Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Wisconsin Republicans Aim To Close DMVs in Democratic Districts

An article from Bloomberg Businessweek stated the following:
Gov. Scott Walker's administration is working on finalizing a plan to close as many as 10 offices where people can obtain driver's licenses in order to expand hours elsewhere and come into compliance with new requirements that voters show photo IDs at the polls.

One Democratic lawmaker said Friday it appeared the decisions were based on politics, with the department targeting offices for closure in Democratic areas and expanding hours for those in Republican districts.

A high-ranking DOT official rejected that claim, saying the changes were based on economics, not politics.

Rep. Andy Jorgensen, D-Fort Atkinson, called on the state Department of Transportation to reconsider its plants to close the Fort Atkinson DMV center. The department plans to expand by four hours a week the hours of a center about 30 minutes away in Watertown.

Jorgensen said he was concerned doing that would discourage people from Fort Atkinson from participating in elections.

"What the heck is going on here?" Jorgensen said. "Is politics at play here?"
Why is this interesting?

Republicans in Wisconsin (as well as in other states) recently changed voting laws requiring voters to have present a driver's license, state ID, passport, military ID, naturalization papers or tribal ID in order to vote. Eliminating DMVs in Democratic areas is an easy way to restrict access to receiving an acceptable form of identification, not to mention disenfranchisement of those unable to make the thirty minute trek to the DMV in the conservative district.

While some may look at these decisions and consider them to be routine business, just consider all the other tactics Republicans have used in the last year to pass their agenda, whether it was destroying bargaining rights for public employees and forcing pay cuts on them, tightening voting requirements, or even preventing maintenance funds from reaching public schools (while giving that money to a handful of charters).  Republicans are engaged in a full assault against Democrats.

Why can't they fight fair?

As a bonus, here is a video of someone applying for a voter ID in Wisconsin:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please share your thoughts and experiences in relation to this post. Remember to be respectful in your posting. Comments that that are deemed inappropriate will be deleted.