Posted on 05/10/2006 12:41:11 PM PDT by mathprof
"Vote early -- and often." We hear this quip every time an election rolls around, and with good reason: Electoral fraud is as old as the ballot box itself and still happens in the United States. Just last year a judge in Washington state ruled that some 1,678 illegal votes were cast in its 2004 election -- more than enough to change the outcome of the governor's race.
Few concepts matter more in a republican democracy than the credibility of "one person, one vote." Yet no nationwide standard exists to prevent fraud at the voting booth.
Some states, including Virginia, sensibly demand photo identification before allowing someone to vote. Neighboring Maryland, meanwhile, is heading in the opposite direction. A new state law there will let anyone cast a provisional ballot anywhere in the state -- a move that could allow one person to vote in several different places on the same day.
At the end of Election Day, "Nothing is more important than the integrity of elections -- not even defeating the Republicans in November." And don't take my word for it; those are the words of Blair Lee IV, the Democratic commentator who ran his father's successful 1980 gubernatorial campaign in Maryland.
To prevent fraud in elections, the federal government should set some minimum standards. After all, the Constitution gives states the initial power to establish the "times, places and manner" of holding elections, but it specifically permits Congress to change those election procedures.
A good first step would be to require every voter to show a photo ID.
Some liberals oppose this rudimentary reform. They claim that, since the poor are less likely to have photo IDs or driver's licenses, it would impinge on their civil right to vote.
(Excerpt) Read more at suntimes.com ...
I'd love to see fingers getting dipped in ink as well.
I don't know if that is the law here in Texas, but we do have to show a photo ID when we go to vote...I think that is a good thing..and think everyone in every state should have to do that..I was kidding around with the lady and ask her if my mother had voted yet.she looked and said she isn't on here does she live in another county..I told her then I was kidding..She did not get angry she said that should be the question people ask about their dead relatives so they can make sure no one is using the name..
But.....but.....then Mexico, dead people, and rabid multi voting liberals wouldn't be able to decide our elections for us. Oh no! What now? What now?
I would have been against a voter government ID in the past, but the moral and ethical past is gone. The inmates have taken over the asylum, and it's time to get serious about legal and singular voting. I see no alternative. It's the only way to guarantee a fair election.
There will be ID card fraud, so the government would have to account for that and make the cards as unreproducible as possible - like currency.
Just look at who stands against actually positively identifying voters: race hustlers, democrats, unions, poverty pimps, ACLU... you know it is the right thing to do.
Yes, the vote tally will go down... but only because illegitimate voters will no longer "vote". Turnouts in heavily minority districts will sink back to the 20-25% that actually go to the polling place, if Dem ward leaders can no longer cast votes "on behalf" of those who chose not to show up.
I spent the past 7 years in Los Angeles. I never showed any ID, and always felt like I could have just pointed to any name on the poll worker's clipboard and said "that's me". Of course I was about the only Republican in the neighborhood and always had just one booth instead of the seven Dem booths set up.
*****Few concepts matter more in a republican democracy*****
...arent we a democratic republic?
I'm just coming off my Con. Law final exam; not that, that means I have any idea what I'm talking about!
By the way I'm offically done with my first year of law school; probably the most intense year I've had.
Oregon has vote by mail and is issueing drivers licenses to illegals...the horse is out of the barn. I'm really glad this isn't a battleground state in federal elections.
I went to vote Tuesday and gave them my name and address. When I laid my driver's license before the lady, she chuckled and said, "We don't require those, Mr. Davis." I told her they ought to, but six or seven of the poll workers know me by my first name - not by what some call me - so I guess they felt like I was legit.
There should be some sort of centralized database, with every voter registered in it. Would prevent people from having active registrations in a location they no longer live in (easily used by fraudulent voters), in addition to an active registration in their new location. Would be much esier to remove dead people and felons. Credit card companies manage this on a global level -- instant verification that the card number in question is attached to an active account, as well as very quick detection of improbable or impossible card use patterns (like making on-site purchases in Florida and New York a couple of hours apart).
agreed - what's wrong with dipping fingers? keeps people with multiple identities from voting multiple times.
all them democrat "needy" type have ID's to cash them government checks don't they?
If you are a registered voter in the precint and forget to bring your registration card, a photo ID, such as a drivers license, photo id issued by the DPS, or a photo ID issued by an employer are acceptable forms of ID. There are some other forms acceptable, as well.
Why we do not require some form of ID when voting has always been a mystery to me. Also when registering we should require proof of citizenship.
I did move, last September... out of the state entirely!
National IDs! (Not)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.