Voter ID Laws and Civil Rights

States affected by the Civil Rights Act of 1965
(and therefore the SCOTUS decision of 2013)

In the summer of 2013, the Supreme Court -- in a 5-4 decision -- struck down section 4 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act as unconstitutional.  This key provision, when it was in effect, subjected districts
with a history of discrimination in voting (particularly the Deep South) to additional oversight by the Department of Justice.  The conservative decision, in short, said that the formula determining which districts required additional oversight was outdated.  The liberal perspective holds that the VRA is still critical in preventing discrimination at the polls.

States that has implemented voter ID
or other laws to restrict voting

This SCOTUS decision made it easier for many states to pass "voter id bills," which have become the center of the current debate regarding discrimination at the polling place.  Across the nation, states with Republican leadership are passing laws that require voters to show picture ID on election day.  The Republican rationale is that Voter ID bills, like the one passed in Wisconsin, will prevent in-person voter fraud.  The Democratic response has been that the bills are a supposed solution without a real answer.  They assert that in-person voter fraud is not a major problem, and that instead these bills are designed to suppress the votes of poor people, minorities, the elderly (least likely to have a driver license), young people and students (most likely to move and therefore not have a current ID) and women (most likely to change their name) -- all of whom are statistically likely to support Democrats.  Some Republicans have referenced how these bills can also be understood as strategies to decrease Democratic voter turnouts, as demonstrated by Pennsylvania Representative Turzai (R), and more recently by Governor Chris Christie.

As you can see, we have a significant difference in the way the two parties view the situation.  The core difference is that Republicans tend to believe the biggest problem is preventing voter fraud; while Democrats believe the biggest problem is people who should be allowed to vote being denied their right to do so.

What do you think? (Due by Monday, 11/9)

• Read up on several perspectives about the voter ID bill in Wisconsin (which was first implemented in the Tuesday election) and similar bills around the nation.  Just to get you started, here is a conservative editorial (WSJ), and here is a liberal argument (Mother Jones), but you should also look elsewhere (please share sources).
• Keep in mind that finding valid statistics is really difficult in this case, as each side uses different studies (not to mention most of the debate is theoretical and doesn't often discuss the statistical frequency of fraud).  Having said that, this article (ABCnews) takes a non-partisan look at each side's view of the numbers.
• Post a comment to this post recording your thoughts on voter ID bills or responding to the thoughts of your classmates.  Are these bills discriminatory or simply good governance?  Are they a political strategy or necessary measures?  Is requiring a voter ID requirement a new form of poll tax (see Twenty-Fourth Amendment)?  What evidence jumps out at you as most influential in shaping your opinion of these bills?