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The World Requires Voter ID, but George Soros and Hillary Clinton Are Determined the U.S. Won’t; State Lawmakers Override Veto of Voter ID Measure; Tucker Carlson: ‘Democrats Encourage Voter Fraud Because It Helps Them Win Elections’

By National Review. It’s been over seven years since the Supreme Court, in a 6–3 decision that was written by liberal favorite John Paul Stevens, declared that voter-ID laws don’t constitute an undue burden on people attempting to vote. But that hasn’t stopped liberals from fighting in legislatures and courts against those laws and other efforts to promote voter integrity. The lawsuits are often brought by Marc Elias, who doubles as the attorney for Hillary Clinton’s campaign. And their efforts have paid off: Only about 18 states currently require a photo ID to vote.

Last month, the New York Times reported that billionaire liberal George Soros was largely bankrolling the multi-million-dollar effort. Democratic-party chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has accused Republicans of trying to bring back Jim Crow because “photo I.D. laws, we think, are very similar to a poll tax.”

Election observers in other countries find this kind of rhetoric preposterous. Almost all industrialized democracies — and most that are not — require voters to prove their identity before voting. . .

The vast majority of countries require voter ID — usually photo ID — to prevent fraud and duplicate votes at the polls. Our neighbors do. Canada requires voter ID. Mexico’s “Credencial para Votar” has a hologram, a photo, and other information embedded in it, and it is impossible to effectively tamper with. Confidence in the integrity of elections has soared since its introduction in the 1990s. (Read more from “The World Requires Voter ID, but George Soros and Hillary Clinton Are Determined the U.S. Won’t” HERE)

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State Lawmakers Override Veto of Voter ID Measure

By AP. Republican lawmakers in Kentucky swept aside the Democratic governor’s veto of a bill to require the state’s residents to show a government-issued photo ID in order to vote.

Votes to override Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto easily cleared the GOP-led Senate and House as lawmakers reconvened Tuesday for a wrap-up session amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky promptly said it will consider filing legal action to try to halt the measure. (Read more from “State Lawmakers Override Veto of Voter ID Measure” HERE)

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Tucker Carlson: ‘Democrats Encourage Voter Fraud Because It Helps Them Win Elections’

By Daily Caller. Fox News host Tucker Carlson argued that Democrats “encourage” making voter fraud easier “because it helps them win elections.”

Carlson began the Tuesday night “Tucker Carlson Tonight” monologue by pointing out that those, including Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, who consider the current crisis an “opportunity.” After listing several bills Northam signed over Easter weekend and calling them an “entire rundown from an MSNBC weekend show all signed into law,” the Fox News host pointed out one “that ought to worry you, even if you’re lucky enough not to live in Virginia.” . . .

“Government IDs aren’t racist,” Carlson insisted, pushing back against the claim. “They’re mandatory. You can’t live here without one … Pretty much every person in America has a government ID. And in fact, in February 2019 a paper coauthored by professors at Harvard and the University of Bologna found that voter ID laws had no effect whatsoever on voter turnout for any subgroup they measured — whether it was by age, or gender, or party or yes, by race. This is a complete and utter crock.”

“So why are they continuing to say it?” he continued. “Because voter ID laws stop voter fraud. Democrats encourage voter fraud because it helps them win elections.” (Read more from “Tucker Carlson: ‘Democrats Encourage Voter Fraud Because It Helps Them Win Elections’” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Amid Voter ID Battles, Here Are 7 Things the Government Requires IDs For

As federal courts wrestle with voter ID laws in several states just months before a national election, there is considerably less attention being brought to other constitutional rights that require ID.

Proponents of voter ID have argued that retailers require ID to buy liquor, M-rated video games, prescriptions, or even nail polish.

But these arguments aren’t really applicable to voter ID, said J. Christian Adams, general counsel for the Public Interest Legal Foundation, and a former Justice Department attorney, who supports voter ID and other election integrity laws.

“Tell me where in the Constitution does it talk about the right to buy liquor or rent a car?” Adams told The Daily Signal in a phone interview. “The Constitution does guarantee the right to use firearms, and ID is always required to purchase a firearm. If you talk about buying liquor, the left will shred that argument. If you talk about ID when buying a gun, it boxes them in.”

Here are seven common situations that require an ID.

1. Welfare Benefits

While there is no constitutional right to welfare benefits, the Supreme Court held in the case of Goldberg v. Kelly that welfare recipients are entitled to due process with a hearing before benefits can be terminated.

Nevertheless, several states require some type of proof of identity to collect welfare. The states of Massachusetts and Missouri require a photo ID on the electronic benefit cards used for purchases under food stamps or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families expenditures. The EBT cards in Kansas include a photo if a participant agrees, but isn’t required, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

New York City has a municipal ID program. The city’s website says residents will need an ID to “get a job,” “cash a check,” “open a bank account,” “enter a government building,” and, further, says, “To be eligible for some public benefits you need to prove your identity, age and residence.”

2. Registration for Buying Guns

Laws vary by state and even by municipality on buying a firearm.

The District of Columbia, the point of dispute in the landmark Heller Supreme Court decision that determined every American has the right to bear arms, still has very strict gun control laws.

It requires residents to register those guns. Gun owners must also obtain a gun license for any shotgun, rifle, or handgun. The District of Columbia city government prohibits the sale of handguns, but allows restricted sales on rifles and shotguns.

