Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Politics 96-year-old Woman Who Voted During Jim Crow Is Denied Photo ID
Posted by Jeff Woods on Wed, Oct 5, 2011 at 8:56 AM
- Times Free Press photo
It's beginning to dawn on some Republicans that they might have overreached just a tad bit with this photo ID law. Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, is one of the main proponents, and even he is backpedaling. Yesterday, as liberal groups launched a petition drive against the law and the Senate held hearings into whether it's disenfranchising voters, Ketron introduced a bill to let anyone over the age of 60 vote by absentee ballot without a photo ID.
Ketron said he doesn't understand why anyone wouldn't want a photo ID. "They make you proud," he said.
An absentee ballot is the solution that's been offered Dorothy Cooper. But as she told the Times Free Press' Ansley Haman, she prefers to actually go to the polls, even though she has to do it in a walker. That's what makes people proud, not photo IDs. Here's a woman who has gone to her voting precinct to do her patriotic duty her whole life, even when the segregationist laws were intentionally aimed at preventing it. And now they tell her no.
We imagine the network TV reporters will arrive on Mrs. Cooper's doorstep sometime soon. If they don't want to be held up to ridicule around the country, state election officials should go there ahead of time to deliver her photo ID.
Comments (59)
Showing 1-50 of 59
Hey, she's black, isn't she? I mean, she's likely to vote for a Democrat. As far as I can see, this new law is working exactly as intended.
like
dislikeThe idiocy of the law aside, what moron (or regulation) thinks that a birth certificate *wouldn't* have her maiden name?
Where's the national media on this? What a fabulous story! Well done! And how beautiful she is! Absentee, my ass. She wants to go down there and touch that screen, stare down anyone who would deny her, get her I VOTED sticker. Who knows what happens to absentee ballots? The crazies better not deny lovely old ladies like this access to the polls. They'll smack them with their walkers.
So answer this question libtards: How do we know she is who she says she is?!?!! How do we know she doesn't have aliases and is voting in several different precincts?!? How do we know she isn't an illegal from the Dominican Republic?!? They have blacks there also! Does she really use a walker, or is it a prop given to her by the Democrats?!? We need to know these questions before we can let this woman vote! Our institutional integrity is at stake otherwise!!!!!
Angry White Patriot, how dare you. Go to hell. Who are you to question this woman's citizenship?
It's actually very easy to verify who she is. Police vehicle are equipped with computers that can pull up the very photo and other information on any given driver's license or state ID past or present. My guess is most DMVs or SOS offices also have the same technology. They should be able to issue her a photo ID with insane ease. Verifying her personal information isn't what's stopping her from voting...instituationalized racism and a desperate move to disenfranchize voters by the Republican party is what's stopping her. Republicans and Tea Baggers know that given half a chance, Democrats and Independents will win the next round of elections. They're doing everything they can to prevent folk from votiong, from banning soldiers to outright denying citizens their consitutional right to vote.
T, dude, you gotta lighten up.
And no one has yet answered the question I posed ages ago. If we can't hold employers accountable for hiring illegal immigrants, because it's just too damn hard for them to tell fake IDs and papers from the real ones, how are we going to keep illegal immigrants (or other undesirables) from using those same fake IDs to vote? Hmmm?
Photo Id is just like your drivers license proves you are who you say you are. She should just get her marriage certificate and go back and get her ID and vote. What's so hard about showing proof anyway. I had to show my birth certificate and marriage certificate to show proof of name change. I would want my vote to count and not have somebody using my identity to falsely vote.
Republican Tea Liberterins are going to regret they ever pushed and past this bill against voters rights.
This woman needs to show up to the polls and present her voter card, file a complaint ON SITE when they refuse to allow her to participate (getting names of all present poll workers), then join my class action lawsuit against the state. Screw this fascist state government; they will not succeed in violating the Equal Protection Clause, as reinforced by the Supreme Court in Harper vs. Virginia Board of Elections.
Hint: All they have to do to avoid my lawsuit is refund all collections and cease future collections for any form of ID in this state.
Hey Bill Ketron: Photo IDs don't make you proud. VOTING makes you proud.
Asshat.
According to the story this lady HAS a photo ID. Just not one the state will recognize as suitable for voting. And why should she be forced to vote absentee? If she chooses to go to the voting precinct and record her vote on the machine along with the rest of the community, why shouldn't she? Who is Bill Ketron and the state of Tennessee to tell this lady she HAS to vote absentee?
Gosh I love these "small government" conservatives. They like government small when it suits them, alrighty. Oh they love the Constitution, all right -- certain parts, at least. That stuff about voting if you aren't a white male landowner? Not so much. What a bunch of hypocrites.
i wonder if it's even possible for a Republican to get elected without denying large swaths of the population the right to vote? Probably not or they wouldn't be wasting so much time, energy and political capital on denying people their rights.
