The following editorial appeared in the San Jose Mercury News:
There are lots of ways to win an election. Earning a good reputation. Campaigning relentlessly. Making sure your supporters get out to vote.
Or, you can try to keep your opponents’ supporters from voting.
This appears to be what’s behind restrictive voting laws cropping up in some states, mainly in places where young, minority voters came out in force for Barack Obama in 2008. Fortunately, last week Attorney General Eric Holder put states on notice that he would be examining these laws for their potential to violate the federal Voting Rights Act.
Eight states, including Texas, where Holder spoke Tuesday, are requiring state-issued photo identification at the polls. Those who do not have driver’s licenses — many urban dwellers, low-income young people, the elderly — will have an extra step of securing an ID before they can vote. Florida has shortened the time for early voting, making it less convenient and, one might assume, discouraging people who work multiple jobs and have complicated schedules.
The need for these laws is specious. The old Chicago trick of raiding the cemeteries for the names of deceased voters lives on in legend more than practice. There is no evidence of voter fraud being a significant problem today: Only about 300 cases have been prosecuted in the nation in the past decade.
Rooting out a minuscule percentage of fraudulent votes is not worth making voting harder for people in general.
Holder thinks registration should be automatic when citizens reach 18. That makes sense. The more people vote, the more they feel connected to and responsible for their government and their communities. Limiting voter turnout may help a particular cause or party, but there is no benefit to democracy.
Comments (47)
Add commentWho wrote this?
Could we have the byline on this please?
Wonderful logic...
This writer suggests that the best metric for determining current the level of voter fraud in our country is the number of prosecutions for that offense.
Wonderful logic. That's like saying very few people drive over the speed limit on Egan, since only a half-dozen speeding tickets are written in that location each month.
To employ a popular double positive to express a negative: "Yeah, right!"
It's a good start
We already require government issued ID's to drive cars, get on planes, even enter government buildings. Once we get the voting ID rule in place, next we should start requiring ID's for simply being in public.
Government officials should be able to stop any person on the street at any time and demand to see his/her ID. They could even set up ID checkpoints at malls and theaters and sporting events. This will be a great way to round up criminals and illegal aliens in our midst, protecting American citizens. If you're doing nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear, right?
And with modern information technology, it will soon be simple to set up facial recognition software cameras all over the place so the government can monitor everyone passing by to see if their face matches up with their government ID photo on record. If someone passes by a camera and their face isn't on file, they should be immediately apprehended.
Soon the government will be able to track every citizen's comings and goings in real time. We will all be much more secure as a result.
And don't worry about government overreach or expense. They can outsource this to a private corporation.
Silly debate
I'm not a republican but I don't get the 'problem'. Why...if you can get out and vote should it be so hard to aquire some proof of who you and produce it to vote?
Come on.....
I'm not a republican but I
I'm not a republican but I don't get the 'problem'. Why...if you can get out and vote should it be so hard to aquire some proof of who you and produce it to vote?
Come on.....
Silly debate
I'm not a republican but I don't get the 'problem'. Why...if you can get out and vote should it be so hard to aquire some proof of who you and produce it to vote?
Come on.....
That's how you do it, Mama T
Vote early. Vote often.
My stupid error makes my point
Yep...unintended but makes the point LOL
mixed thoughts
While I have no problem with the requirement to identify yourself using some form of ID at the polls. I do question the supposed reason(s) tossed out. The number of actual prosecutions is miniscule (some 350 case in eighth years according to one report.) And states have failed to give some basic information on just how many fraudulent votes it would take to have changed the outcome of previous elections. Falling on the cry that one fraudulent vote is wrong these same state toss out thousands of votes cast for any number of reasons. Remember the great chad fiasco?
For you have to notice these States claiming the problem can only be solved with a photo ID have not done a lot to make it easier for folks to obtain the required ID. Given the ease of producing a photo ID using digital photography and ID printers I question why these state have not instituted at least a short term program of being at numerous locations well before the election next year to allow individuals to obtain an ID. Costco and Sams can issue ID on the spot while these states can not figure out how to accomplish the same thing in a couple of years. I don't believe the problem of going to the voters at locations to issue IDs is any more complex than opening the polls on election day.
First of all, mediawatchdog,
First of all, mediawatchdog, by what metric do you propose we measure voting fraud? The number of outcomes you don't agree with? If fraud hasn't been proven, you can't assert it exists.
