Think Progress
To Rick Santorum, the more than 23 million American voters who don’t have a government-issued photo ID aren’t potential victims of disenfranchisement. The presidential hopeful uses a different name: perpetrators of fraud.
ThinkProgress spoke with the Republican presidential hopeful about voter ID laws — which require that citizens present a certain form of photo identification or they are barred from voting — during a campaign stop in Milwaukee last weekend. Santorum said that he supports such laws because, as he states it, “the only reason you don’t have a voter ID is you want to continue to perpetrate fraud.” He went on to dismiss the notion that anyone might not have access to a voter ID, saying that “it’s not a problem.”
KEYES: Voter ID has been a big issue here in Wisconsin. I know Lindsey Graham has proposed a national voter ID law. Is that something you would sign as president?
SANTORUM: I think that’s a state issue. I support voter ID. In my opinion, the only reason you don’t have a voter ID is you want to continue to perpetrate fraud.
KEYES: What about folks who don’t have access to a voter ID though?
SANTORUM: As you know, in every state they allow free access to free voter ID, so it’s not a problem.
Watch it:
Santorum’s claim falls somewhere in the murky world between audacity and lunacy. More thanone in ten Americans lack a government-issued photo ID. These people are not committing voter fraud — indeed, voter fraud is rarer than getting struck by lightning — they are potentially having their right to vote stripped away. Santorum appears to have confused the disenfranchisees with the disenfranchisers.
Related articles
- Pennsylvania ACLU Puts New Voter ID Law In Its Legal Crosshairs (philadelphia.cbslocal.com)
- False Conclusions About Georgia’s Voter ID Impacts (gangsgoonsandgunz.rahrahrecords.com)
- VIDEO: Are Voter ID Laws Racist? (cowboypress.wordpress.com)
- Convenient Ignorance: Debunking Common Voter ID Myths (thecollegeconservative.com)
- REPORT: Nine People Denied Voting Rights By Voter ID Laws (thinkprogress.org)
