As the upcoming election draws closer, there are more and more messages stressing the importance of voting; however, in many states a very different message is being spread.
There have been many attempts to pass the Voter ID law that will require all who intend to vote to provide identification in the form of a Pennsylvania driver’s license. Many of you may think “So what?” Big deal, everyone has license,” when in reality there are many PA residents who do not. Also the process to receive a license is difficult and requires a lot of documentation that is not easily accessed.
So what are the reasons the supporters of this law give? According to the Huffington Post, they claim that they are out to prevent voter fraud. Which sounds very serious, but…it’s not. There have only been 10 cases of voter fraud since the 2000 election. That’s less than one per year; it’s obviously not a rampant problem that’s going to turn around any election.
The true motive behind this law was to prevent disenfranchised citizens from voting. The reason is that many people believe that the poor and minority groups are automatic votes for the current president. Those who are pushing this law are almost if not always members of the Republican Party that support Mitt Romney. Now, let me make myself clear and say that I am not accusing every Republican or Romney supporter of participating in voter suppression, but the fact of the matter is that some of those people that belong to those groups support the law and other forms of suppression.
The law will not be put in place this year but will be considered for the future elections after everyone has had due notice.
Phew, so we’re out of the woods, right? Not exactly. Many groups are still trying to enforce the idea that you need a license to vote by posting signs that state “Show it [ID card] to vote” and many others with a similar message. The signs are being put up to mislead people and make them believe that they are unable to vote.
This issue is not isolated to Pennsylvania. In Florida some cities are requiring voters to read and fill out a ballot that is over 10 pages long and is written in type even smaller than the text you’re reading right now. In the last election the Florida ballots were substantially shorter and still people were lined up a mile down the sidewalk in the rain. Now how many of you would have given up after the first hour?
This may sound funny but it is a serious issue that voting is becoming more and more of a hassle. The majority of Americans have jobs and responsibilities and cannot continue to jump through hoops and over hurdles to get their ballot in the box on a Tuesday. Also, technology is developing at an incredible rate, if anything we should be working to make voting easier and more accessible to people.
Accessibility will lead to a higher voter turnout, more people asserting their right to choose who leads us. After all this opportunity was fought for, people died for us to have this power today and no one should throw it away. No one, and I mean no one, should take it away, or try to confuse, intimidate or mislead citizens into thinking that they cannot vote and that they do not have voice.
These plots contradict the very ideas that this nation was conceived upon. It would be un-American for anyone to discourage anyone else from voting.
This year it may be even more imperative for men and women to vote since basic rights and assistance for the poor, women and many other groups have come into question. So I urge you to encourage your mother, father, brother, sister aunt, uncle and anyone else you know is legally able to vote, to do so. Tell them to assert their right and their power as a citizen to participate in this pivotal election.

References:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/13/gop-voter-id-data-voter_n_1773142.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/10/voter-id-laws-republican-ruse-disenfranchise