For this election PA has a weird rule where everyone will be asked to show ID but you don't have to show it to vote. Will you show ID when asked?
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In Minnesota we are voting on adding a state amendment that would require voters to show photo ID. I am so indifferent though I still don't know how to vote.
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in PA, if you have already voted in a federal election at your polling place, you do not need to show ID to vote. if there is an issue, please call the committee of 70 voter protection hotline! 1-866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683)
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@kjwinter: You don't have to show it but poll workers can ask for it if they want to.
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I voted in PA this morning and was not asked for my ID. I would have shown it if asked, as I have changed my name on my voter registration since I last voted.
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I think it's ridiculous not to have to show IDs to vote. You do it at the airport, DMV and bank... Why not to vote?
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I did (they didn't ask), because I think it is good practice for the poll workers. I showed it in the primary too.
ETA: If this is your first time voting at your polling place in PA, you must show some ID (though not necessarily state-issued photo ID.) Utility bills, tax bills, and voter registration cards are all acceptable.
ALSO, the PA Dept. of State has set up an online system if you see voting irregularities: https://www.pavoterservices.state.pa.us/Pages/ReportElectionComplaints.aspx
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@anonysquire: There's a thread about that topic here with some answers on both sides. http://boards.hellobee.com/topic/a-political-question-eek
My question was more because PA is in a weird limbo state where there never was voter ID required, than it was passed, then it was changed to poll workers can ask for it but not require it. So its caused a bit of confusion in PA
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@Coco Bee: Same! I ended up voting yes (that ID should be required) with pretty much the same sentiment that @anonysquire: had.
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@Maysprout: oh trust me I have read both sides, my opinion doesn't change.
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@dagret: Yeah, that's a good point. I think that's one of the things that added to confusion. I have to show ID bc we moved since last election but all the talk has been how the voter ID law was struck down for this election so listening to the radio it seems a few people were not aware of that already existing law.
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@Maysprout: it is confusing. And I just saw someone comment on a blog's Voter ID question that they "proudly showed their concealed weapons permit" as their voter ID which is problematic b/c: 1. there is no concealed weapons permit in PA (though there is a license to carry) and 2. the license to carry is not a valid voter ID b/c it's issued by the County, not the state.
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@ms.janedoe: yeah that's what I initially thought and then my husband argued that it may cause lower income families and the like to not vote if they don't have photo ID. However, I think our amendment stated it would be a free issue of photo ID for those that need it
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@Coco Bee: it costs $18 for an ID in Utah, not sure about other states but $18 is more than reasonable....
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@anonysquire: it's not just the cost - a lot of people don't have birth certificates. So there's a cost (or proving that you don't have the money to cover the cost) of ordering a new birth certificate.
Then you have to get to a PennDOT licensing center. Which don't have the most convenient hours, and if you don't have a car, you have to take public transit to get there, which takes a lot of time.And then once you get there, you have to find the correct
form and a worker who actually understands how to process it.For many people, this has been a multi-hour process. Which is kind of a big deal if you're making an hourly wage.
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@dagret: everyone can find 100 excuses for everything. It's just my opinion. I just think its a joke that people act so offended that they are asked for their ID to vote but glady hand it over for other things. Just like the people who think its ridiculous to be drug tested for welfare but the rest of us are drug tested to get a job.
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@anonysquire: I think the idea is, getting a driver's license, a bank account, and flying on a plane are not basic civic rights. You can be denied any of those things for a variety of reasons. You're not supposed to be denied the right to vote, so any barriers to voting are viewed as extremely anti-democracy. If somebody doesn't have an ID -- can't take the time off work to get one, can't afford one (believe it or not, some people can't afford $18), never had to show one before and now all of a sudden has to, etc. -- then it's a barrier to voting.
ETA sorry I just saw your other posts that you already saw the arguments before! I'll just leave this up anyway since I feel strongly about it, but don't think I'm trying to strongarm you into changing your mind
I think it's an interesting issue and I do see the other side's point. I just don't agree.
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@Coco Bee: They'd still have to go stand in line to get a free ID, which I'm assuming would be available when the offices are open, weekdays between 8 and 5 (here in FLA at least). DH scoffed when I told him this as well, but there are many people who work multiple low-wage jobs where you can be fired for taking any time off. So it's not just an issue of financial cost, but time cost as well. It's easy for me -- I just tell work I'll be an hour late and drive there and I'm in an out. Other people have to take a bus and take 3-4 hours out of the day to get an ID -- time they can't afford.
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@anonysquire: actually, there have been several documented cases in PA where people do not have a birth certificate. So some people do not have access to what they need to get a photo ID.
