Trump Threatens Voter ID EO
His growing focus on the mid-terms is concerning.
I will start with reiterating my succinct view of voter ID: I support it if it is free, universal, and easy to obtain, but oppose it if the practical effects of implementation run a significant risk of disenfranchisement. I also doubt that the cost needed to do it right is worth the marginal, at best, increase in election security. The reality remains that evidence of significant in-person voter fraud (or, indeed, voter fraud defined any way one would like) is vanishingly small.
And yes, I do understand that for some people, the potential for the disenfranchisement of Blacks, the elderly, and the poor is a potential feature, not a bug. I also think that a great number of people sincerely support voter ID because, quite frankly, it makes sense to say that a voter should be a citizen who can easily demonstrate their eligibility, especially to a common person who knows little about the subject. Further, given most people’s inability to estimate things like crime, the percentage of foreign aid in the federal budget, or the demographic breakdown of the US population, I can readily believe that a lot of people sincerely think that voter fraud is an issue.
As a general matter, I think that the proposed SAVE Act would impose substantial social and individual costs while at the same time fixing nothing and making ballot access demonstrably worse for a substantial number of citizens. As such, I am in opposition.
I also think, for what it is worth, the Republicans in Congress are collectively engaging in some Kabuki theater on this subject because they know it can’t pass without the Filibuster being removed. This, by the way, is yet another argument for doing away with the Filibuster, not because I want the SAVE Act to pass, but because the presence of the super-majority rules in the Senate means that the majority party can pretend to support something, and thereby grandstand and even vote for it, while all the while knowing it won’t pass. While I am sure there are a large number of GOP members of Congress who are in support, I am less certain that there is an actual majority in both Houses who would actually vote to pass the bill. But since they can have their cake (vote to support) and eat it too (have the bill fail, and then demagogue the Dems as being in favor of voter fraud), they can play out this charade. See, e.g., Senator Concerned.
But, of course, Trump wants to dictate matters, as NBC News reports: Trump vows voter ID requirements for the midterms, ‘whether approved by Congress or not’.
President Donald Trump said in social media posts Friday that he would issue an executive order to require voters to show identification in the midterm elections if Congress fails to act.
“If we can’t get it through Congress, there are Legal reasons why this SCAM is not permitted. I will be presenting them shortly, in the form of an Executive Order,” Trump said in the post.
In another, he wrote, “There will be Voter I.D. for the Midterm Elections, whether approved by Congress or not!”
As the linked article notes, all of that would be blatantly unconstitutional. Still, the fact that he is bleating about it is concerning because I would prefer it not be on his radar at all. I would further note that just like the run-up to the 2020 elections, he is using rhetoric about fraud in a way not unlike that which culminated in the Stop the Steal rally and the J6 attack on the Capitol.
This is, to put it mildly, a concerning development.
Botox Betty summed this up best;
“Sincere” support without evidence is mysticism, so I’m not inclined to give any grace to those people who defend voter ID with little knowledge of the subject of voter fraud. Horrible things have been done through history that have driven by vague or ill-defined religious or spiritual belief. Sincere simpleton voters are more dangerous to civil society (to my mind) than purely politically motivated partisans.
But, we needn’t fear, because our stable genius POTUS has done his own research and his EO will assuredly be based on fact and Constitutional law. Per the second post linked:
The Trump cabal is going to go straight to the susceptible believers of voter fraud with arguments not yet articulated.
@Daryl:
Part of me thinks it might be a good thing for the Republicans to attempt their coup against honest, clean elections in the midterms. Test the guardrails before the WH is at stake.