The left just loves voter fraud.

RI civil rights groups oppose voter ID bill

May 4, 2011

PROVIDENCE, R.I

The AmericanCivil Liberties Union and the NAACP say a proposal to require voters to show identification is unfair and unnecessary.

Leaders of several civil rights groups held a press conference Wednesday to urge lawmakers to defeat the legislation.

A driver's license, a passport or a voter identification card are among the forms of identification allowed under the proposal. The bill would require the state to provide free voter ID cards. Those without identification could cast provisional ballots.

James Vincent, president of the NAACP-Providence branch, says voter ID rules burden voters who are disabled, poor, elderly or otherwise less likely to possess sufficient identification. He says there's no evidence that voter fraud is a significant problem.

A Senate committee endorsed the bill Tuesday. It now heads to the full Senate.

Bill critcized as voter suppression tool headed for passage

TALLAHASSEE — In a move blasted by critics as a way of suppressing likely Democratic voters, the Republican-dominated Legislature edged closer Wednesday to overhauling voting laws ahead of the 2012 presidential election.

Republicans say the Senate bill sponsored by Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami is aimed at stopping voter fraud. A final vote could come as early as today.

Noting a lack of any recent voting-fraud scandal, critics charged that the changes were designed to suppress Democratic votes.

Among a handful of changes, the legislation would end a 40-year practice of allowing voters to file name and address changes at the polls on Election Day.

Women and college students are the most likely to file name and address changes, and they are more likely to vote Democratic, the critics say.

The legislation also reduces the number of days for early voting, from 14 to 10.

Voting rights advocates have also objected to a provision that would make it harder for citizens groups to put measures on the ballot. Current law gives the groups four years to gather signatures. The legislation would cut the shelf life of valid petition signatures in half to two years.

The legislation also creates a commission to set the date of Florida’s primary.

Republicans and Democrats have long complained that Florida voters cast their ballots long after the nominee is already known, but both Republicans and Democrats risk running afoul of national party rules if the date jumps ahead of their set schedules.