Again, you're missing the point.
There is no systemic voter fraud taking place. It's a boogeyman invented by the Republican party to push their agenda. People can cite sources all day where dead people are still on voter rolls, but it doesn't mean that actual fraud is happening in that manner. The most likely vector for voter fraud is absentee ballots, which nobody seems to give a damn about, presumably because they're heavily used by older white voters.
In an effort to "eliminate" voter fraud by requiring a photo ID like a driver's license, they are in effect enacting a poll tax. Getting a photo ID isn't free. Maybe it should be, but it's currently not.
I'd gladly support a push for a photo voter ID that is completely free to replace the current voter registration cards we currently have. Or how about this, require that states offer free photo IDs to registered voters who don't drive, and even better, allow them to get them on voting day if they want. Of course, then you're getting into the murky water of state's rights. Does the Federal Govt have the authority to require all states offer free photo voter IDs?
I'm not against tightening up the current system, as long as it doesn't create disenfranchised voters. We should be always looking for ways to get more people to vote, not less. If you make it even more of a hassle than it already is, people just won't do it.
Finally, I'd like to address the issue of convicted felons voting. Just so you know, not all convicted felons are prohibited from voting. It depends on where they live, how long since they committed the crime, and the specific laws that apply to them. It's complicated. There's a pretty good article here...
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1789/why-cant-felons-vote
Assuming you agree that felons shouldn't vote, which I do not, the fact is that many felons who have voted didn't know that they weren't allowed to vote (see complicated laws above), and requiring a photo ID wouldn't do anything to prevent that unless their photo ID had "CONVICTED FELON" in large letters across the front along with the date of the infraction, and even then, it would be up to the people working the polling place to know their state laws about felons and voting and how to apply them correctly to each case.
As a side note, did you know that Texas has the highest prison population in the united states? They build giant prisons and take inmates from other states. This population counts toward the total population for government representation and redistricting, even though they cannot vote. More info...
http://www.prisonersofthecensus.org/impact.html
The prison system is big business as well. States with large prison populations rake in quite a bit of federal funding for the prison system based on the headcount in their prisons. More inmates = more money. They just want to make sure that none of those heads can vote.
GroovyMAME support forum on BYOAC
|
Index 
Flat 
Re: Renewed my Drivers License Friday morning.
Reply
