# I Pit the ID-demanding GOP vote-suppressors (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 12, 2012, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-id-demanding-gop-vote-suppressors-part-1/624943 "2012-06-12T19:15:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-id-demanding-gop-vote-suppressors-part-1/624943/101 "2012-06-13T04:24:04Z")
> [@Absolute](#): > > Aren’t you the one who wants to limit campaign spending because you think people are too stupid for democracy to work if it is not? Yes, I want to limit campaign spending. The rest, strawman. I do think the American people are quite stupid. They disappointed me deeply in 2004. But democracy is not an intelligence test. Nor should political speech be in effect means-tested, which is what Citizens United is about. Which is NOT what this thread is about. This thread is about what complete and total assholes the people who support Republican efforts at restricting others’ right to vote are. Please make an effort to stay on track. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-id-demanding-gop-vote-suppressors-part-1/624943/102 "2012-06-13T04:32:49Z")
Well, there is probably some overlap between people who are too stupid to use criteria other than “who ran the most TV ads?” to determine who to vote for, and people who are too stupid to figure out how to get an ID so they can vote. So maybe we can kill two birds with one stone with these laws. Feel free to substitute “don’t have the time to” for “are too stupid to” if you wish. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-id-demanding-gop-vote-suppressors-part-1/624943/103 "2012-06-13T05:09:34Z")
Well, that’s mighty damned generous of them! They ain’t getting a thing for it, but they throw their money around in buckets. C’mon, lets be real here, propaganda works, and stupid has got very little to with it. Propaganda isn’t about how people think, its about how they feel. And how they want to feel. If the Pubbie Pox PACs were to outspend Obama ten to one and he still won, it would be a glorious day for the Republic. Sure, re-electing Obama would be good, but the real snapper would be evidence that the American people are immune to propaganda! Hallelluja and hosanna! I’d have the giggling fits for a week! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-id-demanding-gop-vote-suppressors-part-1/624943/104 "2012-06-13T05:15:18Z")
By the way, has anyone come up with a plausible reason for prohibiting Sunday voting? Which had been available, popular amongst black voters, but is now illegal? Surely one of you guys must have some sort of rationale, however tenuous? Not even for its effect on the confidence of the electorate? Is it tough love? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-id-demanding-gop-vote-suppressors-part-1/624943/105 "2012-06-13T05:30:02Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > forget it, something about china town Lotsa illegals **there**. . . ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-id-demanding-gop-vote-suppressors-part-1/624943/106 "2012-06-13T11:32:00Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > Dude, just because there was a historical problem with voter problem in famously-corrupt Jersey, doesn’t mean that it scales up nationally. All the data (see BrainGluttons’s post) indicates there is no problem. Which means you are either an idiot or a scalawag, possibly both. I’m going with scalawag. Makes me feel like a pirate. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-id-demanding-gop-vote-suppressors-part-1/624943/107 "2012-06-13T12:09:42Z")
Does anyone know how much of the eligible voters that don’t have ID actually vote? I believe that with the Help America Vote Act, first-time voters are required to show I.D. Is this okay? Look - I get that these are Republican tactics here - but I’d much rather have a national voting card than have the most vulnerable people in America subjected to things like ‘provisional ballots’ and such. Citizens here have the right to vote, but the government has the responsibility to ensure that it’s fair and accessible. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-id-demanding-gop-vote-suppressors-part-1/624943/108 "2012-06-13T12:19:45Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Those; also, anybody who purports to demand voter ID for another reason, because they’re liars too. There’s only one reason they care, and that’s vote-suppression. How did the liberal douches of the Dope get so good at determining the motives of other people? It’s simply amazing. Could you share your technique with me? Also, while you’re at it, could you tell me why Luka Magnotta was googling himself in a cafe in Berlin? Did he want to get caught, or was he just stupid as shit? Also (again), on the other side of the aisle, I suppose you believe that liberals oppose Citizens United for reasons that are pure as the driven snow? And not because they fear that “teh corporations!” will mostly support conservative causes? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-id-demanding-gop-vote-suppressors-part-1/624943/109 "2012-06-13T13:06:01Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > How did the liberal douches of the Dope get so good at determining the motives of other people? It’s simply amazing. Could you share your technique with me? It follows inexorably from giving you credit for enough intelligence not to actually \*believe \*the horseshit you’re spewing. Is that being too generous to you? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-id-demanding-gop-vote-suppressors-part-1/624943/110 "2012-06-13T13:11:19Z")
