Voting Rights Suppression

The GRID

Voting Rights Suppression

In this Episode of The GRID, host Chris Kuhlmann examines House Bill #4, known as John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021. Chris compares and contrasts ID requirements for various commercial transactions vs those of the contested Texas ID requirements. Who is suppressing who?

CREDITS

Host: Chris Kuhlmann

Written by: Chris Kuhlmann

Produced by: Shaun Griffin

Music composed by JD Kuhlmann

Art: Shaun Griffin

Sound: Chris Kuhlmann and Shaun Griffin

Sponsor: F&M Painting Co. of Lancaster, PA

Be sure to visit https://www.fmpainting.com

Visit us at www.kingdompatriot.us and check out our Vision Video

Voting Rights Suppression - SHOW NOTES

We are going to focus particularly on House Bill #4 which is known as HR4 that is trying to create the federalization of voting rights. On August 17. 2021 speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi stated that, “the house today is taking a momentous step to secure the sacred right to vote for generations to come, with the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021.”

One thing that I'm not going to do today is dive into the particulars of this legislation. To be honest with you I haven't dissected it completely quite yet. However I do want to make sure that you understand what the constitution says about voting rights and what this legislation attempts to do in principle. It is a clear move to have more federal influence one elections under the guise that we're protecting the sacred right to vote. And one of the reasons or I should say many of the reasons that this has become an issue is because of laws voting laws in places like Texas where they have placed extreme restrictions on people's ability to vote. Or at least that's what we are being told. But we are going to examine this restrictive nature of voting in places like Texas so that we can understand if the rancor has substance or if it's it just political fodder for a certain narrative.

In the constitution, Article I Section 4, the responsibility of elections clearly rests on the state legislatures “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof;”

This is a very important issue, This is why there was such an uproar in the 2020 election when individual Secretary of States were changing the manner in which votes were cast, counted, absentee ballot processes, etc. Because the constitution is very clear that that cannot be done unilaterally in any given state but has to be done by the state Congress. I'm not sure why this did not gather more traction as we discussed the concerns of the 2020 election, but this is incredibly important. It doesn't really matter if you're a republican or a Democrat, you never want the process of elections being decided by the hands of a few people in the executive branch of government. There is always an inherent bias to enact laws that favor your party. This should be something voted on by the legislature and therefore enacted and executed by the executive branch. That's just the proper structure of our governments. The legislature writes the laws, the executive branch enforces the laws, the judicial branch interprets the laws . Or at least that was the original intent it seems today we have gone far from this.

In Nancy Pelosi’s comments, she further opined, “A brazen, partisan campaign of voter suppression silences voters of color across the nation and threatens to erode our democracy. Further, the Supreme Court’s disastrous decision in Shelby v. Holder opened the floodgates of voter suppression, allowing states with dark histories of bigotry and discrimination to pass hundreds of laws designed to keep communities of color from the ballot box. This year alone, eighteen states have enacted thirty dangerous voter suppression laws, while the Court has continued its assault on the Voting Rights Act with its shameful decision in Brnovich v. DNC.”

One key component in this line of thinking is that voter suppression is synonymous with having to prove who you are. For the life of me, I can’t understand how that is voter suppression. Now Pelosi is likely to say that requiring a voter ID disproportionally impacts minorities and therefore it’s racist, and if it’s racist, it violates the Civil Rights Act. However, while I don't have the information right in front of me, I believe there is a principle in which the courts have ruled that just because a law has a disparate impact on minorities does not mean that it de facto violates the Civil Rights Act. In fact I believe there has to be intent shown in the preparation and passage of that law not just that it had an unequal impact on different groups of people.

Keeping that in mind, Texas has been front and center as the poster child for voter suppression specifically in the requirement of identification. So I wanted to take a moment and separate fact from fiction, rhetoric versus reality, truth from lie.

Other ID Requirements

But the first understand just how suppressive the Texas voter ID law is, you must first understand other requirements both inside and outside the state in which identification is mandated. For example,

To apply for unemployment benefits in Texas you need

• Texas Driver’s license or Texas Identification Card
• Alien Registration number (If not a US Citizen)

What about a bank account

• 2 Forms of government issued ID
• Social security number
• Utility Bill with current address

To write a check in a store

• Government issued ID

To collect welfare checks

• Various forms of ID
  • Photo ID preferred
  • School ID
  • Health Benefits ID
  • ID from other social services programs
  • Birth certificate
  • Voter Registration card

To fly on an airplane

• Passport
• State Issued enhanced ID
• Military ID

Texas ID Requirements

So those are just a few examples of where identification is mandated to conduct yourself in certain activities. But what about the right to vote in Texas? What is actually required and how oppressive is it?

In order to vote in Texas, you must have one of the following:

• Texas driver’s license
• Texas Election identification certificate
• Texas Personal identification card
• Texas handgun license
• US Military ID
• US Citizenship certificate with your photograph
• US Passport
• If you don’t have these ID’s you can complete a declaration at the polls if you have
  • Government document showing name & address including voter registration
  • Current utility bill
  • Bank statement
  • Government check
  • Paycheck
  • Certified birth certificate
  • Document certifying your birth admissible in a court of law
  • Exemptions
    • Voters w/ Disability can apply for permanent exemption
    • Religious exemptions to being photographed
    • Natural Disasters

Suppressive?

So, this let's get this straight, if you fly on an airplane you have three choices, if you're collecting welfare checks you have six choices, if you're opening a bank account you have three choices, but if you're going to vote you have seven choices of ID, and then I whole host of alternate methods of being able to vote including seven different alternatives, as well as three different exemptions altogether. Now I don't know about you, but if the Texas voter ID law is this oppressive and truly violates the Civil Rights Act, then it pretty much seems to me that normal business such as opening a bank account, traveling, collecting unemployment benefits, or collecting welfare all violates the Civil Rights Act for the said above reasons.

That's why this conversation is not even reasonable. It's way more rhetoric than reality. So if that's true then what is the real driver behind this legislation? One can only conclude it is driven by the need to consolidate power. And I have a natural aversion anytime I see the federal government consolidating power in any area of life. So did our founding fathers, that's why they so feared a strong federal government.

What I hope to do today was to educate you a little bit on this idea of voter suppression because we have two camps, we have the progressive camp that says that we absolutely need to protect the voting rights at all costs and then we have a conservative camp that says we must protect the integrity of our elections at all costs. They both are right in the principle, but in this legislation it is seeking to solve a problem that doesn't exist. There is no indication that voter suppression is occurring and when you enact a voter law that has less restrictive requirements than it takes to open a bank account, cash a check, or collect welfare, I think you have met that threshold of making accommodations. So when we hear this rhetoric being shared, let's make sure that we are educated and that we are calling out fact and fiction to help educate those around us so that they can make informed voting decisions, so they can vote for people who support the right types of legislation to protect our freedoms.