Statistical proof that voter ID laws are racially discriminatory

[anon50609448]

@Mindysan33

I flagged him for stealth racism, because pretty much whenever anyone invokes government benefits when talking about ID issues, they usually mean “those” people.

Honestly, we should be calling out this sort of racism as much as the overt racism.

Thanks for saying what I didn’t have the guts to.

[Grey_Devil]

I haven’t known Mindysan to be one to hold back

[jmcgarry]

Work! …

[Grey_Devil]

Glad i held back on quoting that myself

[jmcgarry]

Thanks for that!

[Grey_Devil]

… and Peggy

[Melz2]

@d_r

By the way, I’m a little surprised at the flagging of @Nunyo_Bidness, seems harsh.

Oh?

@Nunyo_Bidness

receive government benefits <-this one especially

@Nunyo_Bidness

Get and ID and show it to vote (if it is important to you).

@Nunyo_Bidness

I get the feeling that the people who this “discriminates” against don’t vote, don’t care to vote, and never will vote (or aren’t legally supposed to be voting).

Don’t be afraid to call a spade a spade when it’s played.

Sincerely,

a Black US citizen with current legal id who isn’t on government assistance and who votes regularly.

[d_r]

@Mindysan33

pretty much whenever anyone invokes government benefits when talking about ID issues, they usually mean “those” people.

That was probably something worth mentioning explicitly in the thread, and I’m glad you mentioned it now.

I’m sensitive to the problems with the poster’s “drive-by” status (which I called out in my post), but I think that even if one disagrees with the argument that he is trying to make, it is a legitimate point of discussion in a thread like this. The responses did a good job of answering the questions it raised, and I think overall increased the quality of this thread.

I hate it when flagging become a surrogate “dislike/down vote” button; but that is a discussion for elsewhere. And I’d certainly not like to see mockery or even dismissiveness (as mentioned by @anon50609448) banned on BB, except to the extent they are overtly directed at an individual or part of a broader pattern of antisocial behavior.

(Just to be clear, I’m completely OK with flagging racism, though calling it out openly is even better.)

[DukeTrout]

@Ehren

What is more discriminating are the voting hours, especially in todays’ work environment where you are expected to work overtime and can’t get to the polling place on time. I’ve missed several elections because the voting booths close so early. I bet I am not the only one. That means voting is biased toward people who have more leisure time instead of toward people who lead professional lives.

Vote by mail is the most democratic. You don’t even need to have an address, you can go to the local city hall and get your ballot. You can drop it in the mail, drop it back at city hall, at a library, etc. etc. etc. No ID required, no residence required, it can be done at any time or day up to the deadline, and voter intimidation is virtually impossible.

[Mindysan33]

@d_r

but I think that even if one disagrees with the argument that he is trying to make, it is a legitimate point of discussion in a thread like this.

Except that the only reason he and others care is that they fear being voted out of power. I think in this case intent matters, and the intent is not to make our society more democratic, it’s the opposite. So, that’s my problem with the argument, cause I’ve rarely seen it make without some sort of racial component. But that’s just what I’ve seen, and YMMV.

@d_r

Just to be clear, I’m completely OK with flagging racism, though calling it out openly is even better.