Show Me Your Papers<\/p>\n
Voter ID laws make so much sense, if:\u00a0 if, you are from the suburbs, if, you have had no negative interactions with the police or government, and if you are secure that the American Democracy is meant for you.\u00a0 To most Americans, having an ID to cash a check, or go to the store to buy beer or cigarettes, is so common place that it defies common sense that having ID to vote is a big deal.<\/p>\n
Voter ID is supposed to protect us from voting fraud. But, there\u2019s really no evidence of widespread voting fraud occurring, with or without Voter ID laws.\u00a0 In North Carolina for example, where the Republican candidate for a Congressional seat is accusing his Democratic opponent of being in favor of voting fraud by not supporting a new Voter ID law, a voting study showed that from 2010-2014 there were 19 fraudulent votes cast out of 12 million.\u00a0 Most of the 19 were longtime US residents, who mistakenly thought they could vote.\u00a0That’s .00000015% illegal votes, not a \u201cgame changing\u201d impact.\u00a0 The North Carolina Voter ID law solves a problem that didn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n
Voter ID isn\u2019t a big deal I f you see the government as serving your interests, not questioning them.\u00a0Say you’re a citizen of Hispanic ethnicity, and go to the polls to vote and are asked for you ID. \u00a0Perhaps, in some polling places, a \u201cchallenger\u201d\u00a0 (folks whose job is to \u201cchallenge\u201d you\u2019re registration, affiliation, address and documentation) will ask for additional information.\u00a0 Language might be an issue, but intimidation might be even a more significant blockade.<\/p>\n
It is absolutely true that if a voter stands their ground, ultimately they have the right to vote, at the least on a provisional ballot.\u00a0 But the knowledge of the rules is fully weighted to the poll workers and the challengers; most regular voters don\u2019t know enough to demand their rights when questioned.\u00a0 And if you are a new citizen, or maybe one with a father or mother who is in the US illegally, or a \u201cDreamer\u201d living with you, will you fight the \u201cvoting battle,\u201d or will you avoid drawing attention to yourself and not vote at all?<\/p>\n
In newly migrated communities in the United States today, fear of the government is growing.\u00a0 The Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Agency, \u201cICE,\u201d has earned a reputation for arbitrary round-ups, and fast and loose play with individual rights.\u00a0 Regardless of what President Trump says, no reasonable politician, Democrat or Republican, is in favor of\u00a0 \u201copen borders.\u201d\u00a0 Reasonable enforcement of immigration law makes sense.\u00a0 But in our nation, with at least 12 million undocumented immigrants living and working here, it also would make sense to target enforcement towards those who are truly dangerous.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not what ICE\u2019s is doing right now with their factory \u201cround-ups\u201d and arranged fake meetings.\u00a0 \u00a0The US government is even questioning the legal citizenship of some American citizens crossing at the border, demanding documentation beyond Passport cards, and denying their issued birth certificates.\u00a0 An atmosphere of fear has been created in Hispanic communities, among documented, undocumented, and even US citizens.<\/p>\n
Folks are scared.\u00a0They are scared to interact with the government, and they are scared to vote.\u00a0 Demanding additional layers of identification just create additional barriers to participation.\u00a0 That drives down Hispanic participation, and reduces their impact on elections.\u00a0 Will that make a difference?\u00a0 We will see in the Florida Governor\u2019s race between Republican Ron DeSantis and Democrat Andrew Gillum, and in the Texas Ted Cruz versus Beto O\u2019Rourke Senate election.\u00a0 Suppress the normally Democratic leaning Hispanic turnout, and elections already on the knife-edge fall Republican.\u00a0 It\u2019s difficult to imagine that\u2019s not intentional.<\/p>\n
In the old World War II movies, there was always a scene on the train rolling through occupied Europe.\u00a0The \u201cgood guys\u201d were riding along, and into the railroad car walked the black uniformed Gestapo.\u00a0 \u201cShow me your papers,\u201d was the demand, and the good guys would hope and pray that their forged documents would hold up.\u00a0 \u201cShow me your papers\u201d became the trademark of authoritarian regimes, governments that don\u2019t trust the governed.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re white, suburban, middle-class; it doesn\u2019t feel like it effects you.\u00a0 \u201cSure, I\u2019ll show you my papers, and sure, I know the government is acting in my interest.\u201d\u00a0 But in minority and newly migrant communities it\u2019s different.\u00a0 \u201cShow me your papers\u201d is a challenge of your right to be here, a challenge made with the full authority of the government.<\/p>\n
Martin Niemoller, a German Lutheran, spoke of the Nazis:<\/p>\n