Requiring IDs at polls disenfranchises voters

Philadelphia Inquirer ^ | August 19, 2002 | Jonathan M. Stein

[End Times Sentinel]

A major election is coming this fall, and it has become mischief time in Harrisburg. It's not Halloween pranks that are being readied, but some pernicious electoral games reminiscent of the Jim Crow South that are being rolled out in legislation that has passed the state House and is awaiting consideration in the state Senate.

The bill, if passed, would disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of elderly, disabled, low-income and homeless voters of all political persuasions in Pennsylvania.

[End Times Sentinel]

Poor, poor disenfranchised voters. So plugged into the political scene that they’ll have no clue that they’ll have to identify themselves to vote. Probably really informed about the issues too. What would Democracy be with out their votes, and the votes of thousands of democrats cast multiple times at multiple polling stations?

Simply put- there’s no charge to get a voter registration card, so there’s no poll tax. If you were foolish enough to throw your card away, just show some other form of ID, drivers license, non drivers identification, whatever you use to cash your welfare check at the check cashing place.

The purported purpose is to prevent fraud, although no one has demonstrated that current provisions for a signature comparison at the polls, backed by criminal penalties, are inadequate.

Oh, Mr. Stein, if only you’d bothered to check your facts rather than begin by trying to defend you ill informed opinion… Owl_Eagle Exposes Fraud at Polls! Smashes Dems!!!

Owl_Eagle

”Unleash the Hogs of Peace.”
P.J. O’Rourke Parliament of Whores

[Jim Noble]

>>But some voters do not have cars and driver licenses and are not jet-setters<<

I favor restricting the franchise to jet-setters.

So there!

[mewzilla]

Disenfranchises voters? D'uh. Yeah. Asking for ID disenfranchises dead voters, alien voters, double-dipping voters...I guess I'm missing the point here. What's the problem with disenfranchising illegal voters?

/sarcasm

[Numbers Guy]

The purported purpose is to prevent fraud, although no one has demonstrated that current provisions for a signature comparison at the polls, backed by criminal penalties, are inadequate.

The author's naivete is laughable. Either that or else it's a deliberate effort to help the Rundell machine continue its vote fraud.

What's wrong with showing a photo ID on Election Day? This may not be burdensome for those of us with photo ID driver licenses or U.S. passports. But some voters do not have cars and driver licenses and are not jet-setters.

Every non-driver I know has a state-issued photo ID card. It's kind of hard to cash a check without one.

[dawn53]

In Florida you have to produce a photo ID plus your voter registration card, and they even check your signature against your voter ID signature (audible gasp)!!!!

[JoeSixPack1]

Obtaining a non-driver's-license ID in Pennsylvania involves a $10 fee.....

Eliminate the fee. duh!

[Sabertooth]

Senate Bill 824 would require - for the first time - that all voters produce their county voter registration card or a driver's license or other form of photo identification. The purported purpose is to prevent fraud, although no one has demonstrated that current provisions for a signature comparison at the polls, backed by criminal penalties, are inadequate.

He has a point. I suppose the signature of honor system could work for alcohol purchases, also.

[ClearCase_guy]

These expenditures, being asked of some already living beneath the poverty level, can be compared with the $1.50 charge that the former Confederate state of Virginia exacted as an annual poll tax for voting.

Not that we're saying that George W. Bush and the rest of the GOP are racist crackers who hate black people and want to bring back Jim Crow. No, we're not saying that at all.

[tomkat]

The bill, if passed, would disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of elderly, disabled, low-income and homeless voters of all political persuasions in Pennsylvania.

bullsh!t.

what it would do is cut down on the number of autumn 'resurrections',
and keep the minority vote within the mathematically expected range of </= 100% ...

[Between the Lines]

Question: It is required in most states that an adult carry a photo ID on at all times. Is this not the case in Penn?

[twyn1]

As soon as I read this I thought "Rendell must not be getting the poll numbers he expected"...there was much talk here in PA about (Democratic) voter fraud during the Presidential election, with some districts having frankly unbelievable turn-outs recorded (like 98%). It's very easy to get a new voter ID card, my Mom just moved to a new address and she talked to someone on the local election board and had a new card in a week or so--no charge.

[winin2000]

Eliminate the fee. duh!

This is the most obvious answer, and one I would support. The cost of a free ID card program in exchange for some honest elections? I'd take it in a heartbeat.

Of course, then it'd be fun watching them scramble for some other non-argument about how requiring ID is somehow unfair.

[San Jacinto]

Question--What's the problem with disenfranchising illegal voters?
Answer-- Fewer Democrats would get elected.

For Mr. Stein, that would clearly be a major problem.

[MissAmericanPie]

People who cannot do a simple thing like proving who they are need to be disenfranchised. I don't agree that a drivers license is adequate proof. Voting is a priviledge that requires responsibility, not being able to hang onto a voter's registration card is a sign of irresponsibility. The irresponsible can go fishing on election day.

We require from these same elderly and minoirties responsible gun registration and a vote is just as dangerous a weapon as a gun as far as the political life of the USofA is concerned. This legislation like all legislation doesn't go far enough, it doesn't go nearly far enough, and if we can't get this piece of fluff passed, protecting American voters from fraud then the time really has come to vent our displeasure to our elected. Hit the phones in support of this inadequate piece of trash, it's better than nothing at all.

[PetroniDE]

It is not that the states require them (I think most do not), but it is impossible to function without one.

Rent videos for the weekend, need picture ID.
Deposit a pay check and want to draw $50 for the weekend, need picture ID.
Want to write a check at grocery store, need picture ID.
Use credit card for a significant size purchase, need picture ID.
At some places, need to enter work building or visit a customer, need picture ID.
Want to buy cigarettes or lottery tickets and look young, need picture ID.

[upstatenyrepublican]

you are so right! Who doesn't carry ID? Criminals, illegal aliens, people voting twice....cemetary reincarnators etc.

[End Times Sentinel]

As soon as I read this I thought "Rendell must not be getting the poll numbers he expected"...

Rendell seems, actually, to be running away with the election, but the Dems see Senate Bill 824 as a major road block to their historical campaign strategies.

Owl_Eagle

” WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
DIVERSITY IS STRENGTH"

[I Hired Craig Livingstone]

Obtaining a non-driver's-license ID in Pennsylvania involves a $10 fee.....

Eliminate the fee. duh!

Exactly. But, of course, that would be too easy.

[G-Bear]

"Question: It is required in most states that an adult
carry a photo ID on at all times."

Please name the states where this is true.

[Kaslin]

Obtaining a non-driver's-license ID in Pennsylvania involves a $10 fee.....

Eliminate the fee. duh!

How much is a drivers lisence in PA and so what if a non-drivers lisence costs $10