Voter ID Repeal Bill
Hits House Judiciary Committee
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| Rep. Larry Valencia is leading the effort to repeal RI's useless Voter ID law. Donna Walsh is a co-sponsor of Larry's repeal bill. |
Individual voter fraud.
If I could reduce the font of those three words in proportion to
the actual occurrences of said fraud, they would be imperceptible to
the human eye, and yet, two years ago the General Assembly passed a voter ID
law, which amounts to, as Steven Brown of the ACLU of Rhode Island put it, “A
solution looking for a problem.”
This year, Rep. Larry Valencia aims to overturn that law. Last
night, the House Judiciary Committee heard testimony from Valencia and a host
of other proponents of voter ID repeal, including Steven Brown of the RI ACLU,
James Vincent, President of the RI NAACP, Sam Bell of the Young Democrats of
Rhode Island, and former state prosecutor Robert Ellis Smith.
Only two opponents of the repeal gave verbal testimony, one of which was Paul Caranci, a member of Secretary A. Ralph Mollis’ staff. Not surprising considering that Mollis crafted the original voter ID legislation.
Only two opponents of the repeal gave verbal testimony, one of which was Paul Caranci, a member of Secretary A. Ralph Mollis’ staff. Not surprising considering that Mollis crafted the original voter ID legislation.
Opponents of Voter ID laws have a host of issues to get fired up
about. From voter disenfranchisement, to the fact that voter fraud, on an
individual basis, really does not exist.
“The Bush administration assessed millions of ballots during the
eight years he was in office,” Rep. Valencia said, “and found only a handful of
individual voter fraud reports.” He went on to say that voter ID laws create
barriers where none should exist, and that people who choose not to vote, or
are turned away from the polls because they lack proper ID, rarely report these
incidents, so gauging how often this happens is next to impossible.
Caranci pointed to the high turnout in the 2010 election as
proof that voter ID laws do not lead to voter disenfranchisement. “We have no
idea how prevalent this problem is, because we lack the tools to effectively
detect and prosecute instances of individual voter fraud.” He also indicated
that Rhode Islanders overwhelmingly support voter ID. Polls show that nearly 85
percent of the state support such a measure.
“Regardless of the popularity of voter ID, I support
repeal,” said Valencia, “because it’s the right thing to do.”
Provisions in the Voter ID law also make it easier to vote by
mail ballot, where we have seen instances of voter fraud. Ironic that a law
that proposes to eliminate voter fraud that really doesn’t exist, actually
makes it easier to commit fraud by mail.
Rep. Joseph Almeida peppered Caranci throughout his testimony
with the mantra, “Show me instances of individual voter fraud. Show me the
numbers. Show me the data.
Rep. Doreen Costa, who sponsored the Voter ID bill in the last
session said, “I’m very proud of this bill. If 85 percent of Rhode Islanders
support voter ID, well, we’re elected to do what they want.” Costa left the
meeting before the majority of repeal proponents offered their testimony.
Dave Fisher is
a writer, chef, musician, political junkie, animal lover, ignorance hater, and
a 2013 mayoral candidate in the city of Woonsocket. He's a lifelong Woonsocket resident,
who lovingly refers to himself as a Woonsocket Rocket and proud Villa Novan.
http://www.facebook.com/DaveFisherForMayor
