Voter ID laws threat to voters’ rights

By Jean McMenimen

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How lucky we are to live in a democracy, with the right to vote for the elected officials we support. The League of Women Voters of the United States is an organization that believes that every citizen should be protected in the right to vote and that no person should suffer legal, economic or administrative discrimination. The League believes that voting is a fundamental citizen right that must be guaranteed.

Presently there are changes taking place in a number of states that are making it more difficult for Americans to vote. At this time, 39 states have enacted strict new voter ID laws or restrictions on early voting. These new laws may disenfranchise as many as 5 million eligible voters this year. The supporters of restrictive voting laws claim “voter fraud” but this is a problem that has not been shown to exist.

Who is being impacted by these voter suppression laws? Individuals who may not have a state-issued driver's license include: people with disabilities, senior citizens, students, recently naturalized citizens, African Americans, Latino Americans, American Indians, and working-class Americans.

Another group of individuals facing voter suppression laws are felons who have completed their sentence.

A front-page June 25 Associated Press story in the Des Moines Register stated that “Governor Terry Branstad has made Iowa one of the most difficult states in the nation for felons to vote in. On the day he took office, Branstad signed an order reversing a six-year policy started under Gov. Tom Vilsack in which felons automatically regained their voting rights once they were discharged from state supervision.”

Kentucky, Florida and Virginia are the other states that require felons to apply to the governor to have their voting rights reinstated. Thirty-eight states allow individuals to immediately gain their rights once they complete their sentences.

On July 1, the Register featured an editorial supporting felons' right to vote, stating “A recent review by the Associated Press found that of 8,000 felons who have finished their prison sentences or been released from community supervision since the policy went into effect, fewer than a dozen have successfully regained their right to cast a ballot.” This happened in Iowa alone.

As the Register reports, what is going on in Iowa and across the nation “harkens back the ugly techniques used throughout history …. The goal is to exclude specific people from the democratic process.”

The League of Women Voters' mission is to educate voters and encourage all citizens to use their precious right. The League urges all citizens to register and vote, including high school and college students, recently naturalized citizens, and all Iowa citizens who have that right. Jean McMenimen, a professor at Kirkwood Community College, is president of the League of Women Voters of Linn County. Comments: lwvlinncounty@gmail.com