It’s Now Harder to Vote in Virginia Because the Supreme Court Gutted the Voting Rights Act
It’s Now Harder to Vote in Virginia Because the Supreme Court Gutted the Voting Rights Act
200,000 registered voters could be blocked from the polls after a federal court upheld Virginia’s voter ID law.
By Ari BermanTwitterTODAY 10:46 AM
Josephine Okiakpe, a 69-year-old African-American woman, grew up in a small town in North Carolina in the Jim Crow South. She attended segregated schools, where black students only received textbooks after white students were done with them.
After Okiakpe moved to Virginia, she brought her birth certificate, Social Security card, voter registration card and bank statement to the polls with her, but was unable to vote under the state’s strict voter ID law, which required a government-issued photo ID to cast a ballot. The only photo IDs she had were a North Carolina driver’s license and an expired Virginia DMV card, neither of which were accepted.
As she argued with poll workers, other voters in line snickered at Okiakpe. “I felt very frustrated, very upset,” she told a federal court, the Associated Press reported. Okiakpe wept as she told the story.
She was ultimately given a provisional ballot, which was only counted after Okiakpe obtained a valid voter ID in Manassas days after the election.
On Thursday, federal district court judge Henry Hudson upheld Virginia’s voter ID law, despite hearing many stories like Okiakpe’s of voters burdened by the law. Hudson, a George W. Bush appointee once known as “Hang ‘Em High Henry” for his tough on crime record, was also the first judge to rule against Obamacare. His decision will make it harder for the 200,000 Virginia voters without a driver’s license to cast a ballot.
http://www.thenation.com/article/its-now-harder-to-vote-in-virginia-because-the-supreme-court-gutted-the-voting-rights-act/
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