"So answer this question libtards: How do we know she is who she says she is?!?!! How do we know she doesn't have aliases and is voting in several different precincts?!?"
How do we know she isn't dead? She could be dead .. and just re-animated using technology from Liberal Hollywood! COULD HAPPEN!
OMG!ELEVEN!
Her problems stem from the fact that we have to pass laws to keep democrats from cheating.
"How do we know she isn't dead? She could be dead .. and just re-animated using technology from Liberal Hollywood! COULD HAPPEN"
That's just crazy, Southern Beale! Coo-Coo for Coco Puffs! ACORN is the people doing that, not Hollywood! Hollywood is to stupid to pull that off!
@ Brother Gast: as usual, Amen!!!!! You make more sense in those 17 words than all the illegal voting boosting libtards do in all their postings combined! Your post should be the final word on this subject (mine is just a post-script)!
Gast
What cheating? Can you cite at least two convictions of voter fraud in Tennessee in the past 20 years? Fraud which was organized by a Democratic official?
Didn't think so.
Oh, right ... this 96-year-old woman is going around pretending to be someone else and is casting multiple ballots.
The stupidity and paranoia from people on the right never ceases to amaze me.
Kosh, I guess you never heard of Crook County, Illinois, or the fact that LBJ stole his first senate election.
This lady is prob. too senile to be voting anyway. With that said, this is an indictment on gov't bureacracy not policy.
If the Democrats in Tennessee are cheating, they're doing it wrong, what with Republicans controlling 7 of 9 congressional districts and both seats in the Senate, and of course both houses of the General Assembly. But yeah, otherwise, ACORN is everywhere all the time.
Both parties have historically stolen elections, the most recent example occurred in 2000. Of course, with right wing Diebold holding the chips, maybe the GOP can get a real leg up on the Dems.
btw, rollovertide, LBJ stole his first election...from another Democrat in the primary, At the time, there was no fucntioning Republican party in the state of Texas. It took the civil rights era to produce that.
This is poll tax, 24th Amendment stuff. Completely ridiculous, but not surprising, that it is being offered up as possible legislation.
It's embarrassing.
Hey RollTide4Ever (the Crimson Tide, talk about cheating!) I wasn't aware that LBJ stole his first election in Tennessee. Wow, what a history lesson I get reading Pith. Ah, and the oldie but goodie, Cook County, IL. You guys are going way back. Of course, neither of those are in Tennessee, but don't let that get in the way of a good narrative. Of course, I'm sure you can come up with more modern examples also, but hey, what's a half century, give or take a few years.
I knew troll was going to use "in Tennessee" as his out. Have a cookie. I can point out the absurdity of Wisconsin "suddenly" discovering lost ballots in the past Nov. elections or Al Franken's senate run (another one).
I also love the fact that the SEIU overlook the voting machines, when they're a partisan group.
Skippy: I'm working off memory, not sources, except that I have read comments in Pith in the last year by some pretty smart people that said dead people have voted in Memphis and there was once a corrupt political machine in one of Tennessee's eastern cities; I don't remember which one. If you want to say it isn't so that's fine but I bet you get some arguments from those who know better.
LBJ got the nickname "Landslide Lyndon" from his first election.
It's likely Mrs. Cooper was married more than 70 years ago. Her marriage certificate may well be dated in the 1930's and may be hard for the state to locate in 2011. I doubt they have scanned records from that long ago. Does anyone know if they even issued marriage certificates to black citizens in those years? I know they were not allowed to vote then. That is exactly why she believes her right to vote is so important. I hope someone can help her get the proper documentation.
"I can point out the absurdity of Wisconsin "suddenly" discovering lost ballots in the past Nov. elections or Al Franken's senate run (another one)."
Yes, and photo id's would have definately solved computer errors. Nice try. By the way, and you aren't the first right-winger that has brought up the Franken case, but the canvassing board dismissed that case saying there was simply no evidence of voter fraud or uncounted votes. Norm Coleman didn't push it after that. And unlike Florida in 2000, a full recount was allowed.
@Gast: anecdotal evidence and rumors do not count as more often than not, they are wrong.
A house divided cannot stand. America cannot stand because of the deep seated racism in this country. As an African-American and a senior I have dealt with this a long time and I am beginning to become less tolerant of your hate. Just yesterday a female neighbor (white) used the term 'black gal 'right in my face during a conversation. I have known this woman over 10 years, have visited in her home and she in my home, but she said 'black gal'. She does not know it, but I am to through with her, will never visit her home again and don't want her in my home. Since Barack Obama became President, I have heard it all. If we are attacked by another nation, we would never survive, to much hatred between Americans, we would be selling out each other.
