Florida Restricts Third-Party Voter Registration Drives Over the last few years, Republican governors and Republican state legislators have put tremendous effort into making voting more difficult. In 2011, 34 states introduced bills requiring citizens to show photo ID at the polls, and seven states have enacted those laws; thirteen states have ended same-day registration. The pretext is voter fraud - a problem, as I've explained many times, that isn't really a problem at all. At the forefront of the don't-get-out-the-vote movement is Florida, which I suppose isn't that surprising given the state's inability to count the votes that were cast in 2000. Must be something in the soupy air; or maybe Florida policy-makers have grown to love the feeling of international mockery. The state has imposed new rules restricting third-party voter registration drives, which are so onerous that Rock the Voter, the League of Women Voters and the Florida Public Interest Research Group Education Fund have had to suspend their volunteer-led programs. Attorneys from the Brennan Center for Justice, the American Civil Liberties Union and two law firms filed suit to block these measures in December, and on Thursday a Florida federal judge will hear the case. In the complaint, the attorneys argue that the law will "disproportionately harm members of minority communities, who regularly rely on...community-based groups to help them overcome barriers to registering to vote and participating in the democratic process." They also say it will "cause disparate harm to senior citizens, students, people with disabilities, and members of rural and low-income communities." FL PIRG, for instances, focuses its efforts on student populations, and almost half of the students that the organization registered in 2010 were non-white. Is it just a coincidence that these groups tend to vote Democratic? Of course, the state must have a compelling reason to impose new restrictions, despite these possible adverse consequences, right? Actually, no. Backers are trotting out the voter fraud issue, as usual, and, as usual, it's a complete canard. Representative Geraldine F. Thompson of the Florida House said that election supervisors "have not identified a problem with fraud." State Senator Nan H. Rich said the bill's supporters could not "provide any proof that the integrity of our election process has been compromised." The only purpose, it seems, is creating difficulty. I'm not exaggerating. Here's how state Senator Michael Bennett, the chamber's President Pro-Tem, explained his support for the legislation: Ever read the stories about people in Africa? The people in the desert who literally walk 200-300 miles so they could have an opportunity to do what we do? And we want to make it more convenient? .... I want "em to fight for it. I want "em to know what it's like. I want "em to have to walk across town to go over and vote. I want "em to at least know the date of when they're supposed to vote.... This is Florida and we should count. We do make it convenient for people to vote but I gotta tell ya I wouldn't even have any problem making it harder. You know, Mr. Bennett, you didn't have to look as far as undeveloped African countries to make your point. The government right here in America used to be really good at making it hard for "em" to vote- with poll taxes and fire hoses and police dogs. This is one of those moments when I wish I were on the Daily Show, so I could just stare incredulously into the camera.