After recently exposing Obama campaign attempts to deny voters their right to serve as poll clerks in Ohio, True the Vote published new research today that directly challenges the dominant liberal narrative that voter suppression activity was rampant in the 2012 General Election.
The report could offer inconvenient truths for those arguing to protect the Department of Justice’s ability to block voter ID laws in a number of states, according to Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Progressive activists argue this federal power is critical to preventing 21st Century voter suppression efforts by conservatives. Oral arguments challenging the constitutionality of Section 5 are scheduled to be heard in the United States Supreme Court today.
The election watchdog undertook a dynamic research project collecting data from swing states for reports of voter suppression and ongoing criminal investigations. True the Vote announced today that between Ohio, Florida, Colorado, Nevada, North Carolina and Maryland, only a single “alleged” report of voter suppression existed according to county clerks and election boards, the state and local authorities charged with overseeing election matters.
The Houston-based True the Vote also included Maryland in its study after receiving defamatory attacks from Baltimore Congressman Elijah Cummings in the past months. True the Vote found zero instances of suppression reports in Baltimore or its suburbs.
“After sending official inquiries across the nation, we found a grand total of one recorded complaint, in Maryland,” True the Vote President Catherine Engelbrecht said. “Peddlers of the voter suppression narrative were quick to report that hundreds of thousands of votes were suppressed in places like Florida, Ohio and North Carolina. If that is true, why is there no record of a single citizen filing a formal complaint in those states?”
True the Vote expanded its analysis to the impact of photo voter identification laws on voter turnout after witnessing extensive criticism from the likes of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and others for likening the laws to voter suppression.
True the Vote’s report demonstrated that in almost every state with some form of photo ID requirement, voter turnout improved from 2008.
“Georgia is known to have the ‘strictest’ photo requirement in the nation,” Engelbrecht continued. “In two consecutive general election cycles the state has seen increases in voter turnout. This is more evidence that voter confidence and turnout rise together, thanks to photo voter ID.”
The report draws a concluding argument that encourages policymakers to not be threatened by the voter suppression smear:
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.