Contrary to the belief that voter ID laws are designed to halt the voting of African Americans—who normally vote Democrat (most strict photo ID laws are in Republican states) — most Americans actually support voter ID laws.
A recent poll done by the Washington Post showed that 79 percent of white voters supported voter ID laws and 62 percent of black voters supported them as well.
But the question isn’t “What will voter ID laws do?” it’s “Why the hell are we having this discussion?” Voting is already a pain in the ass and we all know that voting turnout in this country is an embarrassment. So why are we trying to make the process even harder than it already is?
The idea is that enacting these kinds of laws will suppress voter fraud, which is a major threat to you, your baby, your puppy and your job. Except that it’s not true.
In another poll done by the aforementioned Post they came to the discovery that since 2000, 31 people have committed voter fraud, out of one billion voters. I’m not a math guy, but I’m sure an ant would tower over that percentage.
And in the grand scheme of millions of votes in an election, 31 votes is literally NOTHING. We like to say each vote counts, and one vote can change the world, but only if we times that vote by one million. Yes, one million votes can change the world. Not 31, and especially not 31 over 14 years. And if you’re saying “so we should just let them do it?” the answer is yes, let them. They are doing more work for practically no reason, which is almost too funny.
And even if states are still scared to death that “dirty immigrants” are gonna vote, they should fight just as hard to ensure citizens can vote and to ensure they can’t. These laws make it harder for people without ID to vote, not easier.
If these strict laws are enacted, then it should be a law for the state to make sure every affected citizen is given the opportunity to have a voter ID if they have no other forms (driver’s license, passport, etc.). These should be free of charge, no exceptions.
In 2005 Jimmy Carter even suggested that mobile ID vans go to areas of “underserved communities” and give out free IDs so everyone can vote. Now the idea of Carter passing out free IDs in a peanut scented van sounds hilarious, it’s actually a genius idea. Give out free IDs, make getting them accessible and if after that if people are too lazy to get IDs then it’s totally on them, not the state for not trying hard enough.
That streamlines voting and can even do away with the whole “fill out a bunch of papers and register” crap. Have people their valid ID, scan it (your driver’s license has a barcode, go check), scan it, they vote and their back home in time for tea. Once it’s scanned it can’t be scanned again until next voting season. I think if we can give a phone the resolution of an IMAX screen, we can figure that technology out.
But that’s just to make voting easier if you do indeed wish to fight for such an odd policy. In a way, those fighting for voter IDs are fighting a losing battle. The big battle is getting people to vote easily, if at all. I bet you $20 the guy next to you has no idea who’s running this midterm, or even that there’s an election.
