Democrats are fond of describing voter ID laws as "voter suppression." So it came as kind of a surprise when the Harris campaign in Arizona required photo ID to enter a Harris for President rally.
The purpose of showing an ID at that Harris campaign rally was that the event was by invitation only. Now, some Democrats would describe that as an "elitist" attitude to have, but only if it was Donald Trump's attendance policy. When Harris does it, it's just taking safety precautions.
Actually, the Harris campaign has been plagued by pro-Hamas fanatics interrupting her speeches during events. In truth, it's hard to tell the difference between the ravings of the pro-Hamas protesters and Harris's word-salad speeches.
Her campaign forced attendees to show "government-issued photo ID" to be admitted to the venue, KTAR reported. But Harris sang a different tune in a 2021 interview with MSNBC on Voter ID laws.
"I don’t think that we should underestimate what that could mean," Harris said about allowing voter ID laws. "Because in some people’s mind that means, well, you’re going to have to Xerox or photocopy your ID to send it in to prove you are who you are. Well, there are a whole lot of people, especially people who live in rural communities, who don’t – there’s no Kinko’s, there’s no Office Max near them. People have to understand that when we’re talking about voter ID laws, be clear about who you have in mind and what would be required of them to prove who they are."
Harris elaborated. She probably shouldn't have. "Of course, people have to prove who they are. But not in a way that makes it almost impossible for them to prove who they are," Harris added.
Huh?
Harris accused Republicans of "doing everything in their power to suppress and attack the voting rights of people of color."
"They are deploying suppressive voter ID laws, racial gerrymandering, voter roll purges, precinct closures, and reduced early-voting days – all of which have been laser-targeted toward communities of color since the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act in 2013," she wrote.
Related: The Trump Campaign Is Under Assault. Can the Government Do Anything About It?
Meanwhile, the Minnesota GOP is demanding an investigation after noncitizens' claims of receiving primary ballots without registering to vote.
In what was described as "potentially not an isolated incident," a noncitizen, lawfully present in Minnesota, reported to the state Republican Party that he did not register to vote, or request a ballot, yet is currently on the Minnesota voter roll and received a primary ballot in the mail. The individual claimed he does not know how the ballot was sent and is concerned it may affect residence or future citizenship eligibility.
Kevin Cline, election integrity counsel for the Republican National Committee, and David Hann, chairman of the Minnesota Republican Party, brought the matter to the attention of Minnesota Secretary of State Steven Simon in a letter last week, demanding an immediate review of the voter rolls to ensure only eligible citizens are registered and receive ballots, a full investigation, and an immediate remedy.
Just recently, the state of Ohio culled 155,000 voters from their registration rolls. The reasons for taking these former voters off the rolls included people "who moved to a new address, failed to update their registration and did not engage in voter activity − such as casting a ballot − over the past four years." Among those, according to Secretary of State Frank LaRose, were 500 people who were on the registration rolls in Ohio but, because they weren't citizens, were ineligible to vote.
“I swore an oath to uphold the constitution of our state, and that document clearly states that only United States citizens can participate in Ohio elections,” LaRose said in a press release announcing the news. “That means I’m duty-bound to make sure people who haven’t yet earned citizenship in this country aren’t voting. If or when they do become citizens, I’ll be the first one to congratulate them and welcome them to the franchise, but until then the law requires us to remove ineligible registrations to prevent illegal voting.”
Most states with voter ID laws offer financial assistance for a voter to get a state picture ID if they can't afford it. It's a bald-faced lie to say that requiring a voter ID is "racist" or an attempt to "suppress the vote."
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