Home » Opinion » Editorials
Jim Crow? Not even close
Legislators finally passed a voter ID bill this session, only to have Gov. John Lynch veto it. This week former President Bill Clinton compared it to Jim Crow laws. We suppose that as long as you’re going to make up stuff to discredit the opposition, you might as well go all in.
Lynch vetoed the bill, he said, because it would create problems for people who wanted to vote. For instance, the bill gave people who didn’t have a valid ID on Election Day 2.5 days to come back with one. Lynch said that was just awful because “many town offices are closed or have only limited hours on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.”
According to Lynch, it’s an undue burden to make people do business at town offices during workdays.
He also said “State employees can use their agency-issued photo IDs to vote, but employees at private companies may not use their company-issued photo IDs.” So he thinks company-issued IDs are equal to state-issued ones? Sure he does.
But Clinton was even worse. He said New Hampshire’s bill was, like Jim Crow laws, a “determined effort to limit a franchise.” Really? It’s not a poll tax or a literacy test. It’s just a picture ID. If you can get to a polling place, you can get to a state office that issues — for free — photo IDs.
This disenfranchisement talk is just an attempt to smear the opposition, which is what too many people in politics do when they don’t have the facts on their side.
Lynch vetoed the bill, he said, because it would create problems for people who wanted to vote. For instance, the bill gave people who didn’t have a valid ID on Election Day 2.5 days to come back with one. Lynch said that was just awful because “many town offices are closed or have only limited hours on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.”
According to Lynch, it’s an undue burden to make people do business at town offices during workdays.
He also said “State employees can use their agency-issued photo IDs to vote, but employees at private companies may not use their company-issued photo IDs.” So he thinks company-issued IDs are equal to state-issued ones? Sure he does.
But Clinton was even worse. He said New Hampshire’s bill was, like Jim Crow laws, a “determined effort to limit a franchise.” Really? It’s not a poll tax or a literacy test. It’s just a picture ID. If you can get to a polling place, you can get to a state office that issues — for free — photo IDs.
This disenfranchisement talk is just an attempt to smear the opposition, which is what too many people in politics do when they don’t have the facts on their side.
- Tech education: NH moves forward - 1
- Bloody boondoggle: Rhode Island's Schilling deal - 8
- What's in a name? 'A baby that has not yet been born' - 7
- Granny D Day? A step too far - 5
- Congress' bank: Corporate welfare lives - 15
- Claremont's center: Rejected generosity? - 0
- House decorum: Bluster and blame - 15
- School choices: The scholarship option - 6
- The income tax ban: Send it to the people - 6
Fled to Singapore: Not alone, either
READER COMMENTS: 0- Alleged pit bull attack frightens dog owner - 0
- Ranaudo, Sea Dogs make first trip to NH - 0
- Publisher's Notebook: Obama even at crossing of the Delaware? - 0
- Day of Caring moves Berlin forward with cleanup effort - 0
- The Hobo Railroad has special offerings for its 25th anniversary - 0
- A list of popular procedures - 0
- Hey, young people, don't fall for the politicians' panderings - 0
- Where are Christian leaders to stand up to straying politicians? - 0
- SNHU milestone a product of senior leadership - 0
SNHU baseball wins East Regional, heads to Div. II World Series
READER COMMENTS: 0
Sorry, no question available