@Skippy: Okay , here you go. In 2006 Ophelia Ford defeated Terry Roland by 13 votes in a District 29 State Senate campaign. An investigation found that dead people had voted and 6 people were indicted. Ford was removed from office but she eventually won the seat back. Google a little bit and you find that people have shown up to vote only to be told they've already voted. As I've said before, democrats scream about voter fraud but it's always democrats who get caught with their hand in the ballot box.
"An investigation found that dead people had voted"
Which is really amazing, when you think about it. Besides, since it's legal in Tennessee for a dead person to remain on the ballot, it seems only fair that dead people should also be allowed to vote.
Skippy,
It is absurd that Mrs. Cooper is having trouble getting to vote. But how many more instances will there be? Think of it as an investment in honest elections. If it doesn't work, unlike Solyndra, we won't be out hundreds of millions of dollars.
Having said that, your comment regarding Florida is absurd leftist propaganda.
The major news organizations did their own study of the Florida 2000 vote and concluded that in all but one scenario, Bush would have won.
Gore never asked for a full recount, just those counties dominated by Democrats.
The Supremes gave the Florida not-so-Supreme Court an opportunity to require uniform rules for counting ballots and the Florida court refused to order that. As a result, the SCOTUS rules 6-3 or 7-2 that an equal protection violation had occurred. The 5-4 part of the ruling involved the remedy, I believe.
It was a Democrat, not a Republican, that created the 'butterfly ballot.'
Ralph Nader was not a Republican plot.
Gore would not have needed Florida had he won his 'home state.' That he turned his back on the people who gave him his start in politics was either irony or karma or justice.
Min,
The law you are discussing was the result, for better or worse, of aftershocks from the tragic murder of Senator Tommy Burkes.
@AngrywhitePatriot
This may be a waste of time because I feel I'm talking to a rock that likes to proclaim the word "Nigger". Make no mistake about this, this is about political control. Laws like this were inacted in many states mosty controlled by Republicans. They feel like elections were stolen because of vote fraud. Vote fraud is not a perevelent as you think. You are more likely to be struck by lightning than voter fraud (this has been unbiasedly researched). None the less, Americans should love a fair vote. The south and it's racist past was formerly strongly democrat until Johnson came along and turned alot of them Republican and T-Bagger types, although some remain Dixiecrats. So this 96 year old woman is trying to vote with plenty of information with her to prove where she lived. THIS WASN'T ENOUGH? How about an effort to get everyone contacted to have the right ID or even give them enough time to get the proper ID in an an easy, certifiable way of verifying the credentials. THIS ISN'T HAPPENING AND REPUBLICANS DON'T WANT IT TO HAPPEN! THIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO SUPPRESS VOTES!! This is a coordinated effort headed by ALEC (check it up if you need to). If you wish to contest this and for each time I will respond with an example of how the goal is voter supression.
Voting law in Texas that allows those with gun lisences to vote while denying Texas colleges and Universities ID's. Using your dogmatic mind, who has gun licenses?
Say something else because the next example is waiting
ericpuddy@gmail.com---I don't have time to register now. You idiots are tiresome.
Rogers: The ideological glaze on your glasses is way too thick. The media analysis of the 2000 Florida election concluded the exact opposite of what you state. It concluded that no matter how one defined "a vote"-- a hanging chad, a partial hanging chad, etc-- Gore would have had more votes than Bush under every scenario if the same standard was used statewide. The only way Bush got more than Gore was under the "system" forced by the Supreme Court, i.e., that one system of what constituted a vote applied in some counties, and another standard applied in other counties. Nice try, but the report still exists and you might try reading it.
Artpress; Funny how I've always read just the opposite of your claims. Bush won no matter how they were counted. I suppose if Gore had won it would have been a clean election? And didn't the democrats try to get election officials to declare invalid absentee ballots from service men? Yes they did. Nice people.
Gast: The difference is that you have ideology to give you all answers a priori, regardless of facts, and I along with most people enjoy actual reading comprehension. For instance:
"So, Al Gore was the choice of Florida’s voters -- whether one counts hanging chads or dimpled chads. That was the core finding of the eight news organizations that conducted a review of disputed Florida ballots. By any chad measure, Gore won... The new, fuller study found that Gore won regardless of which standard was applied and even when varying county judgments were factored in. Counting fully punched chads and limited marks on optical ballots, Gore won by 115 votes. With any dimple or optical mark, Gore won by 107 votes. With one corner of a chad detached or any optical mark, Gore won by 60 votes. Applying the standards set by each county, Gore won by 171 votes."
http://www.consortiumnews.com/2001/111201a…
Finally, after eight decades of vile and treasonous bigotry failed to stop this woman from voting, the modern right wing has succeeded. They must be so proud of themselves.
