Third in a series
Re “Holder’s Aggressiveness Was an Asset, Says Times Essayist”
[img]2761|right|Charles Blow||no_popup[/img]Charles Blow had just suggested that voter fraud was an unimaginably poor motivation for legalizing government-issued photo identification. Voter fraud is practically invisible, says The New York Times columnist, and the number persons who would suffer is huge.
In these times of instant access, is it true, as the left contends, that the poor, minorities and the elder do not have reasonable paths to obtaining picture IDs?
“In some cases, they have access,” said Mr. Blow before last Friday’s Urban Issues Breakfast Forum at the African-American Museum on USC’s campus. The problem is, photo ID “creates hurdles and barriers for these voters. Speaking of the elderly: Sometimes they have voted their entire lives at the same place, and now they have to change.”
The heaviest focus in the nationwide debate over voter rights has been on photo identity, but Mr. Blow says equally hurtful sections of present legislation are just as damaging to minorities and others.
He mentioned “shrinking the window” of pre-Election Day voting opportunities. “This is incredibly important for working class people and persons who do not have transportation and must rely on others,” Mr. Blow said.
Two days ago, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeals court ruling that would have restored seven days of early voting in Ohio, including the weekend before Election Day. Civil rights advocates say the Sunday ahead of Election Day has been a hugely popular voting opportunity for black voters.
“The range of voter restrictions is a lot bigger than photo ID, and photo ID is a big one, too,” Mr. Blow said. “This is difficult for the elderly, trying to figure out, ‘Do I have a birth certificate? Where is it? Was I born at home? How was it recorded? How do I deal with this?’”
Mr. Blow, whose weekly essays in the Times deal center almost exclusively on race, insists that obtaining an approved photo is a hardship.
“Some people have to figure out who has jobs that don’t allow for easy access so they can spend an entire day at the DMV,” Mr. Blow said.
(To be continued)
