I just saw a program on voter ID legislation. It is designed to stop voter impersonation. It is very narrow in scope. How big a problem is impersonation. ?In Georgia where bit recently originated, the Secretary of State says in her 5 years she has seen zero incidents. Nationally last election…Zero.
Who doe it impact?
Those without picture ID.
60 percent of the elderly do not have acceptable ID
25 percent of blacks
Homless
Disabled
It is possible you could vote 30 years and get refused at the polls.
We have spent a lot of time the last 20 years trying to get more people voting. Why not any more. Because when voter restriction occurs it cuts Democratic vote by 5 to 6 percent.
Many older voters have never had a birth certificate. My father was born in a t mining town in Colorado which does not even exist anymore. How difficult would it be for him.
Then the AARP will either kill it or nerf it down to some other level. It’s fairly easy to see that such a large and mobile special interest group will take action on something like this that would otherwise kill it outright.
This is the problem. There is no knowledge of how big the problem is, or if it is a problem. Certainly, more than a few of the Big City Machines (mostly Democrat, but I’m not saying they’re intrinsically more corrupt) have very bad track records when it comes to honest voting.
David Iglesias one of the attorneys that the Repubd fired was on TV today. He said they were pissed because he did not jam through voting fraud cases . He said they were not ready or there wrere no case. That was a wrong answer. It is not supposed to be a politicized job but they made it clear that they were supposed to follow orders of the party. Voter fraud was the excuse they were using to get ID and other measures through.
I’ve been working elections for several years now. Though I can’t speak for every locale, I still confidently say this, and I want it on my permanent record:
VOTER ID LAWS ARE DELIBERATELY CRAFTED BY REPUBLICANS IN ORDER TO DISENFRANCHISE POTENTIAL DEMOCRATIC VOTERS, AND HAVE NO OTHER INTENT WHATSOEVER.
The list of ways to commit election fraud is a long one, but voters showing up and casting illegal ballots is not on it. Maybe at one time, but not here, not anymore, and not for a long time. At most, a very few people try it, for whatever reason (pranksterism, sometimes); it’s just too much effort and easy to catch (I’ll concede that some local elections could be swayed that way).
Very recently, we had notebooks with all the registered voters in it, with facsimiles of their signatures. When you come to the polling place, you told me your name, I looked you up, and watched you sign. Very few people can forge a signature at regular writing speed, and poll workers have no incentive to let anyone slide. Plus, we got the fuzz covering our backs, so we don’t intimidate easy. That matching signature got you in. (You also needed to be registered and at the correct precinct, just like now.) The voting fraud that goes on is done in private, by people fucking with paperwork (or computer records) back at the office.
So, the tactic of choice for those who steal elections is to just not have undesirable votes to begin with. Again, there’s lots of ways to do this, ranging from scummy to illegal. “Voter ID” is one of the scummy ways.
I’d like an answer for this too, please. My mind boggles at why so many Americans wouldn’t have ID, or how they could manage without it. As a Canadian, every time I apply for a new passport (which is every five years, when it expires), I must provide a birth certificate. I usually have to present photocopies of government-issued photo ID for security checks for new jobs. Heck, I have to show my driver’s license to pick up packages at the post office! How can an adult in the Western World function without ID? (Assuming, of course, that we’re not talking about illegal immigrants or others actively trying to stay off the radar.) And why do some people consider having to show ID once every four years such a hassle?
I’ve always had a passport because I travel frequently, but I’ve gone long periods of time without a local ID. I don’t drive and rarely get carded for alcohol anymore, so I have no real imperative to renew my ID when it expires. I’m only presented with the need for an ID when I’m getting a new job. If I didn’t work (or had a job I’d kept for a long time) and didn’t travel internationally I could easily get by without.