Jacob Soboroff, Field Vlogger
This week at Why Tuesday? we decided to explore Monday's Supreme Court ruling which determined that requiring voters to show ID to cast a ballot is constitutional. I visited with election law expert Rick Hasen and hopped on the bus to time how long it would take to get a photo ID to vote if you don't already have one. Take a look.
1:09 PM ET | 05- 3-2008 | permalink
You didn't tell us how much it costs to get the ID or what paperwork you need to have (birth cert. or SS card?). If you need those & don't have them because they were lost it would take even longer. What are the requirements in Indiana?
The requirements differ from state to state. I didn't actually get a piece of ID since I already have one; we waited only until my number was called. So our total time should be a bit longer! For a good roundup of state-by-state voter ID laws check out http://electionline.org.
Nice video, but it seemed to miss the real issue. Many elderly people, do not have the ability to travel to the DMV and may not have the required documents necessary to get one. It could take days or weeks, assuming they could arrange for transportation.
Indiana is not Los Angeles. not a fair comparison since a driver's license (photo id)is almost required to get around with the exception of large cities. i know that when i was 18 I was handed a voter registration application when i got my automobile license plates.
Bush is now asking for money from the US taxpayers to pay for the starving people around the world. Why doesn't he call on his buddies like Haliburton that is making literally trillions off the war or the oil companies who are experiencing the highest profits in history. We have the highest rate of graft and corruption under the Bush administration, most of which is causing the problems of food and gas shortages - let the profiteering multi-nationals pick up the tab.
Prof. Hasen has got the best idea. Let's DO IT, everybody has a thumb print.
I find it interesting that in upholding the Indiana voter ID law, the U.S. Supreme Court relied on a lack of evidence that the Indiana voter ID law would disenfranchise low income and elderly voters, while at the same time the evidence of alleged voter fraud was lacking.
C.S. has a good point. Indiana is not Los Angeles. In Indiana, the public transportation sucks ass. So, if someone in Indiana who did not already have a car and a license and $ to fill the tank, this trip would have taken a lot longer, because it would have to take place by foot, bicycle, or horseback. Horseback seems appropriate, since this law sends election rights back about 2 centuries.
Wow, yesterday I had a real life moment that validates the effect of this law. I'm making calls for Obama to voters in Indiana. I spoke to an 88 year old lady who said she was interested in the election but wasn't sure she could get to the polls AND SHE DIDN'T HAVE A PHOTO ID. Getting to the polls is a solvable problem that volunteers could help her with, but why would it be ok to take away her vote after all these years because of this ID requirement? OMG.
I called the Fort Wayne Obama HQ so they could provide direct assistance to her if possible.
Why is time such a pressing issue in the discussion of getting a photo ID in order to vote? We have a presidential election once every FOUR YEARS. Citizens want to vote for the president of these United States? Potential electors have a four year window in which to take the steps necessary to get a photo ID and so be able to participate in that process. If it is the elderly that are the real concern then legislation can be drafted to address that specific and decreasing demographic of people who predate our now highly documented lives. To generalize that a photo ID is a bad idea because of this group seems to be an obstructionist position that misses the point of attempting to enhance the integrity of the election process.
You know, I just don't feel like this is an election issue, it is a personal rights issue. The fact is that disallowing a few votes of the elderly will not skew an election like the malfunctions and missteps of election machines and the humans in charge of them.
On the other hand, discouraging the participation of the underclass is good for the powerful elite but bad for America; not American elections, but America, the idea.
But Ms. Lindow -- that's one of the problems with Indiana's law. It is not narrowly tailored to address voter fraud (none of which was presented as evidence before the Court), and it provides no exceptions to the undocumented elderly.
I heard (prob. on NPR) a comparison re cost-to-get-photo-ID-in-Indiana and cost-to-pay-poll-tax from prior to 1964 (inflation adjusted). The claim was that the cost for the Indiana law exceeds the outlawed poll tax. QUESTION: Can anyone cite sources for this comparison?
1) Helen, there is a national election EVERY TWO YEARS, not just four. And only Indiana's elections department has any idea how many other elections (city, town, school, etc.) occur in-between.
2) A few years ago my mother's purse was lost or stolen. She was not able to get the bank to create new accounts and transfer her existing balances because "You have to have ID to get a (new) bank account". Although my brother was able to get a copy of her birth certificte, neither she nor he has ever been able to come up with any of the other allowed supporting documentation. Of course, had she been an exotic dancer the county-issued "Exotic Dancer License and ID" would have been acceptable, asuming it wasn't also lost. Long story short, after several years she is still without ID.
3) A parapalegiac might not have thumbs. Is (s)he to be disenfranchised?
4) This whole thing is based on the absurd notion that an individual, acting alone, might attempt to double-vote.
5) The aleged solution won't work unless the ID is photocopied onto the ballot at the polling place -- goodbye secret ballot.
6) Absent (5), a corrupt politician wanting to sway an election through, e.g. the cemetary vote, would simply pay election officials to not look very carefully at proffered IDs. (I have heard that fake IDs are pretty easy to come by.)
The problem of voter fraud is a statistical pimple. Those who cannot produce a voter ID, however, are statistically significant, and usually vote Democratic. In other words, the non-issue of voter fraud is a gimmick to influence the election.
As for an ID, if I didn't have a driver's license, I don't know how I would prove who I am. Like most women, I changed my name when I married, so it doesn't match my birth certificate. Having been divorced for 40 years, I no longer have marriage/divorce papers. 25 years ago I took on a new name which I could do legally simply by using it. There is no paper trail between my birth certificate and my present name. If I didn't have a driver's license, what would I do?
The idea of a national photo ID, with or without thumbprint, comes straight out of the right wing's plan for their "new Amerian century," in which the Constitution and the privacy it implies becomes irrelevant. Before you scoff, do the research.
this is a solution in search of a problem. the real "problem" is the need to distract from disenfranchisement by creating a fake issue. the concern for democracy and the voice of the people is underwhelming.
the "integrity" of the elections (ie validation of the will of the people) is already permanently challenged by the low participation levels. of all the phony memes of the far right -- brought to you by the beautiful people of Fox Noise -- (like "fiscal responsibilty" or "we are not in the nation-building business") this is the most caustic and antidemocratic. (small d intended)
thank you to charles richard and joan for some straight talk on the "issue."
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