These two things aren’t generally put in the same debate, but they should be. The recent voter ID laws and the debate surrounding them has got me thinking. As far as I can tell, none of the voter ID laws apply to absentee voters (how could they?). Here in California, you are given the option to permanently vote by mail when you register to vote, or if you’re already registered you can choose that option any time. If they enacted voter ID in California, anyone who had difficulty with it could just fill out the form to become a permanent vote-by-mail voter. I gather this is not the case in other states. But, why not? What’s wrong with allowing people to vote by mail? Couldn’t these states enacting voter ID laws eliminate the controversy by also enacting optional postal voting?
In Ohio, absentee voters have to write their drivers license number or the last 4 digits of their social security number on the ballot envelope, or enclose a copy of some other document like a utility bill or bank statement. The only discrepancy between in person ID and absentee ID is that (IIRC) you can only use your SSN to vote in person if you cast a provisional ballot.