I sure do miss the good old days when we had fair and free elections in America too

Prior to the 2000 election, I wondered how in the world George W. Bush and Dick Cheney planned to *ahem* win the 2000 election without the African American vote? Little did I know they planned not to count the African American vote.

The Florida election has been closely scrutinized since the election, and several irregularities are thought to have favored Bush. These included the Palm Beach "butterfly ballot," which produced an unexpectedly large number of votes for third-party candidate Patrick Buchanan. Also noted was a purge of over 54,000 citizens from the Florida voting rolls identified as felons, of whom 54% were African-Americans. The majority of these were not felons and should have been eligible to vote under Florida law.[8] Additionally, there were many more 'overvotes' than usual, especially in predominantly African-American precincts in Duval county (Jacksonville), where some 27,000 ballots showed two or more choices for President[citation needed]. Unlike the much-discussed Palm Beach County 'butterfly ballot,' the Duval County ballot spread choices for President over two pages with instructions to 'vote on every page' on the bottom of each page.

The plan worked so well in 2000 they decided to have a repeat in 2004

Vote suppression/voter intimidation and deception. Shortages of voting locations and ballot forms. Foreign monitors barred from polls. Unmatched exit polls/actual results - actual results always skewed to Republicans. Masses of e-Voting "glitches". Computers lost votes. Presidential votes miscast on e-Voting machines throughout the US. More recorded votes than voters. Republicans gained 128.45% in Florida counties using optical scan voting machines while Democrats lost 21% - some districts showed gains of over 400% while one, Liberty County, gained over 700% for Republicans.Warren County officials locked down the county administration building on election night and blocked anyone from observing the vote count as the nation awaited Ohio's returns. Bush had 'incredible' vote tallies. 7% turnout reported in Cleveland precinct. In Cuyahoga County different towns had the exact same number of "extra" votes. And on, and on...

It's not as if African Americans didn't sound the alarm and try to rectify the situation in both cases, but of course they were routinely ignored and marginalized.

In a coda to a contentious, confusing and drawn-out presidential election, members of the Congressional Black Caucus on Saturday tried to stop the formal recording of the Electoral College tally during a joint session of Congress.

As Vice President Al Gore presided over the session, black members who supported him for president objected vociferously to the proceedings. One after another, the representatives rose to prevent the electoral votes from Florida from being counted.

Each time, Gore was forced to deny their motion, filed under an 1887 law, because their written objection did not include a signature from both a House member and a senator.

One after another, the caucus members arose and asked that the House withdraw from the joint session. Again, Gore denied the motions because no senator had agreed. One after another, the members also objected to the proceedings because a quorum was not present in the chamber. The vice president shut down the complaints.

If you are wondering how republicans plan to *ahem* win in 2012 without not only the African American vote, but the Hispanic, and LBGT vote as well, look no farther than the gop infused, media enabled Voter ID laws.

It is ridiculous on its face to believe that simply requiring someone to prove their identity before voting is an onerous requirement.

I wonder what part of we the people don't have to prove who we are before voting don't they understand?

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. §§ 1973–1973aa-6)[1] is a landmark piece of national legislation in the United States that outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the U.S.[2]

Echoing the language of the 15th Amendment, the Act prohibits states from imposing any "voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure ... to deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color."[3] Specifically, Congress intended the Act to outlaw the practice of requiring otherwise qualified voters to pass literacy tests in order to register to vote, a principal means by which Southern states had prevented African-Americans from exercising the franchise.[2] The Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, a Democrat, who had earlier signed the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 into law.[2][4]

The Act established extensive federal oversight of elections administration, providing that states with a history of discriminatory voting practices (so-called "covered jurisdictions") could not implement any change affecting voting without first obtaining the approval of the Department of Justice, a process known as preclearance.[5] These enforcement provisions applied to states and political subdivisions (mostly in the South) that had used a "device" to limit voting and in which less than 50 percent of the population was registered to vote in 1964.[5] The Act has been renewed and amended by Congress four times, the most recent being a 25-year extension signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2006.[6]

I can tell you right now RedEye will not be going out of the way to obtain a Voter ID card.

So here is senario

RedEye shows up at the polls on election day and is told they can't vote because they don't have a Voter ID card.

What does RedEye do? Say OK and turn around and go home without voting?

I don't think so. It's not RedEye's responsibility to prove they are RedEye, it's the governments job to prove RedEye is not RedEye.

A voter ID card will not prove RedEye is RedEye. Voter ID cards can be forged just like any other instrument. That's how we know it's not about proving identity, it's about keeping RedEye from voting.

What if hundreds of RedEye's show up on election day without a Voter ID card?

What if thousands of RedEye's show up on election day without a Voter ID card?

What if millions of RedEye's show up on election day without a Voter ID card?

Can you say Chaos?