# A former Republican's awakening about voter ID laws. **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [October 16, 2012, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-former-republicans-awakening-about-voter-id-laws/637911 "2012-10-16T18:36:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-former-republicans-awakening-about-voter-id-laws/637911/1 "2012-10-16T18:36:06Z")
This is a great article. I don’t know if it will change any minds here, but it’s worth reading. > **[My Voter ID awakening](https://www.salon.com/2012/10/15/my_voter_id_awakening/)** > > As a former Republican, the laws seemed like common sense. Now I see their insidious racial underpinnings > [@](#): > > All this held until one night in 2006. At the time, my roommate worked at a local bank branch, and that evening when we got into a conversation, he mentioned to me that the bank required two forms of identification to open an account. Of course, who wouldn’t? But then he told me this crazy thing: customers would show up with only one ID or none at all — and it wasn’t like they had left them at home. > … > And here was the kicker: every single one of them was black and poor. As I’ve written elsewhere, this was one of the moments that opened my eyes to a broader reality which, in the end, caused me to quit the Republican Party. > … > I doubt that most Republican voters know that some Republican officials are taking steps to make it even harder to get that ID. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, to take an example, signed a strict voter ID law and then made a move to start closing DMV offices in areas full of Democrats, while increasing office hours in areas full of Republicans — this in a state in which half of blacks and Hispanics are estimated to lack a driver’s license and a quarter of its DMV offices are open less than one day per month. (Sauk City’s is open a whopping four times a year.) Somehow I doubt that this is primarily about saving money. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-former-republicans-awakening-about-voter-id-laws/637911/2 "2012-10-16T19:03:05Z")
You just don’t understand, do you? Everything, everything, is of secondary importance to making sure that Americans have total faith in the electoral system\*, up to and including disenfranchising legitimate voters\*. Don’t worry, though, I imagine friend \*\*Bricker \*\*will be along any moment now to 'splain it at you. \*[SUB]Faith that a Republican will be elected, of course.[/SUB] \*[SUB]\*Democrat \*voters, that is.[/SUB] ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-former-republicans-awakening-about-voter-id-laws/637911/3 "2012-10-16T19:22:58Z")
“If it’s legal, it’s morally the right thing to do.” ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-former-republicans-awakening-about-voter-id-laws/637911/4 "2012-10-16T19:30:46Z")
Very interesting article. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-former-republicans-awakening-about-voter-id-laws/637911/5 "2012-10-16T19:32:30Z")
Legitimate, hard-working, real Americans never lack ID. It’s just not the sort of thing that happens to legitimate, hard-working, real Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-former-republicans-awakening-about-voter-id-laws/637911/6 "2012-10-16T20:05:27Z")
Look, if you don’t have an ID, just drive over to the nearest DMV and get one. What, did you lose your old one? ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-former-republicans-awakening-about-voter-id-laws/637911/7 "2012-10-16T20:08:52Z")
The law, in its majestic equality, requires the rich and the poor alike to spend money and take time off work to obtain an ID" (apologies to Anatole France) ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-former-republicans-awakening-about-voter-id-laws/637911/8 "2012-10-16T20:18:42Z")
Even in Florida and Virginia, almost 80% of Afro-Americans are _not_ convicted felons and cannot be denied the vote as felons. That would mean 4/5 of Blacks voting if the do-gooder nutniks have their way – more than the 3/5 that God intended, as shown by His Constitution. OP refers to some bleeding-heart who left the Republican Party over this issue. I say _Good riddance to him – Go back to Kenya_! ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-former-republicans-awakening-about-voter-id-laws/637911/9 "2012-10-17T06:43:32Z")
Yawn. Another thread for the Loyal Leftists of the SDMB to band together and show their universal disdain for Voter ID. Meanwhile, Voter ID laws still enjoy large majority support among the actual voting public. As usual, SDMB Leftists are desperate to make sure everyone votes, except if the dumb bastards vote the wrong way, in which case the wise Leftists get to just tell the rest of the nation what to do. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-former-republicans-awakening-about-voter-id-laws/637911/10 "2012-10-17T07:00:45Z")
Oh, I see now! You thought we were talking about voter ID laws like they were a bad thing just by themselves! No, no, its about using that approval for corrupt partisan advantage! Silly goose! If you had just asked, we would have told you that! No wonder you thought it was so stupid! Glad we got that all cleared up! ---