In another example, New York City allows the selling of handguns, but with stricter rules than New York state. To buy a gun in the city, an individual must appear in person to fill out a 17-page handgun purchase authorization form to qualify for a purchase license. The form costs $340 and $89.75 for fingerprinting. The New York Times wrote that applicants “must provide an original Social Security card, birth certificate, two recent color photographs and other documents.”

The application also requires individuals to explain employment dismissal and health history in addition to the background check that all gun buyers go through.

3. Petition Your Government

It isn’t just the Second Amendment that is subject to ID scrutiny. First Amendment freedoms sometimes require some identification, said Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at The Heritage Foundation, and a former Justice Department attorney.

“The First Amendment guarantees the right to petition your government, but anyone who wants to meet with a Department of Justice official has to show a government-issued photo ID to get into the Department of Justice building for the meeting,” von Spakovsky told The Daily Signal.

The right to peacefully petition on Capitol Hill—beyond writing or calling a congressional office—generally requires becoming a registered lobbyist. States have various requirements for registered lobbyists as well.

4. Right of Assembly

Further, many municipalities require permits to hold protests or rallies in a public space under certain circumstances. This process varies based on the city, but requires some paperwork by the organizers.

5. Right to Marry

Official ID for obtaining a marriage license is nearly universal across states, said von Spakovsky. He noted that under the 1967 Loving v. Virginia ruling by the Supreme Court, marriage is a fundamental right.

Today, the state at the center of that case requires photo ID. Fairfax County, Virginia, near the District of Columbia, states that requirements to get a marriage license include a “valid photo identification (a valid driver’s license with picture, passport, or military identification).”

And, New York City’s website states, “You and your prospective spouse must have one form of proper identification in order to apply for a Marriage License.” The options include a driver’s license, active military ID card, passport, or permanent resident card.

6. Freedom of Movement

While the right to board an airplane isn’t spelled out in the Constitution, von Spakovsky said the right to travel could be broadly considered a basic public accommodation and a freedom of movement issue, even though the Transportation Security Administration requires photo ID for everyone boarding a plane.

Freedom of movement is recognized under the privileges and immunities clause of the Constitution. The Supreme Court held in 1869 that this protected the rights of citizens, the “right of free ingress into other states, and egress from them.”

“The 1960s civil rights movement was in part about the fundamental right to travel on trains and public buses,” von Spakovsky said.

7. Public Accommodations

Opponents of voter ID laws contend that it’s difficult for minorities to obtain ID for voting. This could reasonably extend to public accommodations, von Spakovsky said.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits businesses such as restaurants and hotels from denying service on the grounds of race, color, religion, or national origin.

“I can’t remember when I checked into a hotel and they didn’t ask me for photo ID,” von Spakovsky said.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which is involved in current litigation against voter ID laws in states such as North Carolina, Kansas, and Texas, told The Daily Signal Wednesday that no one is available to comment regarding these other civil liberties that require some type of ID. (For more from the author of “Amid Voter ID Battles, Here Are 7 Things the Government Requires IDs For” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.

Justice Department to Challenge North Carolina Voter ID Law

Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

The Justice Department will file suit against North Carolina on Monday, charging that the Tar Heel State’s new law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls violates the Voting Rights Act by discriminating against African Americans, according to a person familiar with the planned litigation.

Attorney General Eric Holder is expected to announce the lawsuit at 11 a.m. Monday at Justice Department headquarters, flanked by the three U.S. Attorneys from North Carolina.

The suit, set to be filed in Greensboro, N.C., will ask that the state be barred from enforcing the new voter ID law, the source said. However, the case will also go further, demanding that the entire state of North Carolina be placed under a requirement to have all changes to voting laws, procedures and polling places “precleared” by either the Justice Department or a federal court, the source added.

Until this year, 40 North Carolina counties were under such a requirement. However, in June, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional the formula Congress used to subject parts or all of 15 states to preclearance in recent decades.

The justices’ 5-4 ruling outraged civil rights advocates, but did not disturb a rarely-used “bail in” provision in the law that allows judges to put states or localities under the preclearance requirement. Civil rights groups and the Justice Department have since seized on that provision to try to recreate part of the regime that existed prior to the Supreme Court decision.

Read more from this story HERE.

Voter ID Battle Set to Rage Again

The national battle over voter ID laws that roiled the presidential campaign for a time then fizzled before Election Day is set to rage again in 2013.

This year promises a flurry of new voter ID legislation across the country as well as reignited court battles in states where the laws were blocked last year and a Supreme Court ruling on part of the Voting Rights Act.

All of the activity will bring the debate — which pits conservatives targeting potential election fraud against voting-rights groups convinced the laws are really about disenfranchising low-propensity liberal voters — to the forefront again.

“There are a number of states where there’s clearly active legislative attempts to make their voter ID laws more restrictive,” said Wendy Weiser, director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, which has been involved in court challenges to a handful of the voter ID laws around the country. “This is not an issue that has gone away.”

States with voter ID legislation to be debated this year include Alaska, Arkansas, New York, North Carolina, Missouri, Montana, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin. All of the bills would require voters to present some kind of government-issued photo ID in order to vote.

Read more from this story HERE.