Question

• Describe voter ID laws in a state of your choosing. Summarize any recent developments or controversies regarding voter ID laws in the state you have chosen.
• Analyze and describe the pros and cons on both sides of the debate about these laws.
  • Is voter fraud a major problem for our democracy, or are some groups trying to make it harder for some segments of society to vote?
• Analyze the impact that media (mass and social) has had in influencing public opinion, specifically regarding voter ID laws.
  • How was the Trump/Clinton election in 2016 impacted by voter laws and the media?

Answer 1

State I have taken up is New York.

In New York, a voter does not have to present identification at the polls.

Recent Developments :

U.S. Representative John Faso, R-19, does not support a proposed state law that would require people to provide photo identification to vote.

The bill was introduced in January 2018 and has not moved out of the Senate Elections Committee. Mr. Faso said that it is very important to have integrity in elections. He said he has not seen any evidence that New York needs a voter identification law. The bill would most likely not pass in the state legislature especially not in the Democrat-led Assembly.V oter identification laws are controversial and were attempted by conservatives as a tool to prevent voter fraud, which President Donald Trump has called a major problem in the past.

Pros and cons

PROS

Voter Id laws can help soften the country’s high voter turnout rates. This can act as a less time-consuming form of discrimination than literacy test. The nationwide surge in ID demand could create up to four new jobs at DMV. At present the system gives far too little power to volunteers whi are above the age of 70. These laws will empower them.

CONS

These laws doesn’t completely eliminate possibility of undesirable populations from voting. It also dsenfranchises the countless Americans who accidentally left a bar tab open. Non-citizens could probably give the electoral process a fresh set of eyes. At present the rpresentative government is not worth totally giving up on yet.

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