According to a new Quinnipiac University/New York Times/CBS poll, a large majority of voters in the all-important “swing” states of Ohio, Florida and Wisconsin — three key swing states that have adopted controversial voting laws over the last two years — back these measures and largely agree with conservatives that they are designed to prevent people from voting illegally.
This comes despite strong opposition from Attorney General Eric Holder, the head of the Department of Justice, who has made public statements opposing any measures that the Obama administration deemed unconstitutional or an infringement of the 1965 Voting Rights Act enacted by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
The states that support the new measure tend to lean to the right politically, though Obama took Ohio in 2008 in his race against Sen. John McCain. More than 66 percent of voters in Wisconsin, 75 percent in Ohio and 78 percent in Florida like the new law thaft requires people to present a form of photo identification to vote, though of the three states, only Wisconsin has adopted a voter ID law, states Politico.com.
In Florida, 65 percent of people back an effort by the state’s governor, Republican Rick Scott, to closely examine the state’s voter rolls and “purge” people who should not be eligible to vote. Twenty-eight percent of voters in te Sunshine State argue it is an attempt to “suppress voting by certain demographic groups,” the Tampa Tribune reports.
These numbers come despite intense scrutiny from liberal groups and Democrats on new voting provisions, which they say unfairly target minorities, who are less likely to have photo identification. Liberal groups successfully sued to stop the voter ID law from being implemented in Wisconsin, but one remains on the books in Pennsylvania, another key swing state.
The Obama campaign has sued to stop Ohio from limiting the number of days for early voting, arguing the restriction is intended to target Obama-friendly voters who might want to avoid long lines on Election Day.
In all three of the states, the polls showed Obama ahead overall, suggesting many Democratic-leaning voters support these ID provisions, despite sharp criticism of them from Attorney General Eric Holder and other Democrats.