@Artpress2: Now we're counting illegal votes four months late? I don't think so.
@Thomas: Her right to vote has not been denied. She was denied a photo ID for lack of documentation with her legal name. She needs to take both her marriage license and her birth certificate and reapply for a photo ID. I'm sure she has many friends volunteering transportation.
@Elizabeth, I hope you won't give up so easily. Who will educate your neighbor of 10 years about the fact that "black gal" offends you, if you don't? The sad truth is, she will go on thinking that it's okay to describe a person as a "black gal" if you don't tell her otherwise. If you cut off relations with her, she will never know why, and she will never change or learn.
An investigation into the Ophelia Ford election in 2006 found that the people running the elections voted illegally which makes it "election fraud," not "voter fraud." We have already have a system in place to catch and punish (hefty fine, jail time) those who tamper with elections, and it works.
Eh, she left her marriage license at home to give libtards the opportunity to spew their agitprop. I'll bet a hundred dollars that whomever brought her to register is part of a political organization (hint hint). "Leave your marriage license at home, honey, so we can use you to manipulate public opinion." I've had to fetch documents and return to the DMV to get a driver license, so chalk it up to much ado about nothing. Anyone who doesn't see through this doesn't have their brain turned on.
Gast: Reading comprehension, man, reading comprehension! The thread went like this: -1- Rogers said the media consortium review of Florida ballots concluded that Bush won under every scenario but one; -2- I responded that he had it backwards, that the report actually concluded that Gore won under every scenario but one; -3- You responded that what you "read" was opposite what I read; -4- I posted an actual summary of the report from 2001, showing that the report did in fact conclude that Gore got more votes under every system of what constituted "a vote" but one. So, no, no one was counting votes four months after the election; the media report had no impact on who was deemed the winner. The media consortium was formed to collect all the data in one place, review all of the ballots statewide, and make it public for historical record. And, yes, it apparently took them four months to collect and publish all of that-- which, of course, in no way changes the conclusion.
Art and Art 2,
Here is the link to the actual report. http://www.aei.org/docLib/20040526_Keating…
I was in error as to the conclusion being so favorable to Bush but, as you will see, the results of the study do favor his having won Florida more than the scenarios where Gore would have won.
This is a serious debate here? Really? I don't understand the point being made? We should feel sorry for her because she is elderly and Black?????? I had to take a birth certificate, social security card, and practically give blood in order to just transfer my AR license to OK? So she failed to call ahead an see what all was needed in order to obtain her photo ID is the way I see it. Just because she is old and black doesn't mean the world is against her. You face the same hardships young and white. A lot of you are foolish people. If we do not ask for valid ID's and by all means I am going just go booth to booth and vote hundreds of times. Silly hippies.
@Artpress2: A consortium of 8 news organizations? Without naming any of them? And alleging that the NY Times and Washington Post were in Bush's back pocket? What a load of crap.
This post by Angry White Patriot is documented proof of the damage inbreeding has done to the gene pool. What an obnoxious and completely inane comment.
"So answer this question libtards: How do we know she is who she says she is?!?!! How do we know she doesn't have aliases and is voting in several different precincts?!? How do we know she isn't an illegal from the Dominican Republic?!? They have blacks there also! Does she really use a walker, or is it a prop given to her by the Democrats?!? We need to know these questions before we can let this woman vote! Our institutional integrity is at stake otherwise!!!!!"
My Mom, who is a lot smarter than most of you, was born at home and never issued a birth certificate...she is 93 and constantly reads political mags and newspapers. If somebody tells her she cannot vote next election, Nellie bar the door!
This is an example of things not going smoothly when dealing with the government. I am wholly confident there are other people who were unable to get their IDs because they didn't have all, or the right ID. It's just that this one is a perfect story to rouse the rabble, so it gets covered.
What I don't get is how this snafu somehow renders invalid the idea that when people come to vote, they should prove they are who they purport to be, in some documentable fashion. It's all but impossible to do ANYthing in this country without providing ID. You can't take finals at a lot of schools now without checking in at the door with your student ID. I have to show my license when I buy nasal decongenstant, yet somehow proving your identity when voting is the outrageous curtailing of my liberties?
This is not a "If you have nothing to hide you shouldn't mind complying" scenario. Voter fraud exists, it always has, and I'm at a loss as to how an attempt to curtail it could be attacked as a bad thing. Odds are if people are intimidated by the idea of going to the DMV to get a non-driver ID card, they're probably not voting anyway.
... But she could be a terrorist! Which is, in fact, why those laws are in place, correct? Shameful Republicans!!!!