**Author:** ![Carmady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Carmady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carmady)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-former-republicans-awakening-about-voter-id-laws/637911/11 "2012-10-17T07:02:14Z")
If the poor black wannabe voters can’t get an ID in their area because the governor shut down the DMV there, why don’t they just drive to a Republican area and use their DMV? Seems like a non-issue. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-former-republicans-awakening-about-voter-id-laws/637911/12 "2012-10-17T07:08:21Z")
It’s not about the voter ID laws, **Bricker**. It’s about the systematic effort of making it more difficult to _obtain_ ID’s. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-former-republicans-awakening-about-voter-id-laws/637911/13 "2012-10-17T07:15:08Z")
Voter ID addresses in-person voter fraud, which is vanishingly rare. Fraud via absentee ballot concerns the experts on the subject much more, and Voter ID does _nothing_ about that. It does, however, put disproportionate burdens on certain groups. Those with paranoid fantasies about non-citizens voting in US elections should concern themselves with absentee ballot fraud, conducted via mail drops. According to the conservative jurist Richard Posner: "Absentee voting is to voting in person as a take-home exam is to a proctored one.” Good use of analogies your honor! > **[Error and Fraud at Issue as Absentee Voting Rises (Published 2012)](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/07/us/politics/as-more-vote-by-mail-faulty-ballots-could-impact-elections.html)** > > Nationwide, mailed ballots now account for nearly 20 percent of votes, yet such ballots are more likely to be compromised, and contested, than those cast in person, statistics show. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-former-republicans-awakening-about-voter-id-laws/637911/14 "2012-10-17T07:35:25Z")
Great Farting Og, are we seeing a resurgence of the honest conservative? Groovy. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-former-republicans-awakening-about-voter-id-laws/637911/15 "2012-10-17T11:21:09Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > As usual, SDMB Leftists are desperate to make sure everyone votes, except if the dumb bastards vote the wrong way, in which case the wise Leftists get to just tell the rest of the nation what to do. I’m dismayed by these remarks. Can you please explain what you’re talking about? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-former-republicans-awakening-about-voter-id-laws/637911/16 "2012-10-17T11:30:01Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I’m dismayed by these remarks. Can you please explain what you’re talking about? Yes. Voter ID laws have been passed by elected legislatures – even Rhode Island’s Democratic-controlled legislature! – and signed into law by elected governors, even Rhode Island’s Democratic governor. And they enjoy overwhelming public support. But the SMDB Cadre wants to impose their minority, unelected will and sweep away those laws. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-former-republicans-awakening-about-voter-id-laws/637911/17 "2012-10-17T11:30:47Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I’m dismayed by these remarks. Can you please explain what you’re talking about? He could, but he’d need a paper towel tube and a copy of the constitution. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-former-republicans-awakening-about-voter-id-laws/637911/18 "2012-10-17T11:31:44Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > It’s not about the voter ID laws, **Bricker**. It’s about the systematic effort of making it more difficult to _obtain_ ID’s. And yet the objections have not centered on this point. Indeed, in Pennsylvania, the state government created a new, more easily obtainable ID and still the apoplexy ensued. ---
**Author:** ![Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-former-republicans-awakening-about-voter-id-laws/637911/19 "2012-10-17T11:42:38Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > And yet the objections have not centered on this point. Indeed, in Pennsylvania, the state government created a new, more easily obtainable ID and still the apoplexy ensued. Well, I wouldn’t necessarily call the state supreme court apoplectic when they shut that whole thing down, would you? They concluded that the process placed an undue burden on voters and would disenfranchise them. Exactly the position taken by your opponents here. Besides which, your tune up until now has been that if it’s legal it’s right. Seems like you ought to be singing that the situation in PA is right. It was the outcome of the legal process, after all. Right? ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-former-republicans-awakening-about-voter-id-laws/637911/20 "2012-10-17T11:53:37Z")
**Bricker** , “overwhelming public support” is not a good measure of whether something infringes on civil rights. Nor is what state legislatures focus on a good measure of whether it is the crux of a problem. Pennsylvania’s ID-getting law did not increase the hours, nor the placements, of DMV locations. There’s a good article linked in the OP - did you read it? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-former-republicans-awakening-about-voter-id-laws/637911.md?page=2)