The Right to Vote Being Imperilled in America! (La Repubblica, Italy)

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Are Republicans really concerned with voter fraud?

The Right to Vote Being Imperilled in America! (La Repubblica, Italy)

"The U.S. right justifies this campaign by asserting a need to fight electoral fraud. But for the last 30 years, electoral malpractice in America has been negligible (the biggest case of "electoral fraud" in history was perpetrated in 2000 by the U.S. Supreme Court, which robbed an election victory from Al Gore). Yet this same right wing is prepared to denounce any attack on constitutional rights if it involves stricter control over who buys guns."

Translated By Rinald Meta

September 2, 2012

Italy - La Repubblica - Original Article (Italian)

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RUSSIA TODAY VIDEO: Does voter fraud really plague U.S. elections?, Mar. 13, 00:02:03

An average Italian reader might find it hard to understand situations like that in Ohio, where Democrats have won an invaluable court battle against an attempt to limit voting by mail. But in other U.S. states, similar battles, even more important ones, are being fought to limit access to the polls on November 6th.

In order to understand what's happening, we must begin with the fundamental differences between the United States and Italy (or between the United States and most European countries).

Difference No.1: If you are an Italian citizen, you are automatically registered on the electoral register in your place of residence, barring errors (quite rare). So on election day, you go and vote. Period. In America, it isn't enough to be a citizen. You have to “register” as a Democrat, as a Republican, as an independent, it doesn’t matter. But this is a necessary step.

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Difference No.2: In Italy and many other countries around the globe, one is required to have an identity card. In America, in fact, you don’t. An identity card per se does not actually exist. The most common form of identification is a drivers license - or a passport for those who travel abroad (less than 20 percent of Americans). You could be asked for identification before being served an alcoholic beverage as proof that you aren't underage; but in some U.S. states and under certain circumstances you won’t be asked for ID (as in the sale of ammunition on the Internet or weapons at "gun shows"), which you might use to go out and commit a massacre.

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Then out of the blue, Republicans in many U.S. states introduced bills, according to which an ID is mandatory to register to vote or be admitted to a polling station on Election Day. This request, which may seem trivial in Europe, is in fact discriminatory in the United States. This serves to reduce the number of voters among the young, the poor and ethnic minorities: those who typically vote for Democrats. Why is this discriminatory? First of all, if you are poor and don’t read newspapers, you may not even know that these rules have been introduced, and don't find out until Election Day, when you are unexpectedly asked for an ID: and then it’s too late. Second, getting an ID costs money and time (documents to fill out and long lines, etc.). And if you’re unemployed, Black or Hispanic, you are culturally and economically less equipped to deal with this obstacle course.

The right justifies this campaign by asserting a need to fight electoral fraud. But for the last 30 years, electoral malpractice in America has been negligible (the biggest case of "electoral fraud" in history was perpetrated in 2000 by the U.S. Supreme Court, which robbed an election victory from Al Gore). Yet this same right wing is prepared to denounce any attack on constitutional rights if it involves stricter control over who buys guns.

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