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May 1, 2014 at 12:06 am #611188
SmittyParticipantWhy on earth shouldn’t we demand photo ID and proof of citizenship when voting?
Because it makes it more difficult to vote? Shouldn’t voting be a “little” difficult?
An “undue burden? How exactly?
I totally get that there is very scant proof of any material voting fraud that would command these laws, but shouldn’t it be viewed that the “potential” for rampant fraud is there? Kind of like a dangerous intersection – why wait for a deadly accident before putting up a stop-light?
Furthermore, if showing ID is an undue burden, then so is voting on Tuesdays! Change it to Fri-Sun with an on-line option.
May 1, 2014 at 12:14 am #807820
dobroParticipant“Shouldn’t voting be a “little” difficult?”
Of course not! It’s your right as a citizen! Should exercising free speech be “a little” difficult?
You have to register to vote. At that time you prove your identity. Then you’re on the rolls. Why should you have to do more than that? Especially when, as the judge in the Wisconsin case pointed out, there is no existing problem with “voter fraud”. It’s a joke! But you’re thinking because it “might” happen sometime in an undetermined future we need to make it “a little” difficult for citizens to vote? It’s a ridiculous premise and the only people it serves are those that want to suppress votes.
I do agree that we should change the voting days and encourage more voting, not less.
May 1, 2014 at 12:25 am #807821
wakefloodParticipantAgreed. Never understood that point either. It has been a cornerstone of conservative politics for a generation. The more people who vote, the less likely they’ll win. If you can’t win on the issues…
May 1, 2014 at 12:39 am #807822
SmittyParticipantYou both make valid points – especially that voting should be easy.
But why shouldn’t you have to prove your citizenship (whether on-line, Tuesday, Saturday or otherwise)? Because it helps the GOP? Not a good enough answer.
May 1, 2014 at 1:22 am #807823
trickycooljParticipantI for one would like postage paid return envelopes.
May 1, 2014 at 1:34 am #807824
dobroParticipant“But why shouldn’t you have to prove your citizenship”
Because you proved it when you registered to vote. All the information you give in registering has to match a WA drivers license or a state-issued ID card. Once registered, you’re on the voting rolls. Remember when we went to polling places to vote and they already had your name and address on their list? Why should you have to have another piece of ID? Here’s the penalty if you give false information…
“If you knowingly provide false information on this voter registration form or knowingly make a false declaration about your qualifications for voter registration, you will have committed a class C felony that is punishable by imprisonment for up to 5 years, a fine of up to $10,000 or both.”
With that penalty,why would anyone falsify their info to cast one illegal vote? Answer: they wouldn’t. That’s why there are virtually no cases of individual voter fraud. Voter ID is nothing but a vote suppression scheme and has no place in a free society.It’s another one of those things that sounds like it might be reasonable until you figure out who it benefits. We want more voting, not less.
Why not make failing to vote a crime, as Australia does? That makes a lot more sense to me.
May 1, 2014 at 1:43 am #807825
miwsParticipant….but shouldn’t it be viewed that the “potential” for rampant fraud is there?
Here’s your rampant fraud:
Mike
May 1, 2014 at 2:11 am #807826
dobroParticipantA few words from the judge who axed the WI voter ID law…
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman found not just that the law disproportionately deters minorities and low-income individuals from voting; but also that purported instances of voter impersonation are so infrequent, if they exist at all, that “no rational person could be worried about it.”
He points out that Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) lawyers could not identify a single instance of known voter impersonation in Wisconsin’s recent past, even though that is the primary justification for the requirement that voters show photo identification. He also found that 9 percent of registered voters lack the sort of qualifying ID required under state law — enough to change the outcome of the election, particularly because many of those same individuals who lack an ID also lack the birth certificate necessary to obtain an ID.
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