With 2016 approaching, Ohio Republicans are making a new push for a voter ID bill—setting the stage for another battle over voting in the nation’s most pivotal swing state.In essence, this sneaky little bill is a poll tax; it would require voters to pay a fee to get the very ID card they need to vote. In short, people would be paying for their right to vote — which is unconstitutional via the Twenty Fourth Amendment.
Legislation introduced last week by conservatives in the statehouse would require that voters show a driver’s license, passport or military ID. They could also get a special state ID card which costs $8.50, or is free for those who make less than the federal poverty line—$11,770 a year.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Andrew Brenner, has offered the usual rationale: the need to stop illegal voting by non-residents, non-citizens or others.
At a recent press conference, Brenner said the measure is important “for the sanctity of making sure that it is one person, one vote and they are in fact residents and citizens of the United States.”
Besides the obvious, that there is no fraud to be had, "[Husted] acknowledged in a comprehensive 2013 report that just 17 non-citizens had cast votes in the 2012 election, out of 5.63 million votes cast." There are other blatant violations as per the Constitution as well.Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.
Section 2. The Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.
Ohio Republicans push new voter ID bill | MSNBCIn Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, the Supreme Court stated:
“[A] State violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment whenever it makes the affluence of the voter or payment of any fee an electoral standard.”This was echoed in Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, in which the Supreme Court stated in 2008 that a voter ID law accompanied by a fee is in violation of the constitution.
“The fact that most voters already possess a valid driver’s license, or some other form of acceptable identification, would not save the statute under our reasoning in Harper if the State required voters to pay a tax or a fee to obtain a new photo identification.”
