Despite all the Left’s mendacious claims about widespread “voter suppression,” legislators responding to overwhelming public opinion continue to adopt new, reasonable safeguards for voting integrity.
Ohio became the latest example, with its legislature on Dec. 15 sending a bill to Gov. Mike DeWine’s (R) desk that will require voters to present positive identification, several forms of which are allowed, to vote either in person or by mail. It also requires that voters be citizens, and it moves up the deadlines for both mail-in ballot requests and submissions. Although the bill contains some loopholes that dishonest partisans might exploit, it nonetheless is, overall, a significant step in favor of voting integrity and transparency.
<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1671477480674,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000172-ebac-d265-adff-fffc847c0001","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1671477480674,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000172-ebac-d265-adff-fffc847c0001","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_71477476", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1209411"} }); ","_id":"00000185-2bd1-d703-abd5-7fd120390000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedIt is good news that states keep strengthening ballot security in the face of the dominant, flagrantly dishonest media narrative that “election fraud is nonexistent” but that “vote suppression” is rampant. Legislators are responding to public opinion overwhelmingly in favor of greater security. They also see proof, such as from the record early voter turnout in Georgia, that laws strengthening security do not necessarily suppress the vote. Indeed, such laws inspire greater confidence in voting, which tends to bring more voters to the polls.
For decades, almost every polling organization showed massive public approval of voter ID laws, usually with well over 70% support. Large majorities of Republicans, Democrats, centrists, blacks, whites, Hispanics, and all income groups favor voter ID. That’s a major reason why only 15 states now fail to require specific forms of identification in order to cast ballots.
One need not be a conspiracy theorist to recognize that voter fraud does occur far too often — even if it is not nearly as rampant as “election deniers” on both the Left and the Right assert. Human error from sloppy systems also changes the results in local elections nationwide almost every year.
The reality is that in the United States, it is remarkably easy to vote. Ohio is right to strengthen its laws to make it more difficult to cheat.
