in 2014 were disproportionately black" and "disproportionately Democratic," and said it did away with Sunday voting as a result.


"Thus, in what comes as close to a smoking gun as we are likely to see in modern times, the State’s very justification for a challenged statute hinges explicitly on race — specifically its concern that African Americans, who had overwhelmingly voted for Democrats, had too much access to the franchise," the judges write in their decision.

This is about as clear-cut an indictment of the discriminatory underpinnings of voter-ID laws as you'll find anywhere. Studies have already shown a significant link between support for voter ID and racial discrimination, among both lawmakers and white voters in general.

[Lord Jim]

But time and time again, scholars and legal experts have found that the type of fraud these laws are meant to combat is largely nonexistent.

One of the most comprehensive studies on the subject found only 31 individual cases of voter impersonation out of more than 1 billion votes cast in the United States since the year 2000. Researchers have found that reports of voter fraud are roughly as common as reports of alien abduction.

Aw geez, here we go again...

Everyone who has investigated the matter has shown that there are no significant number of people voting who are not entitled to.

Every "study" that has been done has demonstrated that the following is not occurring in large numbers:

There is a legally entitled voter in precinct XYZ named Joe Doakes. Somebody other than Joe Doakes shows up at the polls and tries to vote as Joe Doakes.

This is another bit of the dishonesty; falsely defining the voter fraud problem, and then based on that false definition declaring that there is no problem...

Here's the real problem:

There is a fellow in XYZ precinct who is not legally entitled to vote, but who has nevertheless registered to vote. (A very easy thing to do, given the way the safeguards on voter registration in this country have completely broken down) Joe Doakes, ( the real Joe Doakes but not legally entitled to vote) then shows up and votes, which he able to do because he is on the registration rolls.

Every study that has been done on those who are not entitled to vote being registered to vote has revealed substantial numbers. Rube is apparently one of those who believes that all of those people are registering to vote just because they want additional practice signing their name, and that none of them actually vote.


ETA:

Wait a minute, I just thought of another reason for registering to vote other than actually wanting to vote...

Maybe they all want to be called for jury duty!

[Guinevere]

Sorry dude, you lose. Read the opinion ---- discriminatory intent. Shall I put it in bold?

[Lord Jim]

I wasn't addressing this particular decision regarding this particular law...I haven't looked at it closely, and in any event it will be reviewed further...

I was addressing this: (that I quoted)

But time and time again, scholars and legal experts have found that the type of fraud these laws are meant to combat is largely nonexistent.

One of the most comprehensive studies on the subject found only 31 individual cases of voter impersonation out of more than 1 billion votes cast in the United States since the year 2000. Researchers have found that reports of voter fraud are roughly as common as reports of alien abduction.

(Which was pure POV editorializing on the part of the Post "reporter" not a a part of the court decision...)

And pointing out the fact that it reflects a completely BS construction of the voter fraud problem...

I should have thought that was obvious given that I quoted that portion specifically in my post before adding my response...

Should I have put it in bold?

[rubato]

No one has shon any evidence that any form of voter fraud is more than trivial in scale. Certainly not enough to justify the certain harm that the racist laws cause for large numbers of voters.

Just the KKK by another name, GOP.




Yrs,
Rubato