# No ID needed to vote? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 2, 2004, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-id-needed-to-vote/272510 "2004-11-02T08:51:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-id-needed-to-vote/272510/21 "2004-11-02T16:07:36Z")
Oregon is all vote by mail. Our signatures on the ballot envelope are compared to our signatures on file. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-id-needed-to-vote/272510/22 "2004-11-02T17:42:34Z")
This may be a topic for its own thread, but I’m also less than comfortable with the idea that something as imprecise as a signature is used to confirm identity. I think my feelings are quite the opposite of **RealityChuck** ’s - that it is considered valid proof of identity for stuff like credit card transactions is just another example of silliness to me. That said, it seems to be the standard here in California. (I haven’t voted yet today - perhaps there have been changes.) My signature is all over the map, so to speak, and is an illegible scrawl. I’ve considered trying to clean it up, but I have some fear that if anybody ever does try to use it to confirm my identity (I’m skeptical that this has ever been done), I’d be causing myself problems. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-id-needed-to-vote/272510/23 "2004-11-02T17:44:00Z")
I’m a first time voter and I voted early on wednesday. Nobody asked for any proof of ID or anything like that. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-id-needed-to-vote/272510/24 "2004-11-02T17:46:32Z")
Here in Glendale, CA I agve them my street address and name, was confirmed registered and then signed a book. I didn’t see them compare my signature to anything and I gave them no other ID. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-id-needed-to-vote/272510/25 "2004-11-02T18:58:17Z")
They’re pretty stupid here on Long Island. They mail out cards telling you where to vote. I always bring it with me. They look at my name on the card; ask me if I still live at the address on the card. (They assume I’m telling the truth when I say yes; no backup ID requested). You sign the book (I guess if you’re a good forger you could copy last years because it’ right there in the book. The volunteer looks at your signature and sends you to a booth. Also, they still have my sister-in-law registered as living in our house. (She did briefly 7 years ago). I tell the volunteers that she lives in Tennessee but they ignore me. I thought there was a rule that if you didn’t vote after X years, you were automatically dropped from the roles. If she wanted, she could have voted in Tennessee this morning; jumped on a plane and been here in plenty of time to vote twice. Hell, she still has 7 hours to get here… ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-id-needed-to-vote/272510/26 "2004-11-02T19:02:30Z")
Lawrence, Kansas. I walked up, gave them my ID because I’m a first time voter (in this state) and signed by the X. My name had ID typed next to it on the rolls, but other names did not. You have to show ID to get registered OR at the polls. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-id-needed-to-vote/272510/27 "2004-11-02T19:16:13Z")
OK, now I’ve voted today and I can comment with more authority than above. Long Beach, California. I stated my name, and I was looked up in the Big Book. I had my Official Sample Ballot with me, so I showed the backside of that to the worker as an alternative to spelling my name aloud. She found me in the book, and I signed my name in the appropriate spot. I was shuffled down the table and given a ballot. My signature was not compared to anything. I guess I sort of “identified myself” with the sample ballot, although I did this for convenience rather than out of necessity; for all they knew, I could have found somebody else’s sample ballot in the trash several weeks before, when they were mailed. ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-id-needed-to-vote/272510/28 "2004-11-02T19:29:42Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > … since the idea of democracy bothers them. Please keep political comments out of GQ. Thank you. - **xash** General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-id-needed-to-vote/272510/29 "2004-11-02T19:36:10Z")
> [@Johnny L.A.](#): > > In L.A. they looked us up in a book, and we presented a driver’s license for verification of identity. This really suprises me. Because I thought that in California you did not need to present ID to vote. I have never presented ID of any sort to vote in CA. In fact when I was voting, in San Diego, the poll workers were calling back to the base camp to verify if they needed to ask for ID and the result was they did not. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-id-needed-to-vote/272510/30 "2004-11-02T20:14:35Z")
A driver’s license or nondriver ID card costs money. Requiring all voters to present such ID would be requiring them to spend money. That would amount to a poll tax. IIRC Poll taxes are unconstitutional. If the government were to require ID for all voters, it would have to provide such ID free of charge. Cheap ID, such as a voter registration card, could be falsified easily and would not be sufficient protection against fraud. Complicated and expensive ID, such as the photographs and holograms used on drivers’ licenses and nondriver ID cards, would need a massive amount of funding to provide free of charge to all registered voters. The general opinion seems to be that this kind of electoral fraud is not really a problem in the US, and that there is currently no need to take steps to prevent it. ---
