Why I Disagree with the Need to Have Photo IDs to Vote
I recently posted John Oliver's take on voting and photo IDs to my Facebook page. I had someone respond "Why wouldn't someone have an ID? It should be required" (sic). My response was long-winded to say the least, and because of that, I wanted to post it here. It has also been forever since I posted anything at all, so I figured it couldn't hurt to actually do something on this page.
Please keep in mind this important fact: voting is a fundamental right guaranteed by Constitutional amendments. There are NO other things that you need an ID for which are basic rights in the U.S.
1. Some people don't have IDs simply because they don't need them. They don't fly on planes, buy guns, use checks at stores, and the list goes on.
2. Some people can't get IDs becuase they don't have a birth certificate (yes this happens for the elderly, rural Americans born outside a hospital). These cases are increasingly rare, but they are out there.
3. If you need to get an original birth certificate to get an ID (as I did when moving to MI), it takes time. Sometimes a long time. And money. If you don't start this process months and months in advance, you won't get an ID in time to register to vote.
4. You may be lucky enough (as am I) to never worry about getting the cash together to renew your ID, much less pay for the ride to the Sec. of State to get that ID renewed. However, there are many people who don't have that cash. I consider myself blessed to always have that money now, but there were times in graduate school when it wasn't easy to come up with it; or even after graduate school and before a good job when I didn't get a day off when the Sec. of State was open, and couldn't afford an unpaid day. It isn't easy for everyone you know. I don't forget these days, and this helps me understand the plight of others who's basic right as a US citizens are being undermined due to costs and time they simply may not have.
5. At the same time many states started to require IDs to vote, they cut the hours of (particularly rural) Sec. of State offices. Doing this makes it very hard for some people to get those offices. Think people who work more than one job and can't get paid days off, the disabled, the elderly, those who don't have their own transportation and rely on the sometimes rare or even nonexistent public transportation (Swanton had none, remember).... Add this to the fact that in some very rural states (i.e. Texas) some of the Sec. of State offices can be 100 miles or more away from where you live. Still don't think it's a burden?
6. I am not sure about the Sec. of State where you live, but here in MI, the wait can exceed 2 hours easily (not kidding!). I have actually gone to the office, pulled a number, waited an hour or so, gone and eaten lunch, and come back only to wait another 30 minutes or more to be called for a photo and renewal. This is why it can take an entire day off to get and ID. And it's only worse when the Sec. of State office is open once a month (yes, there are MANY of these, and in TX there are even 78 offices which are TRANSIENT) which means it's insanely busy that one day.
7. As a student, who moved every 6-12 months for affordable rent, the costs of constantly keeping the ID in date can be high. Add this to the wait at the Sec. of State.... You get the idea.
8. Should we talk about mistakes on birth certificates too? These do occur. Having been born in the age of carbon paper, I actually have two different middle names, one on the "front' copy of the birth certificate (Ann) and one on the "back" copy (Anne). The person completing the form lifted the "e" off the front copy, but forgot to correct the back copy. Yes, this has caused problems, and not only with my security clearances, but with my IDs, my social security card - the list is a long one.
9. In 2010, all of the birth certificates of Americans born in Puerto Rico expired! To get a new birth certificate, you need a (guess... go ahead) ... photo ID. To get the photo ID, you need a birth certificate. Figure that one out.
10. In TX (sorry, but they're really bad), you need a copy of a photo ID/driver's license to get a copy of your birth certificate. To get the photo ID/driver's license you need a birth certificate. Let's hope Mom ordered a few extra when you were born and has one to give to you to get this ball rolling.
11. Shall we discuss costs of said birth certificates? Louisiana reportedly charges up to $80. In many states it's $30. Think fixed income, already have to decide between rent and food, or rent and medicines, and where is that money coming from?
So let's look at who's out in the cold here - the poor and elderly. Who is the largest cross-section of poor? The minorities and students. Who votes Democrat? You guess it. This is why the GOP is so proud of how the ID laws have worked and can say that those laws have directly impacted votes for Democrats - it's true and the middle-class buys into the idea that IDs are not so bad to get and should be required.
All that said, it doesn't matter how you feel about how easy or hard IDs are to get, it still boils down to a few simple facts. First, the GOP is only pushing the requirements so that certain groups don't vote (they SAID this themselves, out loud, more than once, in more than one way). Second, there is very, very little voter fraud so the idea that we need IDs to protect against it is a false and misleading argument. Third, we as a country watch over the voting in other countries and determine whether or not elections there were fair and free (think Iraq, many countries in Africa, the list is a long one), and at no point has any US representative there ever questioned the need for an ID to allow voting - contrary to this, they rail again the requirement. We are hypocrites for doing this when we don't see the need in other countries, and even bigger hypocrites when those same "representatives" insist we need IDs to vote, yet cheat and vote for their fellow "representatives" during legislative voting.
