By Marie Diamond/Think Progress
Voter ID laws passed by Republican lawmakers in states across the country have systematically disenfranchised the poor, minorities, college students, and the elderly. Even when citizens try to abide by the new laws, they are often turned away. When a 96-year-old Tennessee woman went to apply for an ID, she was denied because she didn’t have her marriage license. Now another senior citizen in Tennessee, 91-year-old Virginia Lasater, may not be able to vote because she wasn’t able to stand in a long line at a DMV to get the necessary ID. Lasater says that she has voted and worked in campaigns for 70 years, but when she tried to get a photo ID recently, she discovered the center was packed and there were no chairs available. A clerk told Lasater and her son there was nothing they could do. Senior citizens who want to be politically active but have trouble moving are apparently just out of luck in 2012
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