Second, Mama T, not everyone has an ID card. If I didn't have a car, I wouldn't have a proper form of ID. This should not preclude me from voting. We don't assume suspected criminals are guilty before they have a trial, so I don't see why we should assume people are not citizens when they vote.
It's also just a little strange that these laws do primarily affect Democratic voters and are all being passed by Republican congresses and governors. OH, BUT I SUPPOSE THERE'S NOTHING SUSPICIOUS THERE.
Once again when laws are
Once again when laws are enacted that put a stick in the spokes of the left's antics, they start the attacks and outright lies.
Case in point - Citizen's United and voter ID laws.
Can anyone say that Al Franken won in Minnesota fair and square, with a straight face?
Personally, I don't even like mail-in ballots. I think they provide too much opportunity for fraud. Voting is a huge privilege and if one cares enough, get yourself to a poll and dip your finger in the bottle of purple ink, like they do in Iraq.
p, I'm sensing some paranoia
p, I'm sensing some paranoia in your latest comments! Are you running a little scared these days or are you starting to come around to the "right" way of thinking?
Just wondering if you're seeing some cracks in BO's veneer?!!
Do you not see the irony in
Do you not see the irony in telling us Al Franken didn't win his election and then accusing me of being paranoid?
Islander, it doesn't happen often.......
...but on this one I agree with you.
I once watched a Honduran consulate team in Florida set up in a tiny grocery store near Sarasota to take photos and process paperwork updates. If they can do it........
Why not use banks or post offices temporarily - that way you have a secure building, and they are all over. You could even have mobile units. An ID making machine is not much bigger than a large suitcase. Have a guard, if you feel it's necessary to safeguard the holograms or whatever.
I think often our immediate reaction to something is "if I can do it, why can't everyone?" - but how difficult would it be for someone in Juneau, without a car or a ride, who walks to work downtown 5-6 days a week and may not get any time off, to go all the way out to our own DMV? It would take at least 1/2 a day to ride the bus out there and back - does the bus even stop there? We have to always, always remember, that not everyone lives just like we do.
I have to say, though - if a government issued ID is going to be used for voting - then an illegal alien should not be able to get one. This is no longer the case for Driver's Licenses in all states.
@p, no. I'm not paranoid.
@p, no.
I'm not paranoid. My side is finally exposing all the shenanigans on your side. It's delightful to watch the scurrying...like cockroaches when the light's turned on!!
@Swimmergirl I gotta agree.
But , it seems to me that obtaining a government Issued ID is already easy enough. If a person cannot be bothered to do that much what says that they could be bothered to actually get out and vote? It makes me wonder if there might be some truth to the accusation that a lot of people who have no right to vote are actually doing so and causing them to produce a ID might prevent that.
@AH HA: yeah, if you can't be
@AH HA: yeah, if you can't be bothered to take half a day off to get an ID card you'll only use for one specific thing, why should you be allowed to vote? After all, voting isn't a right, right?
I'm curious as to why some of you people believe you get to determine when certain rights apply to certain people. I bet you'd be in an uproar if anyone tried to deny you any right at all.
Do I believe?
Do I believe you should have an ID to vote? Yes I do. We use our IDs in just about everything we do from day to day. If you drive you need one, have a bank account you need one, picking up drugs for the first time you need one (pharmacy). Boarding a plane you need one. And the list goes on. I also don’t think it is that hard to obtain an ID from your local DMV? Voting is such an important privilege and has such a huge impact on this country; I for one would want it to be as fool proof as possible.
Well said AH HA
For the record...I don't drive but have a photo ID which I need to:
Get a job
Open a bank account
get on a plane
enter a federal building
apply for a loan
pawn something
rent an apartment
tell me again if you.....can go out and vote...why cant you get an ID?
I've never had to procure ID
I've never had to procure ID to rent an apartment, you don't have to have an ID card to get a job (social security card and birth certificates suffice), and none of those other things on your list are required to live your life.
Furthermore, voting centers are plentiful. There is one DMV. Obviously it is easier to get to a voting center than it is to get an ID card.
If you can come up with a way to ensure everyone has an ID, then you can require them to have one when they vote. Otherwise it really is voter disenfranchisement.
Actually Mama,
it doesn't make your point, but it certainly raises another...
a state ID identifies me as a resident of my state
Someone that does not have a state ID is rare and again I dont see a problem. If one can collect food stamps, social security or get a job without a photo ID we have a biger problem than voter fraud. I can not buy the argument that we are preventing citizens from voting cause they cant be bothered to get and show an ID.
