For the second time in a week, congressional Democrats held a hearing on Thursday to propagate their narrative that state election law reforms are a new wave of systematic voter discrimination. This time, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties held a hearing entitled, "Oversight of the Voting Rights Act: The Evolving Landscape of Voting Discrimination." The hearing primarily focused on the issue of voter ID with the Democrat members of the Committee and their witnesses insisting that support for voter ID by Republicans was an attempt to suppress votes. But Mark Robinson, the first Black Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina, repeatedly debunked that myth:
When you talk about that history, that history is clear, who stood on which side. At every turn in history it is clear. It’s not even in dispute, and it's not even in dispute now. What we want is integrity. We don’t want power; we want integrity. We want the right thing to be done. We want to encourage citizens to be responsible. We want to have the best election system in the world, in the world. Third world countries, places like India where the poverty rate is staggering, they have to show that finger when they go vote. It’s time that we modernize our election system in this country and stop playing all these silly games based on race, and please, stop using me as a black man as your pawn, and yes I said it, to push your agenda. I’m sick of it. It happened a long time ago in this country, and I’m tired [of it].
Clearly, Lieutenant Governor Robinson's testimony struck a nerve with Democrat members of the Committee.
🚨 WATCH: North Carolina Lt. Gov. @MarkRobinsonNC lays out the truth on election integrity and voting rights.
— House Judiciary GOP (@JudiciaryGOP) April 22, 2021
Democrats go berserk. Looking at you, @RepCohen. pic.twitter.com/ojynp9PGoE
As Congressman Burgess Owens alluded to during the hearing, even voters in Georgia, the current epicenter of the voter ID debate, support voter ID. According to a January poll of Georgia voters from the Atlanta Journal Constitution:
Nearly three-quarters of voters said they want additional verification of voters who cast absentee ballots, according to the AJC poll. About 91% of conservatives and 55% of liberals backed proposals requiring a photo ID or another type of identifying information for absentee voting.
A Rasmussen survey shows that support for voter ID is even higher nationwide:
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 75% of Likely U.S. Voters believe voters should be required to show photo identification such as a driver’s license before being allowed to vote. Only 21% are opposed to such a requirement. (To see survey question wording, click here.). . .
Support for voter ID laws has actually increased since 2018, when 67% said voters should be required to show photo identification such as a driver’s license before being allowed to vote.
Eighty-nine percent (89%) of Republicans support voter ID requirements, as do 60% of Democrats and 77% of voters not affiliated with either major party.
Another Rasmussen survey found that a majority of Americans don't consider voter ID requirements discriminatory:
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that just 29% of Likely U.S. Voters say laws requiring photo identification at the polls discriminate against some voters. Sixty-two percent (62%) say voter ID laws don’t discriminate. (To see survey question wording, click here.). . .
Majorities of all racial groups – 59% of whites, 56% of Blacks and 63% of other minority voters – say it is more important to make sure there is no cheating in elections than to make it easier to vote.
Likewise, majorities of all racial groups – 64% of whites, 59% of Blacks and 58% of other minority voters – reject the claim that voter ID laws discriminate against some voters.
The bottom line? The Democrats' narrative about voter ID and election reforms is wholly misleading. As Ranking Member Mike Johnson pointed out, "It's confusing people and causing more division."
.@RepMikeJohnson brought up a crucial point about the Democrats’ misleading narrative about state election reforms: “It’s confusing people and causing more division.”
— RNLA ⚖️ (@TheRepLawyer) April 22, 2021
Robinson, Owens, and the Republicans Members of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties exposed the hypocrisy and the false narrative that Democrats are promoting regarding bipartisan, popular election reform measures such as voter ID. Instead of going berserk when confronted with the truth, maybe they should consider working with Republicans to fix our nation's voting laws. Judging by Thursday's hearing, we think it is more likely we will see further temper tantrums by Democrats when confronted by the truth about voting in America.
Thursday's hearing in its entirety can be viewed here.