Marathon Pundit: SCOTUS to hear Indiana voter ID case

Sunday, December 30, 2007

SCOTUS to hear Indiana voter ID case

The US Supreme Court will hear a case next month that that may have far-reaching ramifications in future elections.

Indiana has a tough voter ID law that was recently put on the books to prevent vote fraud.

From AP:

The mainly Republican backers of the law, including the Bush administration, say state-produced photo identification is a prudent measure to cut down on vote fraud--even though Indiana has never had a prosecution of the kind of fraud the law is supposed to prevent.

The opponents, mainly Democrats, view voter ID a modern-day poll tax that disproportionately affect poor, minority and elderly voters _ who tend to back Democrats. Yet, a federal judge found that opponents of the law were unable to produce evidence of a single Indiana resident who had been barred from voting because of the law.

Off the top of my head two Indiana vote fraud indidents come to mind. The Hoosier State is a reliable Republican stronghold, but the Democrats are the strongest in Northwest Indiana, particularly in Lake County. Guess where the biggest recent vote fraud scandal has occured?

From the Times of Munster:

The Vote Fraud Task Force has had a success rate of almost 90 percent and is winding down its work in the wake of the 2003 East Chicago mayoral (Democratic) primary.

The task force led to charges against 53 people. At a progress report last week, Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter was glad to say, "The bulk of these are behind us."

Of the 53 cases, 38 ended in convictions, three were dismissed, one was found not guilty by a jury, one defendant died, and 10 are pending.

That's good news, but with a dark side. The state of ethics in Lake County is sorry indeed.

This case involves just one guy, but it's a favorite of mine. A former Anderson, Indiana firefighter was found guilty of voting in a precinct where he didn't live.

From the Anderson Herald Bulletin, via FreeRepublic:

"The fact is the man lived in Pendleton and voted in the Anderson city election," (Chief Deputy Prosecutor Mike) Chambers said. "As a good Democrat, he felt the need to vote in the city election."