How about this: 1. You require some form of official voter ID. While at the same time: 1. You make Election Day a national holiday. 2. You allow felons to vote. Seems like a decent compromise to me. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-id-demanding-gop-vote-suppressors-part-1/624943/111 "2012-06-13T13:12:22Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > How did the liberal douches of the Dope get so good at determining the motives of other people? It’s simply amazing. Could you share your technique with me? > [@](#): > > Also (again), on the other side of the aisle, I suppose you believe that liberals oppose Citizens United for reasons that are pure as the driven snow? And not because they fear that “teh corporations!” will mostly support conservative causes? Sounds like you’re already a master of it. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-id-demanding-gop-vote-suppressors-part-1/624943/112 "2012-06-13T13:14:27Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > I don’t think that Americans are stupid if they fall victim to advertising and misinformation campaigns. Look at the swiftboaters. They were lies, but they worked. > > And a 10 to 1 advantage in money, garnered by one rich billionaire, isn’t something that makes society stronger. Heck, assuming advertising works at all, having a disparity in advertising dollars is bad even if both sides are exactly equal. It would lead to emphasizing one side over the other leading to an imbalance. That’s assuming that advertising works. If it doesn’t, why would they do it. Similarly, if newer, more restrictive laws will not disenfranchise more Democratic voters than Republican, why is one side so gung ho about it? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-id-demanding-gop-vote-suppressors-part-1/624943/113 "2012-06-13T13:15:42Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Similarly, if newer, more restrictive laws will not disenfranchise more Democratic voters than Republican, why is one side so gung ho about it? It’s because they love America _just so much_. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-id-demanding-gop-vote-suppressors-part-1/624943/114 "2012-06-13T13:20:26Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > How about this: > > 1. You require some form of official voter ID. > > While at the same time: > > 1. You make Election Day a national holiday. > > 2. You allow felons to vote. > > Seems like a decent compromise to me. All of the election days? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-id-demanding-gop-vote-suppressors-part-1/624943/115 "2012-06-13T13:22:38Z")
> [@Farmer\_Jane](#): > > All of the election days? President, Congress and Senate. A day off every two years isn’t too bad; besides, isn’t democracy something worth celebrating? States will, of course, be able to legislate their own holidays for gubernatorial elections if they so please. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-id-demanding-gop-vote-suppressors-part-1/624943/116 "2012-06-13T13:25:50Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > President, Congress and Senate. A day off every two years isn’t too bad; besides, isn’t democracy something worth celebrating? > > States will, of course, be able to legislate their own holidays for gubernatorial elections if they so please. Also city council, primaries, state, school board, special elections, caucuses? Many people can take off work to go to the polls (unpaid) per [state law](http://www.findlaw.com/voting-rights-law.html). I think I’ve voted 4 times over the last year. Mail-in now, of course. It’s just too much of a pain otherwise. I have my election ballot sitting in front of me as I type. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-id-demanding-gop-vote-suppressors-part-1/624943/117 "2012-06-13T13:29:31Z")
I think we’ll just start with the big ones. ---
**Author:** ![dngnb8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@dngnb8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dngnb8)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-id-demanding-gop-vote-suppressors-part-1/624943/118 "2012-06-13T13:30:54Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > A [scientific study](http://www.bradblog.com/Docs/EAC_VoterFraud_DraftReport.pdf) which [the W Admin](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=418643) [tried hard to suppress](http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/abuses_of_science/election-panel-delays-edits.html) not too long ago. This was the same Admin that spent two terms hunting for voter fraud, [fired USAGs who wouldn’t play along,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dismissal_of_U.S._attorneys_controversy) and at the end still couldn’t come up with a dozen cases nationwide. As I said, it was a quick search. That being said, (as the article proclaims), the voter registration system is so flawed, any sort of investigation will be very limited. Nobody will ever be able to tell the extent of the issue because of the flawed process. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-id-demanding-gop-vote-suppressors-part-1/624943/119 "2012-06-13T13:33:51Z")
In case anyone was wondering (I’m sure they weren’t), [I don’t have to copy any form of ID](http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/s720x720/534095_10100124762926312_1150382511_n.jpg) and send it in with my ballot. If I did, I could send a utility bill, a Student I.D. card, a Medicare card, a paycheck stub, or a host of other things. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-id-demanding-gop-vote-suppressors-part-1/624943/120 "2012-06-13T13:58:46Z")
This may be a bit off topic but would a compulsory voting law have any impact on the issue of alleged voter fraud ? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-id-demanding-gop-vote-suppressors-part-1/624943.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-the-id-demanding-gop-vote-suppressors-part-1/624943.md?page=7)