Arkansas GOP Still Pushing Poll Tax

I just finished reading State Representative Bryan King’s guest column on The Tolbert Report on his proposal for requiring Arkansas voters to show ID before voting at the polls.

After reading King’s 453-word essay on why he believes the voter ID law is needed, something painfully obvious sticks out.

King offers not one piece of proof that voter fraud, where people vote multiple times, exists in Arkansas.  Do you know why King neglected this key point?  Because this type of voter fraud doesn’t happen! If King had even one Arkansas example, he would have used it.

The Republic Party proposes this new poll tax simply as a way to keep voters with a tendency to vote for Democrats, such as seniors and minorities, from voting, all under the guise of preventing voter fraud.

Earlier this year, Pennsylvania passed a voter ID bill and are now defending it in court after voters sued because it disenfranchised literally tens of thousands of voters. In court documents, the state of Pennsylvania made a shocking admission. The state conceded they have no proof that in-person voter fraud exists.

If a state with almost more than 10 million people than Arkansas admits there is no in-person voter fraud, then what does that say about the possibility of it in Arkansas?

Republicans have a silly counter-argument when confronted with the fact there is no in-person voter fraud. They contend it exists, and the fact they have no proof of it is proof itself it exists.

It’s sort of like arguing we have no proof that State Legislators are taking bribes, which means they’re likely taking bribes, so let’s pass a law requiring them to allow voters to review their bank records just to be sure.

Republicans want this poll tax because they don’t want Democratic voters to exercise their constitutional right to vote.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if in-person voter fraud exists in Arkansas, prove it. Put up or shut up.