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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsArkansas Tossed Ballot Of 79-Year-Old Woman Who Has Been Voting Since Jim Crow
LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSASIn a small one-story house filled with knickknacks and stuffed animals, Joy Dunn sat at her dining room table going over her absentee ballot. Turning the pages with long fingernails painted fire engine red, she said she wanted to make sure she had everything in order, as the vote she cast in Marchs special election was never counted.
I got a letter saying my vote wasnt counted because I didnt have ID. But Ive been voting in this state since 1954 and I never had to have ID, she told ThinkProgress. I didnt know I was supposed to send in an ID this time. Nobody told me.
Dunn, who just turned 79, has several forms of valid ID, but says she was never notified that she had to include a copy of it with her absentee ballot. Arkansas is one of a tiny handful of state to require copies of ID from absentee voters, and the only state in the nation to make those over age 65 do. The only exceptions to this rule are for active duty service members and their spouses and residents of long-term care or residential care facilities.
This time, Joy is aware of the requirement, but it hasnt been easy for her to meet it. Because of a foot injury that left her unable to drive, she had to ask a neighbor to take her drivers license to the library and bring her back a photocopy to include with her ballot. I had to depend on somebody to go do it for me and thats a hardship on me, she said. And most people dont even have that kind of help! I think its unfair for a lot of us older people.
more
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2014/10/10/3578451/meet-joy-voter-id-arkansas/
WhiteTara
(29,718 posts)This state is a hot mess and if we don't wrest the state lege back or keep the governorship, we are in deep doo.
CakeGrrl
(10,611 posts)But by all means, the Dems should hand the GOP more victories because people care more about 'voting on principle' than amassing the votes to stop the GOP.
marble falls
(57,099 posts)SoapBox
(18,791 posts)There should be outrage.
p.s...I just reread this.
A copy of the ID is required to be returned with the absentee ballot AND is required by those 65 and over????
What the FUCK? Talk about discrimination by age! And how the hell are they supposed to get copies of these documents? And no notification?
Totally outrageous! A court should throw this out in a heartbeat!