Tell me what you really think.
Every time I have voted in my 10 years of voting ability, I have always wondered why no one wants to see my ID. Neal and I always forget and get our IDs out anyway (thinking that they'll ask, especially if they have us alphabetized incorrectly due to our having two last names), and I always feel a small start of surprise when they don't ask for it. It just seems weird that I can't get white-out without ID some places (yes, I was carded for buying white-out once), but I can vote with no problems and pretend to be anyone I would like to be. I always wondered what would happened if I walked in and said, "I'm Mary Smith," knowing there was a Mary Smith in our district--what would happen when the REAL Mary Smith walks in and wants to vote? It just doesn't make sense to have the honor system when it comes to voting when even dead people have been known to vote. I don't see why it's a big deal, and I LOVE that comic up there. Here's hoping the ID-for-voting thing catches on everywhere else.
When I worked at a credit union, I had to ask for and verify ID against the account before doing ANY business, even if I knew you or if you came in every single day. If anyone reviewing tapes saw us NOT view the ID of the person coming in, we were reprimanded. I think voting rights are just as important as my financial ones.
I absolutely agree. It baffles me that you might NOT need an ID to vote. How is that discriminatory?! Or an infringement on ones rights? I believe strongly that one of my most important rights is to know that my representatives have been elected by legal, registered voters who are ACTUAL CITIZENS OF MY COUNTRY!
(sorry for shouting. feeling vehement)
You are right, of course. One of our local poll workers is a neighbor of mine, so I know she knows who I am, but what about the hundreds of others who go there? I think they should ask for driver's licenses too.
I can't even begin to discuss this because my head starts to swirl at the idiocy of people.
See, don't get me started.
Far be it for me to get all politically incorrect but I think all these illegal aliens need to get citizenship or go back to Canada.
And I refuse to press 1 for English. I like to press 2 so I can get a spanish speaking operator and force them to try to understand me.
Me love you long time.
I love it when you talk dirty...
You know I love you, but...
I contend this is a solution in search of a problem. Indiana has had precisely one prosecutable case of vote fraud in the past two decades, and that involved absentee ballots - which are not covered by this law.
I'd be more sympathetic to the photo ID arguments if the Governor and his BMV head weren't systematically closing branches in (a) urban areas like Gary, where people are both less likely to drive and less likely to vote for the current Governor, and (b) rural areas where - because of the Governor's "privatize everything" approach - BMVs are being closed because they don't make enough money. If it's law that the only place to get a state-issued photo ID for non-drivers in the BMV, and it is also law that one must show a state-issued photo ID to vote, then every county needs to have at least one BMV with decently convenient hours and location(s).
Further, it's not a question of one being too "stupid" to get a photo ID - many people work long hours and/or multiple jobs, and the BMV (the only place where you can get a state ID) is not open when they can go to it. They could take time off work, but if it's a choice of "getting an ID to vote but taking time off which will result in loss of income and possibly loss of job" vs. "keeping job and not voting even though one is completely qualified and legal to do so," in these tough times most are going to opt for the second choice.
I'm willing to accept a long line at the BMV, so long as I know that everyone eligible is going to have equitable access to said BMV. If you require an ID from the BMV to fulfill civic responsibility, then you need to make sure access is fully addressed. Otherwise, I have to wonder about the motives of those who passed this law - it smacks of voter intimidation.
Sorry we missed you this weekend - as you might imagine, we wanted to spend as much time with Mom as we could. She's doing much better.
WF
Wes, that sounds like more of a problem with your state government and state laws than a problem with requiring people to have an ID. I'm really hard-pressed to see why requiring an ID is such a problem, again, considering how much we are carded for other things. If nothing else, maybe this is an added reminder that we could use a better national ID.
I can understand it being difficult to get to DMVs and other places, and I agree that their hours should go beyond normal work hours, yet I don't see this as being too over the top. People do stuff for the car's registation, etc. on their lunch breaks (I have), and I know it sucks, but voting is no less important.
And if voter fraud really is low, requiring an ID will only ensure to maintain that (and at worse, show that more was going on than was known). It's important and should be treated as such.
I must disagree. There is no need to produce an ID. That's what the signature card is for. I sign my name to get my balloty, and the voting judges--one from each party--compare it with the one on my voter registration card.
If there is a question about the signature, then I might need to produce the ID to clarify things, but I have the RIGHT to vote, and no obligation to show my ID to anyone.
Buying a pizza from Domino's is not a right. Domino's is a business and they can refuse to serve me. Ditto with the bank, Blockbuster, and the grocery store.
No one can refuse to allow me to vote.
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