Why shouldn't people have to show government issued ID to vote?
Several months ago I was considering doing some temporary work at a warehouse. I was required to show government issued identification as well as my original birth certificate. The first time I went in person to finish the hiring process, I was turned away on the spot because I didn't have the actual, original copy of my birth certificate.
So I wonder, why shouldn't folks have to prove that they are citizens of our country in order to vote for our elected officials?
darrin b2013-05-31T08:02:14Z
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I don't have a problem with that.
But you don't try to put these laws in place a few months before a major election and then have politicians on the other side patting themselves on the back for requiring IDs as some sort of political tactic to help your candidate win.
I checked out the "Voter ID Laws" that 8 states passed last year. The problems that I saw were these 1) They were almost identical word for word. That means someone besides the lawmakers wrote the laws. 2) Everyone of them made invalid for voting Federal and State ID cards that are issued to Disabled and Retired Veterans (Military ID, invalid because they are "Permanent", State issued permanent ID cards, invalid because they are "Permanent", VA Patient ID cards, invalid because they are "Permanent") That means the laws targeted Disabled and Retired Veterans. 3) The laws were set to required new ID cards to be issued by each state with not near enough time to implement and issue those cards before the elections.
And these are ONLY the issues that affect me, I know there are other issues that need to be addressed in them!
One has to wonder why, following Obama's re-election, the call for ID-to-vote has significantly decreased. If it was such a great idea, wouldn't NOW be the perfect time to get it made law? But, no, those that supported it have given up on it.
The short answer to your question is that requiring ID doesn't actually solve voter fraud problems. And there are big downsides.
That said, I'm technically not against requiring ID, as long as every legal voter can acquire said ID.
First, voting is a right. You can't put a lot of hurdles in front of a right. And I don't know about where you live but just getting and ID in California (SF Bay Area) is a pain in the ***. The lines at the DMV are insanely long PLUS you have to pay for the I.D. Therefore you would be requiring someone to PAY for something before they can vote.
Second, just having ID doesn't prove you're a citizen. Aliens can have ID too.
And third, voter fraud just isn't a big problem in the United States. If would be a lot of effort for little gain.