In what counts as a profile in courage these days, a Republican governor has vetoed large parts of a package of measures that would have made it harder for minorities and the poor to vote.
Michigan governor Rick Snyder said he won't sign a bill drawn up by GOP lawmakers which would have required a photo I.D. for first-time registration, or to get an absentee ballot.
“Voting rights are precious and we need to work especially hard to make it possible for people to vote," Snyder said.
Snyder also rejected related GOP-backed measures that would have required voters to check a box affirming their citizenship, and that would have made it harder for voter registration groups to operate in the state. A similar law targeting voter registration groups in Florida is currently the subject of a lawsuit, and has been blocked by a judge for now.
Voting rights groups say all these measures would likely have a disproprtionate impact on poor and minority voters, who lean Democratic.