Republicans have made clear their thoughts on President Barack Obama being reelected for another four-year term.
When asked to describe what is at stake in the 2012 presidential election, Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-OH, offered statements like, “America can’t live with Barack Obama for another four years as president,” and “his policies will turn America in a direction that we may never recover from.”
You get the idea.
Theatrics aside, how far will the Republican Party go to keep Obama from being reelected for another four years as president?  
Considering the recent voter identification laws passed by conservative lawmakers, would they appear willing to overstep moral or legal boundaries to accomplish this goal?
In a word, yes.
In fact, the Republican Party is making an effort to deprive certain minority groups of the exact cornerstone our democracy – any democracy – was founded upon: the right to vote.
In a seemingly well-intentioned attempt to stop voter fraud, Republican-controlled legislatures have passed laws in seven states, requiring voters to show government-issued photo identification when at the polls. Similar efforts are going on in as many as 24 other states, including Louisiana.
However, in reality these measures will undoubtedly prevent, or at least discourage, millions of eligible voters from voting. As you might have guessed, these laws will primarily affect Democratic-leaning groups, such as racial minorities, the poor and legal immigrants.
One in four black Americans does not possess any form of government identification, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University’s School of Law, and many Americans born outside of the country lack the papers, like a birth certificate, required to obtain a driver’s license or state ID.
To gain a better perspective with regards to how these laws will negatively affect voter turnout on a statewide basis, look to our Lone Star neighbor.
According to Texas-supplied voter registration data given to the Justice Department, there are currently between 175,000 and 304,000 registered Hispanic voters who do not have a government photo ID in Texas.
This entire demographic of voters will be unable to participate in our democracy and elect political leaders who will best represent their interests so long as they lack an ID.
But politicians say going to the Department of Motor Vehicles to obtain a photo ID is fairly easy, right? Not exactly.
Because most Hispanic voters without IDs earn very low incomes – as do nearly all the voters targeted by this law – they face real challenges in taking a trip to the DMV.
For one, most low-income individuals work jobs that offer little or no vacation time, meaning they must weigh the opportunity cost of missing work and resulting lost wages.
Voters will also have to account for transportation costs to the nearest DMV, which is several hours away if you live in some parts of Texas.
Essentially, these restrictive voter ID policies are going to make voting a significantly more difficult task for certain population groups that tend to vote Democrat. But at what cost?
Where is this so-called voter fraud epidemic Republicans keep raving about?  
Surprisingly enough, there is no evidence of substantial fraud in U.S. elections or of people voting multiple times. However, it is naïve to think that it doesn’t occur.
Indeed, evidence from the microscopically scrutinized 2004 gubernatorial election in Ohio revealed a voter fraud rate of 0.00004% percent, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
National Weather Service data shows that Americans are struck and killed by lightning about as often.
Additionally, the Justice Department convicted only 86 people of voter fraud between 2002 and 2007.
Given the scant evidence of voter fraud in our country, photo ID requirements for voters are not only a discriminatory attempt to keep minorities and poor people from voting, but a deliberate plan by Republicans to disenfranchise Democrats.
The Republican Party’s blatant racism is getting easier to read every day. They might as well reinstate the poll tax if they’re going to be this obvious.
Jay Meyers is a 19-year-old economics freshman from Shreveport. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_jmeyers.
 
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Contact Jay Meyers at [email protected]