Voter ID Law Goes to Court

Virginia's voter ID law challenged in federal trial

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-virginia-votingrights-idUSKCN0VV169

2/22/16

A piece of legislation in Virginia goes on trial today over it's legality. The law, which requires that voters bring photo ID when casting their ballots, is deemed by democrats to be discriminatory, and illegal. They believe that this law is an attempt of a failing republican party to disenfranchise voters that would vote against them. The law has been shown to affect poor, minority, and young voters, as they are more unlikely to have photo identification. These demographics are key demographics in the democratic party, as they are more likely to oppose conservatism and support liberalism. State election records show that about 197,000 registered voters do not have any form of acceptable photo ID, and only 4,117 free voter identification cards have been acquired since the records were collected.


In modern American history, the higher courts have begun to favor larger rights of voters and greater inclusion in the democratic process. The 15th Amendment, the 19th Amendment, and the 24th Amendment have all been made to protect the rights of people who have had their voting rights curtailed by their respective state governments. These laws are made, supposedly, to stop the crime of voter fraud, a crime that has only had 5 recorded cases in recent memory. While making legislation to uphold the law is admirable, the manner that this is being enacted is fundamentally wrong. This law, and laws like it, do not affect citizens equally, and undermine the power of certain populations in our elections. Our democracy should strive to enable as many voters as possible, not try and limit certain people's access to the polls.