**Author:** ![Spurious\_George](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Spurious\_George](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spurious_George)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-id-needed-to-vote/272510/31 "2004-11-02T20:26:01Z")
> [@brad\_d](#): > > California. > > My signature was not compared to anything. I guess I sort of “identified myself” with the sample ballot, although I did this for convenience rather than out of necessity; for all they knew, I could have found somebody else’s sample ballot in the trash several weeks before, when they were mailed. I’ve voted in California many times, and this gibes with the way it always has been for me. The one time I WANTED to present ID, because I had forgotten my sample ballot, it caused a bit of a stir, and they had to check with a supervisor, or a regional headquarters, to make sure it was OK. Re: Fishing ballots out of the trash - I’ve always thought that voter fraud would be remarkably easy in CA. There’s a million ways to get people’s addresses - I think if I wanted to devote the day to it I could probably vote 10 or 20 times. ---
**Author:** ![SnarkySailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@SnarkySailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnarkySailor)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-id-needed-to-vote/272510/32 "2004-11-02T20:59:52Z")
North Carolina here - was not asked for ID. I was surprised and did not like that either. ---
**Author:** ![Zoff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/6de8d8/32.png) [@Zoff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoff)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-id-needed-to-vote/272510/33 "2004-11-02T21:50:12Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Early Out_ > Now [in Virginia], because of a 2002 change in the law, you have to show an ID - a drivers license, your registration card, something that shows who you are. You only need an ID in Virginia if (1) you registered on or after Jan. 1, 2003, (2) you are voting in your first federal election, and (3) you did not send a copy of a valid ID (e.g., driver’s license, utility bill, check with address, bank statement) when you registered. If this is the case and you don’t bring ID to the poll, you will have to cast a provisional ballot. The ballot will be counted once the election board verifies your eligibility to vote. If the above doesn’t apply to you you can vote without showing ID if you sign an affirmation that you are who you claim to be. ---
**Author:** ![rfgdxm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c0e974/32.png) [@rfgdxm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rfgdxm)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-id-needed-to-vote/272510/34 "2004-11-02T22:02:49Z")
> [@Spurious George](#): > > Re: Fishing ballots out of the trash - I’ve always thought that voter fraud would be remarkably easy in CA. There’s a million ways to get people’s addresses - I think if I wanted to devote the day to it I could probably vote 10 or 20 times. Voter registration lists are public record in MI. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-id-needed-to-vote/272510/35 "2004-11-02T22:03:57Z")
I’m in Houston, and voted early last Friday. I had my voter’s registration card with me, and the lady seemed very grateful that I had it! I guess most didn’t have theirs. No ID required for me. They scanned the card (I think) - but it was definitely computerized somehow. A little paper with a number came out of a small printer and they gave it to me. I signed the book. The little papers were color coded so that you would vote at a booth set up for your correct precinct. Took about 5 minutes to vote. Only 4-5 people were in front of me. ---
**Author:** ![tim314](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim314/32/3468_2.png) [@tim314](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim314)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-id-needed-to-vote/272510/36 "2004-11-02T22:25:52Z")
To follow up my OP: I voted today in Michigan. They had me write my name and address on a piece of paper, and sign it. That’s it. No showing ID. As far as I can tell, this means that if I knew my neighbor’s name and address, I could go to the polls and vote as him. Then come back later in the day (they’d never remember what I looked like with so many voters) and vote as myself. Sure, maybe when he showed up (assuming he chose to vote) they’d realize that his name had already been checked off the list. And then they might pull out the card I’d filled out and see that the signature was wrong. (They didn’t check it when I voted.) But, they’d have no way of knowing which vote was mine, since there was nothing on the actual ballot to indicate whose it was. So unless there’s something I’m missing, I’d be able to vote twice and get away scot free. Heck, I could vote more than that if I found out a few other peoples addresses and voted in different precincts. And if I voted for people that I knew weren’t going to vote, they’d never even suspect it. Shouldn’t there be some sort of safeguard in place to prevent this kind of fraud? ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2004, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-id-needed-to-vote/272510/37 "2004-11-02T22:37:32Z")
Travis County, Texas: I showed a voter registration card, signed the book, got my unique login number for the eSlate machine, and voted. I did have to state I still lived at the address on my card/in the book. I did not need to show ID. I usually show a picture ID because I’m not in the habit of carrying my voter card around with me, and usually vote early at work or at the store. The county states the following: > [@Travis County Elections](#): > > Registered voters can vote with a voter registration card, driver’s license or any official photo ID, birth certificate, United States citizenship papers or passport, a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement or other official document that shows the name and address of the voter. First time voters are not required to show a picture, but are required to have a form of id other than their voter card: > [@Travis County Elections](#): > > NOTE TO FIRST-TIME VOTERS: If you are a first-time voter in Travis County who registered to vote by mail and did not previously provide a copy of ID, you must show a form of ID other than a Voter Registration Certificate before voting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/no-id-needed-to-vote/272510.md?page=1)