Author Archives: J Christian Adams

Krauthammer: “Voter ID laws utterly logical”

At NRO Corner, Charles Krauthammer defended the constitutionality of voter-ID laws and criticized Attorney General Eric Holder for seeking to re-establish Justice Department review of Texas election law under the Voting Rights Act. “It seems utterly logical that you would have to ask for a simple demonstration that you are of age, that you live where you live, you aren’t a felon, and in fact that you haven’t voted an hour and a half before,” Krauthammer said.



The syndicated columnist also argued that case law is on the side of the states; he referred specifically to the 2008 Supreme Court case Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, in which a six-justice majority led by John Paul Stevens found that an Indiana law requiring voters to show an official photo ID was not unconstitutional. “What Holder is doing is, he wants to stigmatize [mandatory voter ID] and to go after any state that actually institutes it,” Krauthammer said, adding, “I think he’s got a very weak case.” 

“The department’s actions are consistent with the Voting Rights Act”

Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner at the Hill.

I don’t share Sensenbrenner’s concern that litigation will increase after Shelby.  Good.  A neutral and detached magistrate will weigh evidence and the DOJ will be forced to carry a burden in open court.  Compare that with the behind closed doors mischief that has infected the Section 5 reviews in the past. 

NC Senate approves election changes (including voter ID)

This media report lays out the election related legislation that has been passed by the North Carolina Senate as the session nears conclusion.

It would:

• Cut early voting by a week.

• End same-day registration.

• Eliminate straight party ticket voting.

• Add restrictions to provisional voting, which is allowed when there are questions about registration.

• Require voters present a government ID. Student identification would not be allowed.

• End the ability of teenagers to register before they are 18.

• Repeal publicly funded elections for judicial races and increase the maximum individual campaign contribution from $4,000 to $5,000.

• End the requirement that candidates endorse their political ads.

• Require a second, but earlier, primary in presidential elections.

Chris Cooper, a political scientist at Western Carolina University, said requiring identification for voters has been popular in North Carolina, and the state is one of just 15 allowing straight-party tickets.

Some senators said they were concerned about ending straight party tickets because black voters are more likely to chose that method.

“Poll: Race relations have plummeted since Obama took office”

Public attitudes about race relations have plummeted since the historic election of President Barack Obama, according to a new poll from NBC News and the Wall Street Journal.  Only 52 percent of whites and 38 percent of blacks have a favorable opinion of race relations in the country, according to the poll, which has tracked race relations since 1994 and was conducted in mid-July by Hart Research Associations and Public Opinion Strategies.

That’s a sharp drop from the beginning of Obama’s first term, when 79 percent of whites and 63 percent of blacks held a favorable view of American race relations.   Daily Caller