The opponents of voter ID are eerily silent after record-setting turnouts occurred yesterday in states with voter ID laws. It’s now exceptionally clear that the alleged claims of mass voter disenfranchisement are overstated fiction. The five Super Tuesday states with voter ID laws -- Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia -- experienced record-breaking turnouts.
Alabama anticipated high turnout, and it was high:
"We expect [turnout] to be as high as 750,000 people in the Republican primary and 350,000 in the Democratic primary," [Secretary of State John] Merrill said. Turnout could be "higher than every election that we've seen since 2000, with exception of the 2008 race, where it was a very competitive Republican primary" and then-presidential candidate Barack Obama boosted turnout in the Democratic primary, he added.
Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas also experienced much higher than average primary turnout. Virginia had 30% of eligible voters cast a ballot in the primary:
Elections officials say turnout in Virginia's Republican presidential primary was substantially higher than it was in 2008, the last primary in which no incumbents were running.
The Virginia Department of Elections said approximate figures late Tuesday show that about 800,000 Virginians cast votes in the Republican presidential primary. About 575,000 people voted in the Democratic primary.
In 2008, roughly 489,000 people voted in the Republican primary, while about 986,000 people cast votes in the Democratic race.
In 2008, roughly 489,000 people voted in the Republican primary, while about 986,000 people cast votes in the Democratic race.
The left's claims of confusion and mass disenfranchisement if voter ID laws are passed should now fall on deaf ears. On Super Tuesday, voters turned out, disenfranchisement was non-existent, and electoral integrity took a huge step forward. The left will likely continue to assert absurd claims of voters being disenfranchised but, on the heels of many record-setting primaries in states utilizing voter ID, everyone should know better.