1. Some people don't have IDs simply because they don't need them. They don't fly on planes, buy guns, use checks at stores, and the list goes on.
2. Some people can't get IDs becuase they don't have a birth certificate (yes this happens for the elderly, rural Americans born outside a hospital). These cases are increasingly rare, but they are out there.
3. If you need to get an original birth certificate to get an ID (as I did when moving to MI), it takes time. Sometimes a long time. And money. If you don't start this process months and months in advance, you won't get an ID in time to register to vote.
4. You may be lucky enough (as am I) to never worry about getting the cash together to renew your ID, much less pay for the ride to the Sec. of State to get that ID renewed. However, there are many people who don't have that cash. I consider myself blessed to always have that money now, but there were times in graduate school when it wasn't easy to come up with it; or even after graduate school and before a good job when I didn't get a day off when the Sec. of State was open, and couldn't afford an unpaid day. It isn't easy for everyone you know. I don't forget these days, and this helps me understand the plight of others who's basic right as a US citizens are being undermined due to costs and time they simply may not have.
5. At the same time many states started to require IDs to vote, they cut the hours of (particularly rural) Sec. of State offices. Doing this makes it very hard for some people to get those offices. Think people who work more than one job and can't get paid days off, the disabled, the elderly, those who don't have their own transportation and rely on the sometimes rare or even nonexistent public transportation (Swanton had none, remember).... Add this to the fact that in some very rural states (i.e. Texas) some of the Sec. of State offices can be 100 miles or more away from where you live. Still don't think it's a burden?
6. I am not sure about the Sec. of State where you live, but here in MI, the wait can exceed 2 hours easily (not kidding!). I have actually gone to the office, pulled a number, waited an hour or so, gone and eaten lunch, and come back only to wait another 30 minutes or more to be called for a photo and renewal. This is why it can take an entire day off to get and ID. And it's only worse when the Sec. of State office is open once a month (yes, there are MANY of these, and in TX there are even 78 offices which are TRANSIENT) which means it's insanely busy that one day.
7. As a student, who moved every 6-12 months for affordable rent, the costs of constantly keeping the ID in date can be high. Add this to the wait at the Sec. of State.... You get the idea.
8. Should we talk about mistakes on birth certificates too? These do occur. Having been born in the age of carbon paper, I actually have two different middle names, one on the "front' copy of the birth certificate (Ann) and one on the "back" copy (Anne). The person completing the form lifted the "e" off the front copy, but forgot to correct the back copy. Yes, this has caused problems, and not only with my security clearances, but with my IDs, my social security card - the list is a long one.
9. In 2010, all of the birth certificates of Americans born in Puerto Rico expired! To get a new birth certificate, you need a (guess... go ahead) ... photo ID. To get the photo ID, you need a birth certificate. Figure that one out.
10. In TX (sorry, but they're really bad), you need a copy of a photo ID/driver's license to get a copy of your birth certificate. To get the photo ID/driver's license you need a birth certificate. Let's hope Mom ordered a few extra when you were born and has one to give to you to get this ball rolling.
11. Shall we discuss costs of said birth certificates? Louisiana reportedly charges up to $80. In many states it's $30. Think fixed income, already have to decide between rent and food, or rent and medicines, and where is that money coming from?
So let's look at who's out in the cold here - the poor and elderly. Who is the largest cross-section of poor? The minorities and students. Who votes Democrat? You guess it. This is why the GOP is so proud of how the ID laws have worked and can say that those laws have directly impacted votes for Democrats - it's true and the middle-class buys into the idea that IDs are not so bad to get and should be required.
All that said, it doesn't matter how you feel about how easy or hard IDs are to get, it still boils down to a few simple facts. First, the GOP is only pushing the requirements so that certain groups don't vote (they SAID this themselves, out loud, more than once, in more than one way). Second, there is very, very little voter fraud so the idea that we need IDs to protect against it is a false and misleading argument. Third, we as a country watch over the voting in other countries and determine whether or not elections there were fair and free (think Iraq, many countries in Africa, the list is a long one), and at no point has any US representative there ever questioned the need for an ID to allow voting - contrary to this, they rail again the requirement. We are hypocrites for doing this when we don't see the need in other countries, and even bigger hypocrites when those same "representatives" insist we need IDs to vote, yet cheat and vote for their fellow "representatives" during legislative voting.
posted by Barbara | 11:04 AM
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