So maybe it
is all about disenfranchising minorities, just
maybe?
A new National Agenda Opinion Poll by the University of Delaware’s Center for Political Communication reveals support for voter identification laws is strongest among Americans who harbor negative sentiments toward African Americans.
Voter ID laws require individuals to show government issued identification when they vote. The survey findings support recent comments
by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who portrayed a Texas photo ID
law now being challenged as similar to poll taxes used in the Jim Crow
era, primarily by Southern states, to block African Americans from
voting. Holder pledged to oppose “political pretexts” which, he said,
“disenfranchise” black voters.
The study finds that racial resentment trumps party affiliation and
political attitudes. While they found Republicans and conservatives
overwhelmingly support voter suppression (because that's what they do),
they found that Democrats and liberals "with the highest 'racial
resentment'" also express strong support for the laws.
These laws disproportionately
hit minorities.
1.2 million eligible black voters and 500,000 eligible
Hispanic voters live more than 10 miles from their nearest ID-issuing
office open more than two days a week. People of color are more likely
to be disenfranchised by these laws since they are less likely to have
photo ID than the general population.
That's the whole point.
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