The right to vote is our most sacred right as American citizens. Maintaining the integrity of the electoral process should not be a partisan issue.

Yet, whenever Democrats seem to find themselves down in the polls, they cry foul over voting laws and insist that Republicans are conspiring to block minorities from the ballot box.

Protestors gathered outside the Republican National Convention in Tampa this week demanding that the GOP and the Tea Party denounce voter suppression efforts.  They claim that new state laws aimed at cleaning up voting rolls and requiring voter ID disenfranchise minority voters.

Those on the left and in the mainstream media frequently cite the Brennan Center for Justice’s recent report on voter fraud as proof that this suppression is occurring. What they don’t point out is that the “non-partisan” Brennan Center has received $7.4 million from the George Soros Open Society Institute since 2000 and has a reputation for cherry picking data to prove their claim that voter fraud doesn’t exist.

The real myth lies in the claim that voter ID laws suppress minority votes.
Eight states currently have voter ID laws in effect including Indiana and Georgia. So if they liberal hypothesis holds true that voter ID laws suppress minority voters you would expect to see depressed turnout numbers.
But numerous studies have shown that states with voter ID rules have increased voter turnout.

A University of Missouri study found that voter turnout increased by 2 percent in the state of Indiana. The state – which has a strict photo requirement – saw the number of black voters double from 2004 to 2008 and the number of registered Democrats increased 8.3% in that same period.
Georgia, which also has a strict ID law, saw their largest voter turnout in history in 2008 as Democrat turnout jumped over six percent from the previous election according to an American University survey.

Similar studies conducted by the University of Delaware and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln have also shown that voter ID laws do not suppress voter turnout.

Instituting laws that protect the honesty of our voting system and increase turnout should be a commendable goal. Americans want a system that works and that protects the integrity of individual votes. A majority of Hispanic voters in swing states like Florida and Colorado view ID laws favorably. Effective voting laws – like ones that require ID – should both increase turnout and eliminate fraud.

Don’t let manufactured uproar by the left over voter suppression fool you. The real issue isn’t over voting laws – it’s over the fact that the left has an atrocious record and cannot win in November without resorting to demagoguery to scare minority voters.


Alexis Garcia is a political producer and correspondent for PJTV.com. She also worked as a communications aide for the Giuliani and McCain-Palin 2008 presidential campaigns.