Perhaps if we require photo ID to work the immigration problem could be solved. In fact, I can think of plenty of problems that can be solved with a photo ID
Criminals that want to avoid detection might like to vote without proving who they are......
Lots of voting centers only 1 DMV?
Tha't so silly PP! The DMV is open year round....OK except for Holidays LOL
Mama T
I'd love to see some data
on "criminals" who are sufficiently concerned with civics and politics to vote. I'd hazard a guess that those who fall into that category are white-collar criminals involved in securities fraud and similar undertakings. For them, ID is no problem. That's not meant as an answer to the entire issue, of course, just an observation.
Slightly hyperbolic, removal of digital voting machines will enormously reduce the chances and opportunities for voter and election fraud. Anyone promoting the use of such machines is either ignorant of their function, or else has a vested interest in manipulating the outcome.
@Mama T: you are privileged.
@Mama T: you are privileged. Good for you. But not everyone owns a car or has the luxury of taking time off work.
I assume you live in Juneau, which is a city without the poor urban areas that larger cities have, where many basis services are simply unavailable if you don't have your own transportation. And in fact, about a quarter of blacks don't have any form of ID. Gee, which way do black people tend to vote? And who again is promoting these laws without making it easier to acquire ID?
And yes, it is a fact you can get a job without a photo ID. This is a very easy fact to verify. Google is your friend.
milspec, mamaT and Ah Ha - -
I have to agree with PP on the access question for this one - - you all make a number of assumptions about people's ability to access DMV, because you all come at this question with only your own backgrounds in mind. You're well educated, you have cars, you have enough money to take an airplane somewhere, you have a bank account, etc. As difficult as it may be for you to believe, there are many people in this country who have never flown anywhere, who never had a driver's license, who don't have a bank acocunt, and who never completed school - - -
It is difficult, and we all have to work very hard sometimes to imagine what it might be like to be in someone else's shoes, and that's entirely the point of this conversation.
If you were semi-homeless downtown, for example, and didn't have an address or know where your birth certificate was, let alone have the funds to get all the way out to DMV, how difficult would it be for you to get a Government I.D.? There are probably lots more scenarios than being homeless, which cover many people in our population who just happen to live in inner cities, rural Appalacia, etc. etc. making it difficult for them to obtain an I.D.
Don't by it:
Everyone here has brought up some good points. However the transportation issue is not working for me. Yes, some don’t have cars and yes sometimes it’s hard to take off from work. So my question is how do people in these positions get to the doctor, if they have a job they most likely have a bank they need to frequent. And how about the grocery store? Those who collect food stamps, how about the post office?
You may be able to get a job without ID however my last job including my present one I had to have a government issued ID or I wasn’t getting in. One more thing on the ID, if you can’t get yourself to the DMV for example how are you getting to work or even to a voting booth?
Umm, Milspec., that's the
Umm, Milspec., that's the point. These people don't go to the doctor, they don't have access to grocery stores, and they cash their paychecks at the convenience store or payday loan place. They don't have access to things you and I take for granted.
And no, again, all you need to get a job is an SS card and a birth certificate. No photo ID is required. This is on the IRS website, form I-9.
Good god, do you live in a cave? You seem very out of touch with how people in poor urban areas live, and this is coming from someone who's never had to live in a poor urban area (but at least I'm aware of how it is!). Believe it or not, not everyone has it as good as we do.
p, give people some damm
p, give people some damm credit, would you? You're so typical of a progressive - every excuse in the book as to why someone can't possibly survive in America without you and your ilk leading them every step of the way.
And how did you get so educated on the plight of the 'poor in the urban areas' of America? I bet you've never set foot in a poor urban area. You know what - those people are functioning and they can walk and they know how to jump on a bus and they shop for food and do their laundry...and if they're really interested, they vote. Imagine that?
The left is apoplectic over the new ID laws because they can't game the system anymore. Plain and simple. Like when they bus SEIU workers in from California to game the Nevada elections.
@PP
Maybe I am a little old fashioned and not very "Progressive" about some things but, I don't believe voting is a right. I happen to believe that it is one of the obligations that come with being a citizen.
Our countries founders believed that there were strict qualifiers to be met before one could vote. One of those was being a productive member of the community. For this, the test was generally land ownership.