Politics: How Not To Defend Voter ID

Now playing: Slate V, a video-only site from the world's leading online magazine. Visit Slate V at www.slatev.com.
Politics How Not To Defend Voter ID Pennsylvania state officials offer one unconvincing defense of the controversial new law after another. By David Weigel Posted Wednesday, Aug 01, 2012, at 05:18 PM ET HARRISBURG, Pa.—For the last six business days, on the third floor of the shiny new Pennsylvania Judicial Center, government witnesses and attorneys have waged a daily competition. Who can give the least-convincing defense of the state's voter ID law? Who gets to utter the killer quote that makes the petitioners' case in Applewhite v. Pennsylvania? It should be tough to bungle. The new law, passed by state Republican legislators last year, is backed by at least 58 percent of voters. That's after months of gut-punch headlines—"Justice Department Investigates Pennsylvania Voter ID Law," "Why Pennsylvania's Voter ID Law Will Create Chaos on Election Day," and "Pennsylvania Admits There's No In-Person Voter Fraud." And that last headline wasn't even true. On July 25, the start of hearings on a possible injunction against the law, a lawyer from the attorney general's office had to explain that the state had merely decided to bracket voter-fraud stories and leave them out of the trial. "That is not a concession … that voter fraud has not happened," said Deputy Attorney General Patrick Cawley. "It is a recognition that the legal standard governing these proceedings simply does not require the legislature to have proof of such incidents in order to enact a voter ID law." Got that? The state is not trying to warm Sean Hannity's heart with angry talk about ACORN. It's only trying to defend how the new ID law has been implemented and to prove ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Paint it Black! And Red! And Put a Flag on It! An Ode to the Olympic Fencing Mask. Is Air Conditioning Bad for You? How Not To Defend Voter ID	Advertisement
Manage your newsletters subscription: Unsubscribe | Forward to a Friend | Advertising Information
Ideas on how to make something better? Send an e-mail to slatenewsletter@nl.slate.com. Copyright 2011 The Slate Group | Privacy Policy The Slate Group | c/o E-mail Customer Care | 1350 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 410 | Washington, D.C. 20036