Alabama has a strict voter ID law, requiring an official photo ID such as a drivers license. Once they had that law in effect, their next step was to declare a budget crisis that required them to shut down the drivers license offices in 8 of the 10 counties with the largest percentage of African-American voters.
Is the message clear now? Do they need to resurrect the Klan to burn a cross to tell black folks they are not welcome at the polls?
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That is what I wrote a couple of days ago. Then I saw the Alabama Secretary of State interviewed on MSNBC who impressively had a different story. The decision about which drivers license offices to shut was based on infrequency of use: for example, one county had issued only about 12 licenses in a year; another was only open two days a month. It's true that most of the ones they're shutting have a high percentage of black people; but the deciding factor was not race but that they are sparsely populated rural counties where car ownership and need for drivers licenses are low.
But the most convincing factor he mentioned was this: Each county has another office that is open on a daily basis where acceptable photo IDs can be obtained free of charge -- without the long waits often encountered at drivers license offices. In addition, they have a mobile unit that will tour the state, well publicized in advance, where IDs can be obtained. And he sounded open and sincere in assuring that they are being very proactive to provide IDs and make it even easier, rather than harder, to get the photo IDs.
Rather than scrapping this story, I decided to present both sides, because I am aware that we liberals often do our own version of selecting facts and out-of-context quotes that don't tell the whole story. So mea culpa.
Ralph
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