[resegooredo]

Yeah, I'm sure they will. And I missed the part where she wouldn't be allowed to vote. An absentee ballot was offered.

[Saad Khan]

Contra the arguement that this infatuation with voting fraud is a reaction to race, most of the outrage stems from the voting fraud that allowed Franken to be the 60th vote in the senate.

[Liabmeasez]

Hey Mr. Fun - voter ID prevents people like me from voting.

That should be the greatest argument in favor of it.

[Gogogo]

Because the democrat party overwhelmingly believes that black people are children who need government help in order to function.

[steansathtpos]

Where did this "Black people don't have ID" stereotype come from? I'd never heard it until a few years ago.

They usually have ID...belonging to someone else...

[NEWyear]

Let's everybody introduce H Tower here to MrFun.

[IdomeoreTew]

Slowwy, so tell me the reason then why so-called voter "fraud" did not become such a huge issue until after Obama won the election in 2008?

[enactolaelant]

My issue is how it is done, not the principle.

Generally it is done with the assumption that everyone who can vote has certain forms of ID. This isn't true.

JM

[Rtebydou]

A lot of places don't allow you to register unless you do so long before.

This is bad due to busy/lazy/travelling people.

I would suggest:

Register to vote as you do now, but just have a photo taken + 1 piece of ID included in the registration process (SS card, Driver's license, ID card, Passport, Birth Certificate).

During the counting of the absentee ballots/etc, photos + ID information is cross referenced for all voters with other ID information to assure that the people exist/etc.

Additionally, at the voting booth the person is required to show the piece of ID used in the registration process. Also, the person is checked against the photo on the voter registration card (obviously).

This must all be free.

JM

[datingcrew]

A lot of places don't allow you to register unless you do so long before.

This is bad due to busy/lazy/travelling people.

I would suggest:

Register to vote as you do now, but just have a photo taken + 1 piece of ID included in the registration process (SS card, Driver's license, ID card, Passport, Birth Certificate).

During the counting of the absentee ballots/etc, photos + ID information is cross referenced for all voters with other ID information to assure that the people exist/etc.

Additionally, at the voting booth the person is required to show the piece of ID used in the registration process. Also, the person is checked against the photo on the voter registration card (obviously).

This must all be free.

JM

Yep. Not only am I concerned that legitimate voters might still be denied their right to vote by clerks or others who would abuse/misuse the process, but this will add more costs to state governments that implement the voter ID laws, because the information and the IDs need to be provided for free. Otherwise, we should call it a poll tax.

[melissa]

Are black people disproportionately likely to be blind, epileptic, crippled, or lose their jobs due to illness or injury?

While a driver's license is the most common form of photo ID, plenty of people have regular state IDs. I had one when my license was suspended, because that was the only way I could board an airplane, ride Amtrak, or buy a gun (among many other things).

[xyupi]

Those links are broken.

[Johnny]

http://www.brennancenter.org/content...gory/voter_id/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...p_ref=politics

Try these.

[Lån-Penge]

Are black people disproportionately likely to be blind, epileptic, crippled, or lose their jobs due to illness or injury?

Ummm... yes, they are. I thought this was well-known.



EDIT: Oops, I see the good doctor has beaten me to the punch.

[AgowlSown]

No, don't take the Ben approach to this argument.

[Zpxbawtz]

A photo ID is not the same as a driver's license. Every state issues non-driving IDs, and as I said, I used to have one when my license was suspended. They're easier and cheaper to get than a driver's license, and in states that require IDs to vote, they are entirely free. The driver's license issue is a red herring, and has nothing to do with the issue.

I needed a photo ID to buy a gun, and gun ownership is a Constitutionally protected right. I didn't feel violated when they asked me for ID, and nobody else should feel violated when asked for ID to vote. There are countless reasons why you'd need ID, from flying on a plane to buying cold medicine. Anybody who doesn't have an ID should ****ing grow up and get one. It's 2012, come out of the caves and join civilization.

[Blellurgews]

is gonna allow Governor Romney to win the state of Pennsylvania, done.

Yeah it's all about fair elections.

Seriously all you folks who bark about constitutional rights and then are happy to ignore the disenfranchisement of potentially millions of voters need to wake the **** up. They're cutting back on early voting and making it increasingly hard to register new voters. They're pissing on democracy so they can win an election and half the time they don't even bother to hide it. If you support this **** you're either a moron or a political stooge who doesn't give a toss about constitutional rights.

Oh and incidentally if you have to travel to get to a state office to apply for a form of ID, then that isn't free. Especially if you're a working single parent, elderly and infirm, living in a rural area etc.

[datingcrew]

I'm neither a moron nor a political stooge but I don't think the requirement is too onerous. Quite frankly you would have to try hard in this day and age to not have some form of valid ID and if for some reason you are that disconnected from society that you don't, would you really give a **** about voting anyway?

We currently have a riding election result before the courts as there are serious concerns many voters voted that weren't eligible. Surprise, surprise, it is a Liberal challenging a Conservative win... This isn't a partisan issue but one of election fairness.

[CVEGK7mV]

Those are convictions, not occurrences.

Any potential election fraud that can be dealt with this easily should be.


Also, nobody is being disenfranchised. They are disenfranchising themselves by not taking a basic, minimal step to vote. If they fail to register they are not being disenfranchised.

[sarasaraseda]

Those are convictions, not occurrences.

So it's worth a huge national campaign to stop something that is not proven to be happening from happening, no matter the cost?

Any potential election fraud that can be dealt with this easily should be.

Also, nobody is being disenfranchised. They are disenfranchising themselves by not taking a basic, minimal step to vote. If they fail to register they are not being disenfranchised.

Of course they are being disenfranchised, these laws stop people who can currently vote from voting. You can argue that they can go out and fulfil the new conditions, but that still acts as an impediment on voting. As it keeps being pointed out, many of these laws make it very difficult for some people to receive the proper ID, including people who are infirm, people who cannot easily travel to the required locations, people who lack acceptable birth certificates (which is a suprisingly large number of people) and many more.

It comes back every time to why this is being done though. There is no evidence that there is a problem and there is a mass of evidence showing that the 'solution' is going to screw over a huge number of people. What possible justification can there be for this other than voter suppresion?