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Janine Dunn
Professor Brand
Eng1010
07-21-2014
The Right to Vote
Every year Americans vote. They vote for Presidents, mayors, levies, and more. It is a
basic right of Americans to have the right to vote. Many amendments have been passed in Amer-
ican history to make voting as fair as possibles such as the 15th, 19th, and 26th. As of late, there
has been new controversy in regards to the process in order to vote. For years, many civil groups
have fought against the requirement that you must show a photo identification issued from the
state that you will be voting in (Apuzzo par. 1). They say that it discriminates against the poor
and college kids. These requirements are swaying the vote in favor of Republicans, as those who
are more likely to vote Democratic may not have the proper identification to vote. The law
should be more accommodating and allow college photo identifications and work photo identifi-
cations at the voting centers.
An article in The Washington Post titled Justice Department sues North Carolina over
voter ID law describes that in 2015, a judge will have to rule whether or not having to show a
photo ID in order to vote is discriminating or not (Schwarz par. 2). Groups against this law also
argue that this new law also eliminates same-day registration and pre-registration for students as
young as 16, and cuts the early-voting period from 17 to 10 days (Schwarz par. 3). Many civil
rights groups such as the NAACP and League of Women Voters are fighting that this is a clear
discrimination and works against everything that past civil rights groups have worked for in the
past (Schwarz par. 3). So far, thirty four states have passed this law to have photo identification,
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and these groups are doing all that they can to make sure it does not continue in the rest of the
states (Schwarz par. 5).
A different article in The New York Times went into more detail on why these laws are
borderline unconstitutional. The author, Matt Apuzzo, writes that Republicans have campaigned
to tighten rules for voters, including requirements for photo ID, in the name of preventing fraud
(par. 4). However, Democrats argue that the real purpose behind these laws is to make it harder
for the lower class citizens, usually Hispanics and African Americans, and college students to
vote (Apuzzo par. 4). Lower class citizens and college students are also those who are more like-
ly to vote Democratic (Apuzzo par. 4). College students make up almost 15% of voting Ameri-
cans, which means if they are not able to vote, the results are definitely skewed (Apuzzo par. 15)
Many law suits, particularly in the state of North Carolina, have been filed on this issue (Apuzzo
par. 21).
Voting laws that restrict college students from using their IDs issued from the school is
discrimination. Clearly these students were able to show that they were who they say they were
at their institutions, so why deny them at the voting booth? The same goes to those who have a
work ID, but do not have a proper state ID. They were able to get through everything they need-
ed at work to be able to prove who they were, so why would they lie when they are only trying to
vote. There has never been a large voting scandal of young college students or lower class voting
illegally, so why is the government punishing them?
It can be very difficult and costly for those who do not have the proper form of identifica-
tion to vote. The people who it is the most costly and difficult for are exactly the same people
who do not have the money to get the correct form, which can highly skew the votes. The Wash-
ington Post and The New York Times both reported on cases in North Carolina where people are
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standing up for their rights and showing that these laws can be discriminative. As a college stu-
dent, Josh Berduo, said from North Carolina State University For people like me, it makes what
should be a simple process very difficult (Apuzzo par. 13). These new laws are unfair to those
who work hard and support the United States of America.
















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Works Cited

Apuzzo, Matt. "Students Joining Battle to Upend Laws on Voter ID." The New York Times 5 July
2014: n. pag. The New York Times. Web. 13 May 2014.

Schwarz, Hunter . "Justice Department Sues North Carolina Over Voter ID Laws." The
Washington Post [Washington D.C.] 7 July 2014: n. pag. The Washington Post. Web. 13
July 2014.