Hellobee Boards

Maybe I'm naive too, but it seems like all we should have to do is show our driver's license or passport to prove we don't live in France or something. Registering to vote is so annoying.

I believe the argument is that the right to vote is so essential and fundamental to our country that there should be no barriers to being able to do so. Obtaining a state ID is said to be prohibitive to some groups (both economic and racial) because of the costs involved and so forth, so such ID laws cause extreme controversy.

I would think you have to show ID to vote to prevent voter fraud but I know they don't.

I do remember that they require that you sign your name when you vote and they do have a copy of past signatures. I do remember the voter registration person checking to make sure my signatures match.

Maybe they think checking your signature is enough? Maybe they wanted to speed up the line and checking IDs would slow it down?

I don't know. All assumptions to me.

The cost of a passport can be prohibitive to some (~$100). The cost of going to the DMV, waiting in line, getting the ID, going home....If I am someone who is working three jobs and struggling to feed my family, I simply can't afford to do that even if the ID is free. Or take the case of the elderly, who have been voting for decades, who cannot drive, who do not have their birth certificates, and have been told this year "sorry, can't vote, no state ID." Voting is a fundamental right that a lot of people have fought hard for. To so easily disenfranchise people because they can't afford to get an ID, is something that is not ok.

Poll taxes were instituted in some states under Jim Crow laws and were then deemed unconstitutional. So I think there's an element of emotional response against voting hurdles because it was not all that long ago put their to disenfranchise certain populations.

In PA the reason I'm against voter ID for the current election is because it's a rule change close to an election. I know plenty of people who have temporarily let their license expire or who just haven't bother obtaining one because they don't drive, especially if they're younger college students, they might just not have ID yet and college IDs wouldn't necessarily count. To expect a slew of people to go down to obtain a licence or a form of acceptable ID from the DMV in a month before election is just chaos, it makes me cringe just to think of the lines and and most people won't want to jump through those kinds of hurdles. And it's a rule that shoved in close to an election disproportionately affects certain populations over others. Maybe next year or the year after but give people time to get up to date.

And also what yoursilverlining said. The forms of ID required to obtain a photo ID from the DMV can be hard and costly to get as well.

You have to show id here in Canada. It's never been a big deal... or maybe it's proof of address . . . now I'm not sure. I just know it's not a big deal.

@MediaNaranja: @yoursilverlining: couldn't have said it any better than you ladies.

In my state we vote by mail, so talk about what could be extreme corruption, I don't really like it. I do think though that we expect a person to have an ID to hop on a plane, to drive a car, to get married, etc. and why wouldn't we for something this important? I guess it's different in my side of the world where we have very little public transportation and therefore far more drivers. There are the poorest of poor and immigrants and more who have drivers licenses here.

It does seem like it shouldn't be a big deal. You have to show your id to drink, right? But there are some more subtle issues with it.

First is that voting is a right with no strings attached. And it can seem anal to get protective about that, but anytime we institute a requirement, we are stepping on rights a little bit. You aren't required to own a photo ID.

The next is, for some people it is a big deal to get a photo ID. For example, I worked at a homeless shelter for years. I knew lots of men who would have their wallets stolen, had no access to their birth certificate (it is so hard to gets copy of if you don't have ID) and so couldn't get a photo ID. I knew one guy with a job who couldn't cash his paycheck because he couldn't open a bank account without an ID, and he couldn't pay for an ID until he cashed his check! It can be hard to imagine that kind of poverty, where ten bucks is a big deal, but for some people it is totally an issue.

The biggest issue is changing election laws close to Election Day. This didn't come up in May in a non federal election year. I don't want to get too political, but these laws were introduced by Republicans in swing states, some on record saying they were doing it so Romney would win. Democrats are much more likely to be poor and elderly, two groups who are less likely to have photo ID (think Nana who hasn't driven or flown in 20 years, is her license up to date?) and so it could affect election outcomes.

The truth is, while it seems shady, there have been VERY few cases of voter fraud. It wold take a mass coordinated effort to effect the election through having IDless people vote. If hundreds of people were showing up at the polls being told someone had voted for them already, you would hear about it, you know? Voter fraud just doesn't really happen. If it did, ID less might make sense. But since it doesn't and keeps good people from voting, it is a problem.

I read this today and thought I'd share, I think of The Economist as pretty impartial: http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21565259-discouraging-citizens-voting-not-good-democracy-counting-voters-counting-votes

and ditto @jedeve and @mrsjacks ' points. I worked at an agency with homeless/near-homeless young adults and while photo ID seems like a no-brainer to you or me, it is a huge hassle especially if you're living in shelters, group homes, or grew up in foster care where it is more likely to have been lost, stolen, or misplaced.