Carded at polls: No photo ID, no vote

Source: MSNBC/AP

There's the poor, 32-year-old mother of seven who says it would cost her at least $50 to vote in person. There's also the 92-year-old woman who's voted for decades in the same polling place, but now can't vote there because she let her driver's license expire when her eyesight began to fail.

These folks live in Indiana, home of the country's most restrictive photo-identification voter law. The U.S. Supreme Court is now scrutinizing whether that statute violates the first and 14th amendments, in the most contentious legal battle over voting since the high court issued a bitterly divided decision eight years ago that stopped Florida's recount and handed the presidency to George W. Bush.

If the law is upheld, voting rights advocates fear it will encourage conservative lawmakers across the country to enact equally restrictive measures. The high court's decision is expected in the summer - leaving time to impact November's general election.

Opponents, most of them Democrats, say requiring photo ID at the polls disproportionately affects the poor, the elderly and minorities - the most likely to lack photo identification.

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In states that narrowly lost fights that would force voters to produce this kind of identification, efforts are already underway to resurrect those more restrictive laws - in anticipation of a favorable ruling from the high court.



Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22806147/

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Another cog in the Repukes wheel of stealing elections!

Too few, probably. Otherwise they might get a clue as to what's happening to America.

Our peaceful marches and petitions and boycots and letter-writing have failed.

IF they're really serious about the reason being solely to ensure that the person and the name on the rolls match, that is.

although that would make it an unconstitutional poll tax. There is also the fact that getting to the DMV or wherever they would be produced is a great hassle for some people (the mother of many children in the OP, for example, who would need a babysitter). Add to that the fact that every time you move, you would have to get a new one. If you don't drive, are disabled, work odd hours, have heavy family responsibilities, or for many other reasons, it's more of a burden than the state should impose on people who just want to exercise their right to vote.

When you move, you have to re-register. Just make it part of the process.

Wisconsin and several other states allow voters to register or reregister at the polls on election day. This is a wonderful system, not the least because in states that require prior registration, what would you do if your registration is lost or screwed up? Lose your vote for that election, most likely, through no fault of your own. That's unacceptable. Here if you are not on the list for some reason, the poll workers will register you, no problem. But it wouldn't be feasible to have photographic equipment at each ward and produce ID cards on the spot.

This is an opportunity for them to do some actual good in the world-- making certain that everyone otherwise eligible to vote has the necessary identification. In states with restrictive voter ID laws, local GOTV efforts should include voter ID assistance for the poor, elderly, disabled, and so on. Assuming that the court upholds the Indiana law, of course. This need not be a serious impediment to voters.

Note that I'm not expressing support for these sorts of laws-- they're a thinly veiled attempt to disenfranchise voters. Rather, I think that they can be circumvented if the will exists.

Since we have started using electronic voting without paper trails how do we know anybodies vote counts. How can we be sure that the machines haven't been "hacked" and the results of the election are predetermined. Maybe the fix is in.

who can't get to the polls or are out of town?

Voters who use mail-in ballots are not required to show photo ID.

control the absentee ballots?

photo ID.

I don't like it.

One can vote here with several forms of ID.

Just another way of keeping people from voting.

Which means they would be forced to travel out of state and try to get their birth certificate. Just too much hassle, and many poor might not get a day off from work to do this.