Voter ID – A Non-Non-Starter
Two negatives make a positive. Ergo, the title.
The Arizona AG reported several weeks ago that as many as 218,000 registered voters in the state have not met the required proof of citizenship to vote in the upcoming election. Yet the AG is resisting a court challenge to remove them.
Arizona, along with most states, provides the opportunity to register to vote when getting a driver’s license.
Then comes California. Recent legislation, signed by Gov. Newsome, removes voter ID requirements for local elections. The law actually makes it illegal to require voter ID. In explaining the new law, Attorney General Rob Bonta was quoted: “…ensuring that every eligible voter can cast their ballot without hardship. Imposing unnecessary obstacles to voter participation disproportionately burdens low-income voters, voters of color, young or elderly voters, and people with disabilities.
Let me ask a simple question. Why is it a burden, a hardship, to certain voters to obtain and have an ID in order to vote?
The only potentially reasonable answer is that those non-ID voters do not have the mental capability to register to vote.
14 States do not require ID before casting a vote.
In addition, 8 states and D.C. allow voting by mail for all voters for all elections. In those situations, ballots are mailed early to everyone carried on the registered voter rolls. Without regular purging those voter lists, states open the door to voter fraud. State lists that carry people who have died, moved to another jurisdiction within the state or have left the state open themselves up to fraud.
It’s likely that most voters, especially the younger folks, do not consider the privilege it is to vote.
A little history here.
In 1787, when those present at the first constitutional convention were writing it, demonocracy was not present in any country in the world, and voting for government leaders did not exist.
When the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1789 by the states, world countries were mostly monarchies. Many had kings and/or queens, others had princes. Many of the rulers of countries considered themselves divine.
In America, democracy was founded. It’s why many still call it an experiment in government. The first constitution limited voting to white landowners.
In the 1820s, property qualifications for voting began to be eliminated.
In 1870, following the civil war, the 15 Amendment was passed and ratified giving the vote to men of all races. Despite the amendment, within a few years numerous discriminatory practices were used to prevent Black citizens from exercising their right to vote, especially in the South.
The 19th Amendment prohibited states from denying the vote based on sex. So, women were given the privilege to vote in 1920.
The 24th Amendment removed barriers to voting by prohibiting a poll tax.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 secured voting rights for adult citizens of all races and genders, making it a federal law that enforced the voting amendments.
So we see that voting was of prime importance to citizens as the right to vote was extended over the years, culminating in all adult citizens having the privilege. The exceptions are those citizens who are either in prison, or in some states, who have been convicted of a felony. That too has been changing.
The point is simple. Voting rights have been extended to all citizens over the years. People without the privilege ‘fought’ for it. Our government representatives know we want all to have the right to participate in our democracy – and for all to have some skin in the game, so to speak.
At the same time, we all agree on the “one man, one vote” concept. While we want all to have the privilege, we don’t want a scenario where votes of non-citizens or unregistered voters are counted. We also do not want a scenario where the vote of one person is counted more than once in any state or in the country.
In addition, most of us believe that putting a little effort into exercising the privilege to vote should not be eliminated.
Getting an ID is not complicated or burdensome for anyone. Most people have a driver’s license. Citizens without a driver’s license must generally prove their identities by residency, citizenship and that they hold a valid Social Security Number.
In the U.S., a photo ID is required for numerous activities, including buying alcohol, opening a bank account, applying for food stamps, welfare, Medicaid, and Social Security, renting or buying a house, buying or renting a car, flying on an airplane, getting married, purchasing a gun, adopting a pet, applying for a hunting license, renting a hotel room, getting a fishing license, buying a cell phone, picking up prescription medication, visiting a casino, holding a protest or rally, donating blood, purchasing mature-rated video games, purchasing tobacco, and applying for unemployment benefits.
I seriously doubt potential citizen voters do not participate in one of more of the activities outlined in the previous paragraph. For those rare exceptions of those people who live under a rock somewhere, they can still get an ID.
Want to vote? Let’s expect people to do the simple things to exercise the privilege.
It’s a non-starter.
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Have a great and prosperous week.
Hug somebody.
References:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/voter-identification-states-law-map-rcna137555
https://www.history.com/news/voting-rights-timeline
SPIDER Bytes
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