VOTER ID | The issue with overwhelming support.

Ever since the 2020 election, voter id laws have been at the forefront of everyone’s mind. So much so that numerous states across the country have introduced legislation to address this issue. Since April of 2021, state legislatures across the country have introduced 2,950 election bills, and of those bills, approximately 12% of them will become law, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. [1]

Now 12% doesn’t seem like a lot, but out of the 2,950 proposed bills, that means 354 of them did pass and become law. This is because there are a lot of questions around the legitimacy of the 2020 Presidential election that nobody wants to answer. And some think voter IDs are somehow racist, but Voter ID laws are overwhelmingly popular.

According to a 2021 poll done by Rasmussen, Eighty-nine percent (89%) of Republicans support voter ID requirements, as do 60% of Democrats and 77% of voters not affiliated with either major party. Additionally, in the same poll, 69% of African Americans support voter ID laws as well. [2]

So the notion that the enaction of voter ID laws across the country is somehow racist or would hinder an African American from voting is simply ridiculous. Florida Congressman Byron Donalds addressed this issue publicly on Fox News, stating: “It bothers the hell out of me. And what’s worse is that they never show data on how, somehow, black people don’t have access to IDs, or it disproportionately affects them because they simply can’t get it. They just say it,” “I find it, frankly, it’s disrespectful. It is literally the soft bigotry of low expectations. Because what you’re saying is that a black kid can’t get an ID,” he continued.[3]

Freshman Congressman Burgess Owens of Utah also stated: “The greatest threat for Democrats is American people, no matter what color, who are part of the middle class, those people who are no longer dependent on the government. They have faith, they have a vision for their family,” Owens said.

“They look for it because they understand and experience the American dream. The greatest threat. And that’s why they do not want black people to experience that, that’s why they’re tearing down and burning down businesses every single year in urban communities that are trying to reach that middle class,” he explained.

“So to say that black people cannot get an ID is an insult. We’re as smart, as tenacious, as desirous of independence as anybody else. If anyone says that, who says that’s not the truth, is again, just pure racist.”

Owens was reacting to Abrams’ virtual testimony before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday examining newly passed election reform laws, particularly those in Georgia, that the Democratic majority says is Jim Crow in 2021. [4]

Regardless of personal feelings, 36 states have enacted voter id laws since 2021. This issue will only become more tumultuous as the right and the left battle over an issue wildly supported by the people. To better understand local election laws in your state and for further assistance with this, click here:

[1] https://www.wsj.com/articles/states-new-voting-laws-what-you-need-to-know-11619791761
[2] https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/general_lifestyle/march_2021/75_support_voter_id_laws
[3] https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/04/06/survey-73-black-voters-say-voter-id-is-necessary-to-a-fair-and-secure-election-process/
[4] https://www.westernjournal.com/burgess-owens-tears-stacey-abrams-says-insult-assume-black-americans-cant-get/