Jon Stewart apparently thinks that voter fraud is a laughing matter, as he used last night’s Daily Show to ridicule Florida Governor Rick Scott for signing a law that would require photo IDs for residents attempting to vote.
Stewart, echoing other critics of the plan, described it as “a voter purge, weighted against Hispanic voters.”
But Stewart wasn’t done parroting liberal talking points that paint Republicans as being in favor of Democrat vote suppression.
“Your little plan didn’t work because you forgot to suppress another powerful influx of predominantly Democrat voters: the newly registered.”
The liberal comedian is obviously no fan of the new law proposed in Florida that requires anyone who registers a voter in the state to turn in the paperwork within 48 hours. Interesting to note in the video: his talking point came from none other than MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow who was shocked at the 48 hour window requirement.
The segment portrayed the new laws in Florida as ridiculous, as Stewart played up the statistic of .0004 percent voter fraud committed in past elections.
Conservative columnist and senior editor of the American Spectator John Fund was also ridiculed in the segment when he suggested that the .0004 percent number was what was merely “detected” and “ prosecuted” and doesn’t necessarily reflect a larger, underreported issue.
“So voter fraud statistics are limited only as much as your imagination,” Daily Show reporter John Oliver mocked.
What Stewart ignored is that voter ID laws are supported by an overwhelming majority of the public in other parts of the U.S., including more than 75 percent of Hispanics and African Americans—the very people Democrats argue will be disenfranchised if voter ID laws go into effect. Proponents of the measure argue that requiring a photo ID will make the voting process more efficient.
According to Rasmussen, 73 percent of Americans believe that asking for a photo ID before voting does not discriminate.
Although the Stewart segment downplayed the seriousness of voter fraud in the U.S., 64 percent of voters believe the problem is at least somewhat serious.
He may make his viewers laugh, but Stewart is on the wrong side of the American majority when it comes to voter ID laws.
