[MKE - Indymedia] photo ID

[Daniel Pryzbyla]

Murphy’s Law
This week’s news and views by Bruce Murphy. 7-12-05 (partial text)
(Bruce Murphy – Milwaukee Magazine)
…By contrast, the paper blew off some important research by the UWM Employment & Training Institute that relates to the proposed photo ID bill. Polls show the majority of people support this bill, which is hardly surprising after the Journal Sentinel has run some 30 stories, almost all on the front page, about potential abuse in the City of Milwaukee’s voting system.
But will such legislation requiring all voters to have a photo ID disenfranchise some people? The ETI research shows an incredible 30 percent of residents in Milwaukee County lack a valid driver’s license, including 47 percent of African-American males. Statewide, 23 percent of senior citizens, or more than 177,000 people, lack a valid driver’s license or photo ID. That’s an awful lot of people who won’t be allowed to vote, unless they chose to stand in the endless lines at the Department of Motor Vehicles office for their free ID.
The statistics on those lacking photo ID are far higher than any previous estimates and were compiled by the most knowledgeable experts: ETI has been researching this issue since 1998, and its findings have previously led to legislative reform (unrelated to voting). Yet the Journal Sentinel buried this story on page three of the second section. After hammering away at the potential for fraud, and creating the momentum for a photo ID bill, the newspaper chose to bury any information that might raise doubts about the legislation. 
 


Daniel Pryzbyla
pryz1 at earthlink.net
Why Wait? Move to EarthLink.
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