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Page A4
October II. 2006
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
O pinion
Congress’ Direct Threat to Voting Rights
by M arc H.
M orivi
Voter ID plan is
not fair or equal
Just tw o m onths after o v e r­
w helm ingly passing the Voting
Rights Act Reauthorization of
2006, the U.S. House of R epre­
sen tativ es recently reversed its
com m itm ent to ensuring the right
to vote for all.
U nder legislation passed re ­
cently, they want U.S. citizens to
show proof o f their citizenship to
vote and then show photo I.D. when
they cast their ballots. Introduced
by Illinois Republican Rep. Henry
Hyde, the bill, entitled the Federal
Election Integrity Act of200ft( H.R.
4844), passed the House by a vote
o f 228 to 195.
In the process, lawm akers are
threatening to disenfranchise thou­
sands o f elderly, poor and minority
A m ericans by burdening them with
costly and inconvenient require­
ments.
O nly a quarter o f eligible voters
have passports, w hich cost $97 to
obtain, and naturalization papers
used to prove citizenship cost $210
to be replaced. An estimated
6 to 12 percent o f voters do not
have g o v ern m en t-issu ed photo
identification, according tothe U.S.
D epartm ent of Transportation.
People o f color, people with d is­
abilities, the elderly, young, and
people who live in poverty are
am ong the groups least likely to
have docum ents proving their citi­
zenship.
In certain parts o f the United
States, elderly African Americans
and many Native Americans were
bom at home, under the care of
m idwives, and do not possess birth
certificates.
According to a University of
W isconsin study from June, 2(X)5,
23 percent o f persons aged 65 and
older in that state did not have
driv er's licenses or photo identifi­
cation.
It also found that less than half
of African American men in M il­
waukee County had valid d river's
licenses.
H R. 4844, while appealing on
the surface, poses one o f the great­
est threats to fair and equal voting
rights today. We should be focus­
ing on encouraging full participa­
tion o f our citizenry, not finding
new ways to hinder the precious
right to vote.
W hile it would be great if all
citizens had docum ents such as a
passport ora birth certificate readily
available, the truth is that many do
not, w hich means that they would
have to pay for them in order to
vote.
Four sta te s-G e o rg ia , Missouri,
Indiana and Arizona - have en-
( acted laws requiring photo ID to
vote. In two o f those states, federal
courts have struck them down as
unconstitutional. In 2005, a federal
judge in Georgia characterized the
requirem ent as a poll tax. 1 ca n ’t
agree more: I f sa2 1 stC e n tu ry poll
tax.
The bill’s proponents maintain
they're trying to crack down on
voting fraud. But I would say they
are perpetuating the greatest fraud
of all. T hey’re trying to prevent
eligible Americans from exercising
their most sacred and important
civil right.
Falsely claim ing citizenship and
voting fraudulently have long been
federal offenses.
A ccording to the Brennan C en­
ter for Justice, A m ericans are as
likely to com m it election fraud as
they are getting killed by lighten­
ing.
Since Oct. o f 2002, a total o f 86
U.S. residents have been convicted
of federal election fraud, while nearly
197,000,(XX) ballots have been cast
in general elections.
In O hio, a statew id e survey
found four instan ces o f ineligible
p erso n s voting o r attem pting to
vote in 2(X)2 and 2004, out o f
9 ,0 7 8 ,7 2 8 votes cast - a rate o f
m ented case o f voter im p erso n ­
ation at the polls d u rin g her nine
years as the sta te ’s top electio n
o fficial. It is o b v io u s th at our
cu rren t law s against voting fraud
w ork w hen p roperly enforced.
We should he focusing on
encouraging full participation of
our citizenry, not finding new ways
to hinder the precious right to vot
0.00004%.
C athy C ox, the secretary o f
state for G eo rg ia, has adm itted
that she could not recal I one d ocu­
Even if voters have valid ID,
many eligible voters will be turned
aw ay b ecau se H R.
4844 w ould place an inordinate
am ount o f d iscretio n in the hands
o f o v erw o rk ed and so m etim es
poorly trained poll w orkers.
