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RE: [LPB] the 24th Amendment is not ambiguous



Dang it!

Can’t people understand----

 

You don’t’ need to have and ID to be an American Citizen and Vote! Right?

I mean HOW would anyone ever imagine that people would try and vote illegally?

That someone who was not a citizen would attempt to vote?

 

And even more foolish that the people charged with assuring elections are not made invalid

By allowing people who should not be voting, from voting!

IMAGINE---that there would be people brought in to supervise polling places who COULDN”T

Know INATELY that I am an American, or you are, or she is, or Pablo, or Luena, or Noi are not

Americans!

 

GAD---

Requiring people who want to vote to select our government officials to Have some kind of legal

ID----GASTLY---APPAULING!

 

Some how…

Some how……

The REALITY of the world we live in has not STILL sunk in to parts of our society.

 

Frankly, if you cannot demonstrate you have a legal right to vote you are either:

a)       a basket case

b)       disorganized beyond excuse

c)       Drunk or drugged out of you mind so you forgot your wallet

d)       An Illegal who shouldn’t be voting in the first place

 

NOW---What EXACTLY is the thing that having and educated populous make an educated choice---

Which of the above a-d are educated individuals being deprived of their rights?

 

It’s a right---you are responsible to exercise that right responsibly.

 

REQUIRING you to identify yourself that you may be verified to be a legitimate voter---

HEY, no problem for me….

 

 

I REALIZE this may not be the more LIBERTARIAN of perspectives…but, I done got myself a life---and responsibility

To demonstrate I HAVE a right---is OK by me in this day and age.

 

Next please….

 

And I wish you all well…

CjJ

 


From: Paul Tiger [mailto:paul.tiger@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Monday, September 25, 2006 3:01 PM
To: CVV; Lpco-Chat; Lpboulder; SMCLP
Subject: [LPB] the 24th Amendment is not ambiguous

 

I clipped this out of Mark Udall’s recent newsletter -- Paul Tiger

 

And, Yet, Even More Immigration Politics
 Having taken an oath to uphold the constitution, I have a solemn responsibility to vote against even the most politically popular proposals when there are serious doubts about the constitutionality of the legislation.  H.R. 4844, the "Federal Election Integrity Act," transparently brought to the floor of the House to help the Republican majority whip up public emotions on the eve of a tough election, poses serious constitutional problems.  In short, I think it violates the 24th Amendment.

That amendment, added to the Constitution in 1964, says that the rights of Americans to vote in federal elections "shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax" and that Congress "shall have the power to enforce" that part of the Constitution.

But instead of enforcing that Constitutional bar on making voting a taxable event, this bill would require states to choose between making some people pay to vote and paying to provide them with the identification that the bill says will be required if they want to exercise that right.

The bill's supporters say the bill is constitutional because it says that states cannot make everyone pay for identification -- they have to provide it free to people who cannot afford the "reasonable cost" of providing it. 

But the 24th Amendment is not ambiguous on whether it is permissible to make some people pay to vote, so long as they can afford it.  Instead, it makes clear that no Americans -- regardless of their income -- can be forced to pay any tax in order to vote.

Some argue that paying for a government-issued ID is not a tax, but a "user fee." I am not persuaded -- and I would remind them of the words of Richard Darman, OMB Director under President Reagan, who said that "if it looks like a duck and walks like a duck and quacks like duck, it is a duck, [and] euphemisms like user fees will not fool the public."

Local governments oppose the bill because it would impose a burdensome unfunded mandate.  If the Republican leadership had been willing to allow the House to consider amendments, changes could have been made to remove any doubts about its constitutionality and to avoid burdening the state and local governments with unnecessary burdens.  However, instead the leadership insisted on bringing the bill to the floor under a procedure that prevented that -- one of the reasons that many have questioned whether the real purpose of the bill is less to respond to potential election fraud and more to make it harder for some citizens to vote.

I am not opposed to a carefully constructed and constitutional bill that would enhance workplace identity, which is why I support H.R. 98.  Nor am I opposed to legislating in order to ensure that non-citizens and others ineligible to vote are prevented from voting fraudulently.  And I am hopeful that once the heat of this election season passes, the House will return to a more deliberative and bipartisan way of doing business on this issue and others.