Ditto for California and New Jersey (and probably Illinois and Louisiana - it was long enough ago that I forget.)
(Mine was an informational question–just to be clear to the viewers at home. I had never encountered a system that did not require a signature and simply wished to be sure I understood the situation.)
In the states I’ve voted in (until recently when Colorado began to require ID) I’ve had to fill out a card with my name, address, and signature. I don’t remember the signature ever being compared to anything, but I may not have noticed that occurring.
In Deearborn,Mi we hand our voter card to poll worker. We sign our name. I can not guarantee any expertise but the signature is there for comparison.
Thye point is not is not that it is easy to commit vote fraud,but is there proof that it is a big problem. I have seen no statistics to prove it.
Drivers licenses are state instruments with varying degrees of proof needed according to local laws. It would be possble to demand a passport as proof of citizenship. Going across the border to Canada will soon require it.
A malicious hacker has the potential to do far, far, far more damage than a few stray illegals voting on their own.
OK, let’s assume everyone gets their free, government issued ID to vote. Now, we’re all sure that the elderly poll workers, who do their job once a year (at best) are completely qualified to check ids and discern fakes.
What do you do for these simple ids if you lived in the Gulf last year. All your rrecords are gone .Bitrh cirtificates and anything you kept in the house. Legal records missing .Court records gone.
I’ll even grant you that, but what does one have to do with the other? As I said earlier, I think both problems need to be addressed.
I’m not BrainGlutton, but part of the problem with the Diebold machines is that several of the published attacks leave no evidence of their presence, and so there’s no way to prove that a given machine has been tampered with. Even if finding evidence of false voters is hard, that’s a step down from “impossible”. Moreover, securable edit logs are a solved problem (your company’s servers have some), so closing these holes has no downside. Implementing a voter ID scheme may disenfranchise some folk, and it definitely sets every voter back $85, so more care is warranted here IMO.
Well, that’s a good question there, Gonzo, but since the majority of those who lost everything in the wake of the hurricane are poor, more than likely minorities, and probably vote democratic, I’m sure there’s no harm in waiting to address that concern until after the election…if ever. Hey, all the more reason to pass voter ID legislation toute suite. Now excuse me while I go press my white hood.
All the discussion about how easy we perceive the process to be does’t deal with the question. Is there any proof that voting fraud is rampant ?I have not heard of it.
I haven’t seen any evidence proving the assertion that voter fraud is rampant. I’m sure voter fraud happens from time to time, but I believe those who are trying to elevate the matter to the level of a critical and urgent epidemic are simply wrong, and probably knowingly so, but [hopping on my soapbox again] what do the facts or being correct have anything to do with how the current administration and its lackeys, yes, even at the local level, conducts anything? Everything they do seems to be agenda-laden and duplicitous, designed to obfuscate, distract and tar. I don’t believe for one bloody second that any voter ID legislation promoted by this bunch has anything whatsoever to do with voter fraud, illegal aliens, turrrrrrism, Gay marriage, the attack on Christmas, evolution, abortion, or anything else those throwbacks to the Dark Ages can think of to scare people.[/hop]
The difference is that there’s a much, much stronger temptation for those running the game to rig it than there is for most people to vote under false pretenses. The latter might or might not make a difference in an election, but you can make sure the former will, if you’re in a position to use that tactic in the first place.
In any case, you are misreading my positions. I am for using Diebold machines if they come with that add-on that provides an independently verifiable paper trail. And I am for a national ID card if it is provided at no cost to the holder – not to address any “false voter” problem but to eliminate the necessity of registering to vote at all (your ID card would be your registration).
A recent study, commissioned (and suppressed) by the U.S. Electoral Assistance Commission, finds no significant “false voter” problem.
Thanx to Apos for bringing this to my attention.