D e c id in g w h e th e r a v o te r
m atches o r does not m atch the
p hoto in an ID card - w hich can
be m any years o ld - is a very
su b jectiv e process and prone to
m istakes.
W hat U.S. House members w ant
to dem and o f Americans is far more
than what is required o f them to run
for office. All most congressional
candidates have to do when declar­
ing their candidacy is sign a pledge
that they are U.S. citizens - much
like what voters sign when register­
ing to vote.
S h o u ld n ’t C o n g ress be a little
m ore w orried about the state o f
electro n ic voting m ach in es? It
seem s to me that th e y ’re .he cause
o f m ore voting irreg u larities than
individual voting fraud.
W ith m idterm e le c tio n s ap ­
proaching, I can only surm ise that
H ouse law m akers are try in g to
im prove th eir political pro sp ects
w ith co n stitu en ts co n c ern ed with
illegal im m igration. Instead o f pro­
ducing viable im m igration reform,
the U .S. H ouse decid ed to try to
crack dow n on the few illegal
aliens w ho m ight be voting in
federal electio n s. N ow th a t’s not
w hat I co n sid er g o v ern m en t e ffi­
ciency.
Marc H. Marial is president and
chief executive officer o f the Na­
tional Urban League.
WWéfls C orpus S u S pëmded
Reducing Violence in Our Schools Should Be Priority
Prevention is money spent wisely
by J udge
G reg M athis
Federal funding for a
program designed to help
American schools pay for
and implement strategies
to prevent school vio­
lence has declined sig­
nificantly over the past
five years. President Bush w ants to
elim inate the program altogether.
A research study published last
year tells a different sto ry : In 2( M )2,
the year the study was conducted,
there were 17 murders and 5 su i­
cides am ong children at school. In
2(X)3, about five percent o f stu­
dents reported they skipped
school because they were
afraid of possible violence.
In 2001, school violence
prevention program s re ­
ceived more than $430 m il­
lion; next year, the same pro­
grams will receive only $310
million. Bush’s people have said
the programs were ineffective. U n­
der the current funding system,
more than half o f the co untry's
school districts receive $10,000 or
less per year. T h at’s much too little
to m ake a difference.
Effective on-cam pus anger m an­
agem ent and conflict resolution
program s could reduce violence in
Effective on-campus anger
management and conflict resolution
programs could reduce violence in
schools, saving precious young lives.
Instead, we co n tin u e to spend
schools, saving precious young ergy on preparing our kids to suc­
ceed in a com petitive society, not m oney on new p riso n s and we
lives.
H ate crim es and gangs are a w o rry in g ab o u t th e ir p erso n al co n tin u e to sq u an d er reso u rces
on a w ar that does not ap p ear to
part o f ev ery d ay life in many safety.
According tothe FBI, there were have an end in sight. C ongress
A m erican schools. C lose to 12
m
orethanone
million violent crimes has m anaged to keep the school
percent o f stu d en ts rep o rted that
som eone used h ate-related w ords reported in 2005, an increase from violence program going despite
against them at school and 21 the previous year. W ith America the p re sid e n t's push to bury it.
percent o f public and private stu ­ having the largest prison popula­ By m ain tain in g the program and
d en ts said stree t g an g s had a tion in the industrialized world, it increasing funding. C o n g ress can
th e
p r e s id e n t
th a t
makes sense this country would sh o w
presence at th e ir schools.
Students aren ’t the only ones want to prevent crime am ong young A m erica’s p rio rities sh o u ld fo­
cus on in its future.
su b ject to v io le n ce on school people.
Judge dreg Mathis is national
grounds. Research show s that there
D oing so w ould red u ce the
are close to 65,000 violent offenses prison population, increase the vice president o f Rainbow PUSH
co m m itted ag a in st te ac h ers at college attendance rates and. ulti­ and a national board member o f
school. O ur n atio n ’s educators mately, save the nation billions of the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference.
should be able to focus their en ­ dollars.
nit (Observer
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