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Will New Voter ID Laws Protect the Polls or Suppress Turnout?
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Will New Voter ID Laws Protect the Polls or Suppress Turnout?

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Are Republicans trying to prevent voter fraud or keep supporters of Barack Obama away from the polls? Do Democrats have real proof that minorities, old people and college students can't produce state-issued picture ID's? We hear a debate that’s raging in state legislatures across the country. Also, the Supreme Court rejects a ban on violent games to minors, and Michele Bachmann's presidential campaign will be based on cutting the federal spending.  What do her own financial disclosure forms reveal?

Banner image: A voter fraud sign is seen at Lupica Towers November 4, 2008 in Cleveland, Ohio. Voting is underway in the US presidential elections with Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) leading in the race against the Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain (R-AZ). Photo: J.D. Pooley/Getty Images

Making News

Supreme Court Rejects Ban on Violent Games to Minors ()

The Constitution does not allow states to protect children by limiting the violence in video games or any other medium. That's according to the US Supreme Court in a 7-to-2 ruling today in a case from California. David Savage reports on the court for the Los Angeles Times.

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Main Topic

Election Fraud, Voter ID and Gerrymandering ()

Red-State Republicans are enacting laws to require voters to identify themselves at the polls with picture-identification not everybody has access to. Democrats claim the GOP is trying to rig next year's elections by depriving minorities, old people and college students from exercising the right to vote. Republicans claim that voter fraud threatens the integrity of elections, while Democrats call that a myth. Does either side have persuasive evidence? Also, which party will benefit most from redrawing Congressional district boundaries?

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Reporter's Notebook

Bachmann Declares Candidacy amid Reports Her Family Received Federal Subsidies ()

Michele Bachmann is running for president on a campaign of cutting the federal government. But she's also responding to reports that she and her immediate family have benefited from government assistance. Minnesota's Republican Congresswoman announced her candidacy today in Iowa, where she was born and where party caucuses will be the first test of candidates next year.

 

 

But yesterday, the Los Angeles Times reported that a counseling clinic run by Bachmann's husband received $30,000 in state and federal funds in the past five years, while a family farm in Wisconsin where she is a partner got $260,000 in federal subsidies. Melanie Mason reports from Washington for the Times and the Chicago Tribune.

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