in the two states that have had voter id laws for the longest period of time, indiana and georgia, voter participation by minorities actually increased, not decreased. so the claims of voter disenfranchisement have proven to be false. alisyn: and yet one of the points the judges made in their decision, they said having to go obtain a photo id, many poor voters don t have a driver s license, so having to go to the department of public safety and obtain some sort of photo id, they said they would have to in some cases verify their identity in order to get one, and that could in some cases cost $22 to pay for a certified copy of their birth certificate. wouldn t that eliminate some voters, eligible voters from the polls? not at all. because, first of all, generally speaking texas is going to be providing these voter ids for free. but secondly, importantly, again this law was premised on the indiana law upheld by the supreme court. a similar provision alied in
megyn: support these laws. but this is a major ruling for those who support the laws why, jay? well, number one, you ve got a judge that s issued here almost a 55-page opinion that says that the integrity of the voting process is protected by having voter id laws. and these photo ids by the way, in many pennsylvania that photo id can be even a college, you know, college id. so they have a lot of parameters. they re giving out free voter ids throughout the state, they re doing a huge educational campaign. but the judge said this is going to protect the integrity and reliability of the voting process. and, you know, all of us are aware of how a few votes can make a big difference. we ve seen presidential elections turn on 543 votes. so you take a state like pennsylvania and other states, ohio, where these voter id laws go into effect, they want to protect the integrity of the voting process. this ruling, i think, sets forth a very compelling, reasoned opinion as to why voter ids are
you know, the one thing i can t understand from the opponents of these laws, if you go into the department of justice because in some of these cases the doj s filed on the other side when i go into the department of justice, i ve got to show my driver s license. they go through a photo id check. i d say the same thing for voting. i don t think this is a big deal, especially when it s so available to get these different kind of voter ids that they re going to have available. i think it s a great decision and well-crafted legislation too. megyn: they already stated they re going to appeal, the losing side says they will appeal, so there s a question of whether new precedent will be set. out of indiana a couple years ago, if this winds its way up through the appellate courts and results in another decision of holding voter id laws from a higher court, then that will make it tougher and tougher for the department of justice as it has under this investigation to continue to challenge th
the pressure is building on syrian president bashar al assad who is no doubt watching his back this evening after an attack struck the heart of his regime. a regime that s been in power for over 40 years and has launched a brutal crackdown on rebels over the last 16 months, killing more than 16,000 people, according to one opposition group. whether today s bloodshed is the result of a rebel attack or an inside job, one thing is clear assad s security perimeter has been breached. state tv reports those assassinated at a high-level meeting in damascus include the defense minister, the deputy defense minister who s also al assad s brother-in-law, and his security adviser. rebels danced in the street following the explosion. the opposition forces have come a long way since the uprising began. that has deputy defense secretary leon panetta worried the situation is quickly deteriorating. the violence there has only gotten worse and the loss of lives has only increased. which te
outfront tonight, is syria at a tipping point? the pressure is building on syrian president bashar al assad who is no doubt watching his back this evening after an attack struck the heart of his regime. a regime that s been in power for over 40 years and has launched a brutal crackdown on rebels over the last 16 months, killing more than 16,000 people, according to one opposition group. whether today s bloodshed is the result of a rebel attack or an inside job, one thing is clear assad s security perimeter has been breached. state tv reports those assassinated at a high-level meeting in damascus include the defense minister, the deputy defense minister who s also al assad s brother-in-law, and his security adviser. rebels danced in the street following the explosion. the opposition forces have come a long way since the uprising began. that has deputy defense secretary leon panetta worried the situation is quickly deteriorating. the violence there has only gotten worse a