A little over a week ago, I wrote about a proposal by Obama and Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Jeh Johnson, to nationalize our elections, effectively seizing control from the states which is contrary to the Constitution. Like much of the rest of Obama’s “fundamental transformation” agenda, federal control of elections is a popular idea in other branches of government, such as the judicial branch.
In a ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit—a court stacked with pro-Obama appointees, thanks to Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell—voters in the states of Kansas, Alabama, and Georgia will not have to prove their US citizenship on their National Mail Voter Registration Form. Under the court’s injunction, the US Election Assistance Commission must ignore the proof of citizenship requirements in these states.
The ruling comes as a result of a lawsuit filed by the League of Women Voters against the commission’s Executive Director, Brian D. Newby, who had approved requests by these three states to change federal forms to align with each state’s I.D. requirements. That’s right, folks. The DC court has determined that state I.D. requirements are too much of a burden for voters.
Now, what are some of these burdensome requirements? In Kansas if you don’t have a drivers’ license or state-issued I.D., you have to provide a birth certificate or passport to prove U.S. Citizenship—documentation that you’d have to provide to get a driver’s license or state I.D. in the first place. The requirements in Alabama and Georgia are similar.
In their lawsuit, the League of Women Voters claimed that this onerous requirement was “difficult to obtain” and “illegal.” And I have to admit that they’re right . . . but they’re also wrong.
They’re right about these documents being difficult to obtain. Since illegal immigrants wouldn’t possess a US birth certificate, of course it’s difficult. That’s the whole point! But they’re wrong when they say these laws are illegal. It’s not against the law for a state to pass laws designed to protect the election process. In fact, the Constitution makes a voters’ qualifications a matter of state law even in federal elections. For instance, a State may if it chooses require voters to pass literacy tests, provided of course that literacy is not used as a cloak to discriminate against one class or group.
“We should be making voting easier, not harder,” The League of Women Voters said in a statement. “All eligible Americans deserve the opportunity to register and vote without obstacles.”
While The League of Women Voters claim that they only want easier access for American citizens to participate in the elections, what we get instead is easier access for illegal immigrants to vote. But that’s what Obama and the judges he has stacked the courts with wanted all along.
David Leach is the owner of The Strident Conservative, your source for opinion that’s politically-incorrect and always “right.” His articles can also be found on RedState.com.
His daily radio commentary is nationally syndicated with Salem Radio Network and can be heard on stations across America.
