CHICAGO – Federal Judge Richard Posner of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago strongly disagrees with Wisconsin’s voter ID law. Posner blasted the law in a dissenting opinion to the court’s decision to not rehear arguments in a voter ID lawsuit before a judicial panel made up of the entire court. In writing his decision, Posner turned to an obscure website and a collection of misconceptions to prove his point.
Posner, 75, cited a “non-exhaustive list” of types of voter fraud that he discovered at voterfraudfacts.com. Domain records show the site is not affiliated with any substantive organization, and the site itself is riddled with grammatical errors, typos and left-wing conspiracy theories. The homepage for the site, for example, declares:
VOTER FRAUD FACT: Oppenents [sic] of the Democractic [sic] party like Fox News and oppenents [sic] of Government in general like the Koch Brothers and are just some of the powerful groups behind the Voter Fraud Controversy in the United States. They stand to lose the most money and power if Republicans lose elections…Organizations like Fox News & Koch Brothers backed groups like ALEC and the Heritage foundation help to spread talking points and draft legislation to prevent low-incomes families, students, seniors and “minorities” from voting. Pay attention they tell you that Democrats are drinking the Kool Aid, but this is a manipulation tactic to control the people. Don’t be fooled, get even and cast your vote.
Elsewhere in his decision, Posner declared that even Fox News is skeptical of voter ID laws. But the article he cites from FoxNews.com is not a Fox News story, rather it is a re-published wire report from the Associated Press.
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Posner also criticized the decision originally rendered by the three-judge panel of his colleagues that upheld the state’s voter ID law. At one point he wrote that his fellow jurists fell for the “common misconception” that one needs a photo ID to fly. He notes the TSA website to prove his point. The TSA website explains:
We understand passengers occasionally arrive at the airport without an ID…If this happens to you, it does not necessarily mean you won’t be allowed to fly. If you are willing to provide additional information, we have other ways to confirm your identity, like using publicly available databases, so you can reach your flight…If we clear you through this process, we may give you additional screening. If we can’t verify identity, you may not be allowed to enter the screening checkpoint or to board a plane.
So yes, it is possible to board a flight without a photo ID, but it will require you to surrender “additional information” to the TSA which in turn uses a database to verify your identity. Either way, a database is being checked, it is just that a photo ID confirms you have already been verified.
Posner also takes aim at the claim that a photo ID is required to “pick up a prescription, open a bank account…[and] buy a gun.” Some prescriptions may be obtained without a photo ID, but you do need one for over-the-counter Sudafed and – if you’re uninsured – to obtain free birth control from Planned Parenthood. The judge is also right that if you want to open a bank account you don’t need a photo ID. However, if you don’t provide a photo ID the bank will run your name and information through a credit-reporting agency or previous bank. Finally, while you don’t need a photo ID to buy all guns, to buy any new firearm you must have a photo ID, and in some states a separate identification card as well.
Authored by Nathan Schacht
Published with permission
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