Anti-Voter ID Democrats require Voter ID for Michigan Caucus

Detroit - Attorney General Eric Holder says that voter ID laws – requiring a government-issued form of identification to guard against vote fraud – are discriminatory. He has accused Republicans of trying to “suppress certain votes in the hope of attaining electoral success” and has called for an aggressive federal review of Republican-sponsored state laws – including South Carolina and Texas, whose statutes have not yet been approved by Holder’s department.

Does he plan to investigate his president’s party?

This weekend, the Michigan Democratic Party will be holding its caucuses to formally nominate Barack Obama as president. What do Democratic caucus voters need to vote? A photo ID.

“Even though we already know that President Obama will be our nominee, it’s important that we let him know we’re standing with him, now and this November. Commit to caucus now, and look up the caucus location in your neighborhood,” reads an email from Democratic Michigan Field Director Erin McCann (the email was sent to The Frank Beckmann radio show in Detroit from a listener. See nearby).

“Here’s everything you need to know,” continues the email with voting requirements:

- Who can caucus: You must be 18 or older and registered to vote (or, if you’ll be eligible to vote by November, you must pledge that you’ll register by then).

- What to expect: Bring proof that you live in the area served by the caucus location – photo ID is required.

- When and where to caucus: Registration starts at 9:00 a.m. — and you must be in line by 11:00 a.m. to participate in the caucus. You can look up your local caucus location here.

A link then takes caucus-goers to a webpage (pictured nearby) on BarackObama.com which reads: “Thanks for pledging to caucus for President Obama in Michigan. Don’t forget to bring a photo ID that shows you are a resident of the caucus district.”

By Mr. Holder’s standards then, President Obama’s party is engaged in voter suppression, targeting heavily black voting precincts like Detroit and Pontiac. Will Holder allies like the NAACP and the George Soros-funded Brennan Center, who claim without evidence that voter ID laws hurt minorities, protest the Democratic caucuses? Will the NAACP petition the United Nations as it did in December for a human-rights ruling on what its President Benjamin Jealous called a “tidal wave of assaults on the right to vote”? Will the American Civil Liberties Union sue the Democratic Party as it has Wisconsin to protests its voter ID law?

“Speak out. Raise awareness about what’s at stake,” Holder said last December in a speech decrying voter ID laws. “Call on our political parties to resist the temptation to suppress certain votes in the hope of attaining electoral success and, instead, encourage and work with the parties to achieve this success by appealing to more voters. We must be honest about this.”

Yes, we must. Or at least must be consistent. We look forward to Mr. Holder’s Detroit appearance this weekend.

http://blogs.detroitnews.com/politics/2012/05/05/payne-anti-voter-id-democrats-require-voter-id-for-michigan-caucus/