Voter ID Laws Effect Students, Backfires On Republicans

Trying to rob Obama, GOP robs itself too

As expected, GOP lawmakers' efforts to divert votes from President Obama in the 2012 appear to have backfired.

After months of configuring voter ID laws under the guise of fighting voter fraud, the laws designed to effect poor people and minorities are also effecting college students. The news laws enforce that voters must have state ID for the location from which they are voting. Many college students do not have the state ID for the state they are attending school if they are from out of town. 

For instance, a New Hampshire law has outlawed same day registration and banned students from voting with their school address. In defense of the law, Republican and state house speaker William O'Brian said that it prevents college student from just "voting their feelings," which he noted is usually liberal.

Much like their elders, young Democrats and Republicans are split on the issue.

“While we see where the College Democrats are coming from with their opposition to these measures, we are inclined to support erring on the side of caution when it comes to countering voter fraud,” College Republican National Committee spokeswoman Alyssa Farah tells Politico.

The laws could result in a pie to the face of the GOP as Obama's approval rating among young voters (who can't find jobs) has fluctuated over the past year. They could be missing out on a crop of voters who might actually vote for something new.