As state attorney general, Corbett prosecuted ZERO cases of voter fraud

[PA Democrat]

I missed this great column by Tony Norman that was published a few days ago, but it raises some very salient points.

Republican-dominated statehouses are rushing to pass beefed-up voter ID legislation ahead of the November presidential election. Republican governors are rushing to sign them while droning, in solemn tones, that "voter integrity" is at stake.

Pennsylvania's new law signed this week by Gov. Tom Corbett requires voters to show photo identification at the polls, just in time for the April primary and the November election. Funny how as Pennsylvania's former attorney general, Mr. Corbett never found the time to prosecute a case of the voter fraud his fellow Republicans insist is rampant in the state.

The GOP estimates that only 90,000 citizens across the state will have trouble getting the required photo IDs to prove their identities. Liberal groups, meanwhile, estimate that as many as 700,000 might be discouraged from voting under the new protocol.

The point is that Republicans are willing to risk seeing at least 100,000 fewer voters at the polls in November -- most of whom presumably lean Democratic -- all in the name of "voter integrity." Whoever said voting should be easy in America must have been a Democrat.


http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/tony-norman/gop-makes-a-phony-case-for-voter-id-law-358920/?p=1

[blue neen]

1. What DID Tom Corbett do when he was Attorney General?

Was he busy prosecuting Jerry Sandusky? Uh, no.

Excellent post, PA Democrat. Tony Norman nails it.

[PA Democrat]

2. Corbett urged his supporters to keep Philadelphia voter turnout down when running for governor

in 2010. Why? Because 78% of Philadelphia voters are registered Democrats. Now Toxic Tom has enacted legislation to help him suppress the votes of voters that will most likely not support him. All in the name of voter "fraud" when the real fraud is the guy sitting in the governor's mansion.

In a video posted on the website of the Delaware County Daily Times, Corbett is seen telling supporters at a gathering in Upper Darby on Thursday that Democratic Party leaders are hoping for a 50 percent turnout in Pennsylvania’s largest city.

Corbett, the state attorney general, then says, “We want to make sure that they don’t get 50 percent. Keep that down. But we want to get 100 percent all across the state. I don’t get elected if we only have Republicans. We need to have Democrats. We need to have independents. So I’m going to ask you to go out there and work hard on getting those individuals to come out and to vote.”

The Onorato campaign focused on the phrase “keep that down” and accused Corbett of trying to orchestrate voter suppression.

“The attorney general’s job is to protect our right to vote and make sure that every vote counts, so why is Tom Corbett instead telling his Republican activists to ’keep’ the vote down in the city of Philadelphia?” Onorato campaign spokesman Brian Herman asked in a statement.

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2010/10/pennsylvania_gubernatorial_can_8.html

[tech3149]

3. I'm one of those poor sots affected by this

My DL was revoked for medical reasons so I have to waste at least half a day and gather up all the (hopefully acceptable) documents to get a photo ID. It will be funny to go to the polling place of less than 700 registered voters and have someone I grew up with ask me to prove my identity.
It's a good thing I'm not a violent person otherwise I'd have a serious whupping for governor gasbag.

[JPZenger]

4. More on the Republican Pa. voter suppression bill

Remember - not a single Dem voted for it.

http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Political-Action-Legislation/More-of-the-Same-Voter-Suppression-in-Pa

"Meanwhile, judges have struck down similar laws in Texas, Wisconsin and South Carolina. In line with Republican talking points, Corbett argues the bill prevents voter fraud. However, there is little evidence of voter fraud in Pennsylvania or other states. A five-year investigation by former President George W. Bush’s Department of Justice netted only 86 convictions nationally for improper voting among millions of votes cast. And while there are some instances of “dead voters” and voter fraud due to mail-in ballots, neither of those issues would be resolved with restrictive photo ID requirements.

Additionally, the bill comes with no small price tag—according to a nonpartisan Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center estimate, H.B. 934 will cost taxpayers more than $11 million in the first year alone. At a time when Pennsylvanians are hurting from a 7.7 percent unemployment rate, $900 million in cuts from the state education budget and a $651 million cut from health care and other programs that help the most vulnerable Pennsylvanians, the voter suppression bill seems, at best, a financially irresponsible distraction and, at worst, a blatant obstruction to democracy. The law will be in full effect by this November’s elections.

What has caused the sudden obsession over “voter fraud” that has seized Corbett and other Republican politicians all across the country?

The better question is not “what” but “who.” And for whom.

Enter: the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a 501(c)(3) funded by the right-wing Koch brothers and corporations that bring these corporations together with state legislators to draft laws to benefit the businesses and their friends, often at the expense of working families. These model bills then are handed off to lawmakers to introduce in their home assemblies."