@stanleybmanly IMHO I am more than suspicious of the intent of the article to stir up reaction where there is really nothing to go nuts over. This quote is why I feel this way…
“Facing a budget crisis, Alabama has shuttered 31 driver’s license offices, many of them in counties with a high proportion of black residents. Coming after the state recently put into effect a tougher voter ID law, the closures will cut off access—particularly for minorities—to one of the few types of IDs accepted.”
This author played the race card twice in one paragraph and dramatized the “few types of Id’s accepted when nothing could be further from his truth…
I went to Alabamas voting website and they have a almost a dozen acceptable forms of ID
Valid Driver’s License
Valid Non-driver ID
Valid Alabama Photo Voter ID
Valid State Issued ID (Alabama or any other state)
Valid Federal Issued ID
Valid US Passport
Valid Employee ID from Federal Government, State of Alabama, County Government, Municipality, Board, Authority, or other entity of this state
Valid student or employee ID from a college or university in the State of Alabama (including postgraduate technical or professional schools)
Valid Military ID
Valid Tribal ID
Plus they have “A voter who is required to present valid photo identification but who does not do so will be allowed to vote a provisional ballot as provided for by law.”
“In addition, a voter who does not have a valid photo ID in his or her possession at the polls shall be permitted to vote if the individual is positively identified by two election officials as a voter on the poll list who is eligible to vote and the election officials sign a sworn affidavit so stating.”
I don’t see how they could be anymore acomodating to all their voters.
Snopes even smelled the fishiness of all the hyped up attempts to make this a race related issue when the facts of the matter are the Alabama is broke and closed the DMV’s that process the least amount of licenses. I do not believe for a moment this is to supress voters in anyway shape or form no matter how hard some will try to make it so.