LogFAQs > #900286612

Corrik posted...

It takes virtually no effort to get a damn ID. Zero excuse.

Do you STILL believe this is true for all americans? That is a shame.

I'll cover this again and I'll try to be brief. Ahem.

1) In many states it takes MONEY to get an official ID.

It isn't always a lot of money (it's around 30 where I live), but for the poorest americans it can be the difference between buying some much needed groceries, or a bus pass, or some other vital expense that will help them to continue providing for themselves in some small way that is more important than spending 30 bucks on a piece of plastic with their picture on it that they don't need for literally anything else.

It's not as direct as a straight up pay-to-vote poll tax, but the effect is similar. It's a barrier to entry that excludes some of the poorest Americans. You should NOT lose your right to vote on the basis of being very poor.

.

2) In many locations it takes a long TIME to wait at the DMV to get your ID.

This is important for much the sames reasons as point number 1. Time is money. If your choice it so spend 3 hours at work making money, or 3 hours waiting at the DMV spending money, most people will opt for the one that doesn't waste their time and money.

.

3) In addition to the amount of time it takes to wait at the DMV, there are also some locations where DMV access is either sparse or has very limited days/hours that they are open.

So not only do you have to spend money you might not be able to afford, and spend time you might not have, some people also have to try to fit their schedule into the very limited window that their distant DMV is open. And of course DMVs cutting their hours of availability only increases the wait time because now the same amount of people have to get stuff done during a smaller window of time.

.

Now none of these points particularly affected me, but that's no reason not to understand the points or have empathy for people who are affected. Just because I've been fortunate enough to be able to afford a state ID even before I was driving, or just because I'm fortunate enough to have 2 DMVs within 10 miles, or just because I'm fortunate enough to be have local DMVs that allow online appointments and have the availability to attend them... Just because that stuff all works for me, doesn't mean I can just ignore the fact that it doesn't work for everyone.

Combine all this with the fact that it "fixes" a non issue.

-You register to vote using your social security number.
-You register to vote using a proof of address of some kind (utility bill, etc)

That is an difficult 1-2 punch to get around. Only people with SSNs and proof of address can register in the first place and someone would have to know exactly where that persons polling place is to vote instead of them. It simply doesn't happen very much at all. But hey, let's pretend it's a bigger deal so we can exclude many more poor votes than potentially fraudulent ones!

There is a reason that strict voter ID laws are being struck down, and with any luck will continue to be struck down. You are on the wrong side of this issue if you are supporting a poll tax of any kind, even an indirect one like this.
---

~C~ FD
http://i.imgur.com/dGDfxaw.png