The voter suppression myth/lie

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Democrats and their allies in the national media repeatedly claim that Republicans win close elections because of voter suppression.
The source of the “suppression” are laws in states controlled by Republicans requiring a photo ID to vote — something required in most Democracies around the world to prevent fraud and preserve the integrity of elections.
Canada requires a voter ID. Mexico’s voter card includes a hologram, a photo and other information, making it practically impossible to alter.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are 16 states that require no document or identification to prove that you are who you say you are to vote. They include the blue states of California, Illinois, Oregon, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, Vermont and Pennsylvania.
Cross the pond into Europe and you’ll find similar requirements. In Norway, to vote, you have to present your passport, driver’s license or a credit card that includes your photo. German voters must show a state-issued voter identification card.
The Democrat party has a problem with requiring photo identification to vote. They believe it suppresses minority turnout and is a form of discrimination.
They relate photo ID’s to “Jim Crow Laws” from the post-Civil War era which was meant to deny African Americans the right to vote. Coincidently these laws were passed by the Democrat Party.
Former California Senator Kamala Harris spoke at a 2019 NAACP Dinner in Detroit, Mich. She told the audience that “voter suppression” in Georgia and Florida cost Democrats gubernatorial races in 2018.
She said, “Let’s say this loud and clear, without voter suppression, Stacey Abrams would be the governor of Georgia. Andrew Gillum is the governor of Florida.”
Abrams also blamed her loss on Republican laws. “We had an architect of voter suppression that spent the last eight years knitting together a system of voter suppression that is unparalleled in America.”
The problem with these claims is there is no evidence to back them up. For one, black voter turnout has grown steadily — for the most part — since the 1990’s even as states have increased voter ID requirements.
In 2012 blacks voted at a higher rate than whites, even in Georgia. In 2006 the Peach State was one of the first in the country to require a photo-ID to vote.
Here is evidence from the Georgia Secretary of state’s office. During the 2006 midterm elections, 513,700 African Americans voted in Georgia. In 2010, when the Tea-Party helped the GOP win control of the U.S. House, the number was 741,000. In the 2008 Presidential Election — when Barack Obama won — the total was 1.2 million.
According to the Pew Research Center, “All major racial and ethnic groups saw historic jumps in voter turnout in 2018.”
If stricter voter ID requirements were supposed to suppress voter turnout by minorities, I think we can say it has been a dismal failure.
The simple fact of the matter is that we are all required to show a photo ID to fly, buy alcohol or cigarettes, open a bank account, apply for food stamps, apply for welfare and purchase pharmaceuticals at the local drug store. Ashe Schowin, an opinion writer for the Washington Examiner in 2013 listed a total of 24 things that require a photo ID.
In 2012 the Washington Post did a poll that found that a full 74 percent of those who responded felt voters should be required to present a photo ID to vote. Support crossed all demographic lines — 66 percent of independents, 60 percent of Democrats, 65 percent of African Americans, and 64 percent of Hispanics.
Gallup held a poll in 2016 with similar results.
So we can conclude three things: A majority of Americans support voter ID laws; there is no evidence of voter suppression from these laws and; there has been an increase in minority voting
The reason for strict voter ID requirements is to uphold the integrity of our elections. As of May, the Heritage Foundation listed 1,328 proven cases of voter fraud in America. It includes examples of fraud at the polls; false voter registrations; duplicate voting; fraudulent absentee ballots; vote-buying; illegal assistance and intimidation of voters; ineligible voting, such as by aliens; altering of vote counts; and ballot petition fraud.
Democrats who continue to spread this myth of voter suppression are simply lying.

Article Links
https://www.nationalreview.com/2015/07/voter-id-other-countries-require/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hgipa2cdbVk
https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/voter-id.aspx#Laws%20in%20Effect
https://thegrio.com/2012/04/03/the-complicated-history-of-the-voter-id-law-in-georgia/
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/24-things-that-require-a-photo-id
https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/04/record-high-turnout-in-2020-general-election.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Black_Panther_Party_voter_intimidation_case
https://www.heritage.org/election-integrity/commentary/database-swells-1285-proven-cases-voter-fraud-america
https://www.heritage.org/voterfraud