Do New Voting Laws Suppress Fraud? Or Democrats? - NPR [View All]

[nashville_brook]

Listen to the story b/c it's way better than the written piece, which makes it seem like suppressing the vote is no big deal (imo) Guy Raz interviews Ari Berman who wrote the epic piece in Rolling Stone "GOP war on voting"as well as voter suppressor extraordinaire Kansas Sec of State Kris Kobach (who is a dick)-- brook


http://www.npr.org/2011/09/17/140539204/do-new-voting-laws-suppress-fraud-or-democrats

Do New Voting Laws Suppress Fraud? Or Democrats?
"A voter is more likely to be struck by lightening than they are to impersonate another voter at the polls," Berman says, citing a report from the Brennan Center for Justice.

While campaigning to become Kansas' secretary of state, Kris Kobach held a press conference to make the case for a photo ID requirement at the polls. In his argument, he noted that a man named Alfred K. Brewer, who died in 1996, had voted in the 2010 primary.

There was just one problem with that: Brewer wasn't dead.

Shortly after the press conference, Brewer's wife received a call regarding her husband's "passing." And she says, 'Well, why do you want to talk to me? He's out raking leaves,'" Brewer says. It turned out the voter rolls Kobach referenced had the birth date for Brewer's father, who had the same name.

Despite the mistake, Kobach was trying to make a serious point. He's part of a growing number of Republican lawmakers trying to crack down on voter fraud.

(snip)