According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), only 34 states currently have laws requiring voters to produce some form of identification at the polls, with just 32 of these laws in effect for the 2017 election.
If a voter doesn’t have to show proper government-issued identification, how can American citizens be sure that only those with the right to vote are the ones casting their ballots going into the 2017 and 2018 elections?
Each and every one of us needs to review our states voting identification laws and ensure there are no loopholes that might allow voter fraud to slip through the cracks.
The ACE Electoral College Network notes:
The level of required proof of identity varies considerably between jurisdictions. Some jurisdictions simply require voters to sign a declaration stating their eligibility when registering to vote. Others require voters to provide documentary proof of identity. Some jurisdictions record evidence of identity such as fingerprints or portrait photographs for use during the voting process.
According to a 2016 Washington Post-ABC poll, nearly half of Americans say voter fraud happens often. With this much distrust in the voting system, it’s time the voters took action and push for more voting identification standards to be evaluated and improved.
The same poll shows that Trump supporters specifically think voter fraud occurs often, and in my opinion, Trump voters have every right to feel this way considering multiple instances of voter fraud being uncovered in recent elections.
The Charlotte Observer reported that in North Carolina, there were 508 ineligible votes cast in the 2016 election, with 41 of those votes coming from legal non-citizens, 24 cases of double-voting and two cases of voter impersonation.
In Virginia, a James Madison University student plead guilty to registering dead voters for the Democratic Party during the 2016 election.
In Texas, a woman was sentenced to eight years in prison after it was found she voted illegally in elections in 2012 and 2014.
One particular state has seen rising tensions regarding voter fraud. In New Hampshire, thousands of alleged fraudulent votes stemming from the state’s same-day voter registration policy which allows people to use out-of-state driver’s licenses so long as they register their vehicle in New Hampshire and/or obtain a New Hampshire driver’s license within 60 days.
Earlier this year, Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser noted that Democrat Maggie Hassan edged out incumbent Republican Kelly Ayotte in a Senate race (just over 1,000 votes) and Hillary Clinton beat President Trump by less than 2,800 votes.
In the 2016 election, New Hampshire saw over 5,500 same-day registrations for which citizens never followed up by obtaining in-state driver’s licenses or registering their car in-state.
There are various instances of voter fraud beyond the examples I just mentioned but one thing remains the same: it exists and it is unacceptable. It should be a non-partisan issue to want to end all voter fraud and properly investigate to protect the credibility of our election process, yet Democrats consistently push back against the idea of increased voter identification layers.
“Democrats will not push for photo ID requirements to vote because they benefit most from voter fraud. Despite Democrat claims that it is practically non-existent, the reality is that in every election there have been numerous irregularities reported, the overwhelming majority of which favor Democrats,” said Matt C. Pinsker, Attorney at Law, PLCC, and Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice at Virginia Commonwealth University. “Despite there being numerous incidents every election cycle, Democrats are correct that prosecutions for voter fraud are rare. In large part, this only is because Democrats have purposefully setup a system which deliberately turns a blind eye and prevents any form of detection or screening.”
Now that we have a Republican majority in both houses and a Republican president, it’s time to fix the unfair voting system that allows such egregious instances of voter fraud to ever happen in the first place. It’s time to push for more voter fraud investigations and a bi-partisan effort to improve the system and make it fair for all.
“Our democratic system is based on the belief that those in a geographic area choose its leaders and policies. If someone outside of the area votes or those in the area vote more than once, the democratic system is compromised and the interests of those in the geographic area may not be reflected in the vote tally,” said Michael Abramson, founder of Abramson Law Firm and advisor for the National Diversity Coalition for Trump (NDCTrump). “If the objection to voter identification procedures is not the principle behind the law but, rather, the availability of identification, the two sides should determine why certain individuals have difficulty obtaining identification and then determine solutions to this situation.”
According to the National Review, most countries require voter identification, usually photo ID, including Mexico and Canada. There’s absolutely nothing racist about protecting the sacredness of a democratic election system, though Democrats and progressives still use that inflammatory label on anyone pushing for tighter voter identification standards.
America has to come first, and that starts with American people at the American polls, and protecting our right to vote that so many have fought and died to earn and protect.
Views expressed in op-eds are not the views of The Daily Caller.