Voter ID and civil disobedience

Tonight the Wisconsin Assembly passed the most restrictive Voter ID bill in the nation. We previously have had one of the highest voter turnouts in the country, but this bill will change all that. Very few forms of ID will be accepted- current valid drivers license, military ID, student IDs with certain parameters (none of the current student IDs meet these parameters), or a state-issued photo ID card. This will disenfranchise thousands of eligible voters, as outlined in this article from One Wisconsin Now. Senator Bob Jauch gave great testimony on this bill as well.

This photo ID card will be free if you say that you can not pay for the card. There was an amendment proposed that would require DMVs to tell people that the card is free; but that amendment was not passed. Also tabled were amendments to extend the hours of all state DMVs, require weekend hours so that people who work 8-5 jobs can obtain these ID cards without taking time off work. Getting to a DMV to obtain this ID card will be a major hurdle, as there are several counties with no DMV, and plenty more with DMVs that are open a few days a month. Here is a map of Wisconsin DMVs open more than 2 days a week. Indiana has a similar law, but they also have a lot more DMVs. At least one in every county, open 4-5 days a week. This law might not be overly burdensome in Indiana, but in Wisconsin it is.

The only evidence -besides theoretical situations and hearsay- that the GOP offered was a report from the Milwaukee Police department. Apparently it had been requested by a chief of police who left before it was compelted, and then the next chief of police saw the report and refused to sign it because he said that it was a partisan and politically motivated. There were, in 2004 11 cases of questionable ballots- 3 of these were situations in which photo ID would have prevented the fraud.
After this bill was passed, The associated Solidarity Organization did some planned direct action- they yelled at the reps "hey you don't have ID- you can't vote!" and then chanted "Shame" or "welcome to Jim Crow, WI". Three guys got really upset- they yelled, were removed, then walked around the capitol getting in the face of representatives. Some of the Democrats were even upset by the behavior.

The ASo then went outside, had s little meeting, and then yelled at the author of the Bill Jeff Stone, as he got in his car, and left. Stone also ran 2 red lights, but some of the ASO was also chasing his car. That was bad behavior. I do not approve.

The guy who did the most shouting in the faces of Republicans, was a person that I have admired throughout the protest. He has been focused and measured, and a leader in guiding people to channel their frustration into productivity. I think that his behavior was bad, but He is a black guy, in the 18-24 demographic. 77% of young people in this group do not possess a valid drivers license, and will have to obtain a state ID in order to vote. The republicans repeatedly argued throughout this entire process that they are not being racist.

This policy is racist. It affects people of color much more than those who are not of color. It hurts the rural, the elderly, and the poor by limiting their ability to vote. I think that the lies about the racism in this bill were particularly sour for our friend. He was just pushed too far. I think that members of the GOP don't think that it is racist -- they don't understand- I know that I do not understand what it is to be a minority. To have your own rights and freedoms just taken away is a terrible thing. This kid reacted appropriately. The actions of the assembly were wildly inappropriate. SHAME. SHAME. SHAME. This bill is nasty, and make no mistake- its sole purpose is to reduce the democratic vote. I just hope that we can get the senate replaced and this nonsense reversed before the 2012 elections.