Tuesday, November 13, 2007

The Stakes, My Friends...

...are very high. Go read this press release from the Brennan Center For Justice regarding voting rights in America. It makes sobering reading. It also makes me mad, but right now I'm having a difficult time getting my blood up. Still, as the headline of the release indicates, if you are an African_American, a low income voter, a student, or a senior citizen, the ReThuglican Party DOES NOT WANT YOU TO VOTE! It's no surprise, really, they have never trusted people with real-life problems. As I have stated several times in the past, this is not the America I envisioned when I was a youngster. Stand up Democrats, or else merge with the ReThugs.

# 21.8% of black Indiana voters do not have access to a valid photo ID (compared to 15.8% of white Indiana voters - a 6 point gap).

# When non-registered eligible voter responses are included - the gap widens. 28.3% of eligible black voters in the State of Indiana to not have valid photo ID (compared to 16.8% of eligible voting age white Indiana residents - a gap of 11.5 percent).

# The study found what it termed "a curvilinear pattern (similar to an upside down U-curve)" in the relationship between age and access to valid ID - younger voters and older voters were both less likely to have valid ID compared to voters in the middle categories. 22% of voters 18-34 did not have ID, nor did 19.4% over the age of 70. (compared to 16.2% of Indiana voters age 35-54 without valid ID and 14.1% for 55-69 year olds).

# 21% of Indiana registered voters with only a high school diploma did not have valid ID (compared to 11.5% of Indiana voters who have completed college - a gap of 9.5%).

# Those with valid ID are much more likely to be Republicans than those who do not have valid ID. Among registered voters with proper ID, 41.6% are registered Republicans, 32.5% are Democrats.

Via TPM.

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