Just because someone doesn't have photo ID doesn't mean they're running around gleefully buying paint markers, sudafed and booze, and then clamming up at getting ID when it comes time to vote.
As @ladyfingers says, voting is a basic civic right, not a privilege.
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@anonysquire: personally I think children of addicts still have the right to eat and live in housing, so I am very opposed to drug testing.
I work with homeless people, and there is a whole world out there most middle class people aren't aware of. It can be hard an expensive to get an ID. It's not for me or for you - we are lucky. But for some people it is. The proponents of this law have publicly said they did it in order to influence who wins the election. They have said voter ID laws are so Romney wins not Obama. As an American, I cannot support anything so manipulative that tries to disenfranchise American citizens because one side doesn't like the way they think or doesn't like how poor they are.
If you watched the news coverage of it all, you have heard there are thousands of people who don't have IDs. It's not a matter of just not wanting to show it. Some people are too poor. It can be hard to believe, and we like to pretend it isn't true, but it is. I've seen it on a daily basis. And those aren't people who are showing their ID to fly an airplane.
I believe everyone in this country has certain rights. The right to eat, the right to sleep safely, the right to express yourself. Even if you are poor or if you are addicted to drugs. Even if your mom died and she is the only other person in your state who can request your birth certificate and you can't because you don't have your ID because someone stole your wallet when they beat you up because you slept on the street last night. Even that person has the right to vote.
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@dagret: i wasn't saying people who don't have IDs are the same people who refuse drug testing....
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@jedeve: Thank you for articulating what I wasn't able to. And you're on the front lines...
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@anonysquire: I didn't say that you said that, either. You said "I just think its a joke that people act so offended that they are asked for their ID to vote but glady hand it over for other things." The sudafed, paint markers and booze are the "other things" I'm addressing.
I didn't even touch your drug testing comment with a 10 foot pole, because i didn't want the thread to go off on THAT tangent.
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@dagret: by other things I still meant the bank, DMV and airports.
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@anonysquire: and a lot of low-income people don't have bank accounts, drivers' licenses, or go on plane trips.
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@anonysquire: It is our RIGHT to vote in this country. It is not a RIGHT to travel by plane, or any of the other things that have been mentioned. There are many very rural areas of PA where people have to travel for at least an hour to get to their local PennDOT to obtain this voter ID. Once they get there, they have to stand in line to get the correct form. Once they complete the form, they have to stand in another line to turn it in. Then they go home. THEN a week or 2 later, they have to return to PennDOT to pick up the ID in person. This is all assuming, of course, that they have their birth certificate, which many do not. Poor, ill, and elderly people, especially those who live in remote rural areas, simply cannot do this, physically and/or financially.
@Maysprout: RE: the original question, I always take my ID with me to vote because I have absolutely no idea where my voter registration card is. I have moved a few times and it got lost in the shuffle. I have never been asked for it, though, since my first time voting in this location. If I'm asked for it, I'll show it.
I have heard stories already of polling workers telling people they have to have IDs, which is CLEARLY incorrect. People have not reacted well to it....
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@dagret: And that's a shame!
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@littlebug: I still think it should be mandatory to show an I'd to vote, but I do think they need to have some sort of financial assistance for an ID and maybe make some sort of mail in form. Just something to make it easier.
Anyways enough political talk for me, I need to go to bed
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So I just voted and when they asked for ID I asked if it was because I had just moved and the lady said no there was no need to show ID for that, they just had to ask everyone even though no one needed to show it. I ended up showing it anyways because I'm confused about the first time voting in a new district law. I've technically voted there before but I moved away for 4 years so who knows.
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We did, but it was our first time voting at this polling place so I was expecting it.
They did, however, have the polling place plastered with signs saying everyone needed to show ID to vote in big bold letters, and then in a much smaller font below saying "to help reduce voter fraud and make the process go faster"
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@jedeve: THIS. Thank you for clearly articulating what was in my head.
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@FutureMrsMcK: Wow, that's crazy. Did it say on the signs who paid for them?
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@Maysprout: Nope, and they looked like something that someone just printed off their computer. I didn't think about it until we left because DS was being fussy and we were working on getting his jacket zipped up and calming him down, but if I had I would have taken a picture of it.
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I would report that to the DOS at the link I posted above.
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FWIW, in Canada, we all show ID to vote. We have a much different voting system and you have to vote in your district at your polling place. I walk in, show ID, they scratch you off a list and hand you a ballot. It never occured to me that this could be considered a problem?
I think it's an interesting issue and I do see the other side's point. I just don't agree.
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