A voting setback (but voting without an ID still a fundamental right in Maryland)

The Baltimore Sun ^ | April 30, 2008 | Baltimore Sun Editorial

[sickoflibs]

By upholding Indiana's voter identification law, the U.S. Supreme Court has virtually ignored the nation's ignominious history of disenfranchising certain groups and sanctioned an overly restrictive solution in search of a problem. While the court's 6-3 ruling is not expected to have a major effect on the coming presidential election, it is likely to encourage more states to follow Indiana's lead, guaranteeing that more Americans could be denied one of the most basic rights in a democracy. Maryland should stick to its convictions and continue rejecting stricter voter ID requirements.

The Indiana law requires voters who show up at the polls to present a photo identification that, for all intents and purposes, can be satisfied only by a driver's license or a U.S. passport. State officials rationalized the law as a way to combat voter fraud, modernize election procedures and deal with an administrative problem of people who had either died or moved away continuing to show up on voter rolls. But challengers of the law rightly pointed to the deterrent effect it can have on the elderly and poor people who don't drive and for whom having to get a government-issued photo ID could be a burden.

But there's no mistaking the trouble with this ruling - it gives a green light to those who want to impose contemporary versions of poll taxes and literacy tests.

Rooting out voter fraud may be a legitimate concern, but ID laws such as Indiana's have taken on a distinctly partisan cast - generally favored by Republicans and opposed by Democrats - and seem to be more about limiting the right to vote. In a nation where voter participation is pretty pitiful, states such as Maryland that have successfully resisted stricter voting requirements come closer to the democratic ideal

[sickoflibs]

RE :”here in Indiana you have to show photo ID to purchase over the counter cough medicines that contain codeine.”

It’s not codine it’s pseudoephedrine for crystal meth, same requirement here. Codeine is prescription here.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/meth/faqs/

[rockrr]

“...closer to the democratic ideal...”

Indeed. Welcome to the DNC. Vote early, vote often. Don’t let a little thing like being an illegal alien, a felon, or dead stop you...

[GMMC0987]

I stand corrected.

Also several of my wives prescriptions require Photo ID.

[Americanexpat]

So who the hell is being disenfranchized, the dead or illegals?

[Mygirlsmom]

What Documents Will I Need to Provide to Social Security? You may need to provide some documents that are required to process your application. When you finish your electronic application, we will tell you what documents you need to submit and where to submit them. The types of documents we may ask for are:
* Your original birth certificate or other proof of birth;
* Your original citizenship or naturalization papers;
* Your U.S. military service paper(s) (e.g., DD214 - Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty);
* Your W-2 form(s) and/or self-employment tax returns for last year.

The elderly presumably have already gone through an identifying process to be able to claim Social Security and Medicare benefits. Couldn't have been too hard.

The real question is why would a party of "compassion" want to doom anyone it purports to want to help to a life "in the shadows" that lack of identification would force upon them?

[TYVets]

In St Louis, Missouri dead Demorats would be deeply offended by being required to show an ID.

[oldoverholt]

I have never been prouder to be a Hoosier... way to go Indiana...

[Phantom Lord]

Also several of my wives prescriptions require Photo ID.

How many wives do you have?

[detective]

Maryland is an corrupt, one party state. Elections in Maryland are much like elections in the former Soviet Union.

[Condor51]

But there's no mistaking the trouble with this ruling - it gives a green light to those who want to impose contemporary versions of poll taxes and literacy tests.

Whoa... when did they outlaw literacy tests? Heck, literacy tests should be mandatory for everyone. After all do we want illiterate moron Congressmen writing our laws?

Huh? Oh ... they're talking about 'Voting', not those running for Congress. Okay ... never mind.

[HowardLSmith.ô¿ô]

The Supreme Court has opened the door!

It is time for us to use the courts more actively to stop the illegal voting in those states that do not require IDs.

We need to start class action lawsuits demanding protection for votes placed by legal voters in states that encourage voting from unidentifiable persons.

Everyone from these states who know lawyers with big futures should float this idea, it is a definite winner and fast route to the SC.