Bill Maher returned to "Real Time" after a long hiatus on Friday night, and devoted the end of his "New Rules" segment to bashing the proposed voter ID laws that would prevent countless citizens from casting a legal vote without a government-issued ID.
"Republicans have to pretend that their new voter ID laws have anything to do with stopping fraudulent voting, and instead start passing laws where if poor, black people want to vote, they must first jump through an actual hoop," Maher said, showing a photo of an Olympic athlete doing just that.
Like Jon Stewart, Maher considers the new laws in many states, most notably Pennsylvania, to be alarmingly politically motivated to favor Republicans. According to the GOP, Maher quipped, "There's one big problem with our democratic process: Too much voting."
Moreover, Maher is concerned because the law would prevent a problem that doesn't exist. "Since 2000, there have been 10 recorded cases of voter fraud," Maher said, his voice rising. "More people got into the voting booth and get hit by lightening while being attacked by sharks than commit this crime."
Besides, "voting" is hardly high on the list of criminal priorities. "That's why so few evil geniuses take over the world so they can do more jury duty."
He concluded by suggesting that as retaliation, we bring back the racist literacy tests during the Jim Crow era that kept uneducated minorities from voting. This time, however, Maher has a hunch that the so-called 'teabaggers' will fall victim.
Watch the full "New Rules" clip above. Maher begins talking about voter ID at 2:25.
"Real Time with Bill Maher" is on HBO at 10 p.m. EST. Maher has also been seen on HuffPost Live (where he expressed many similar points as he did on "Real Time" here.)
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