Voter IDs?

[Tom Flapwell]

Voter ID Check Unfair to Many
In response to Monday's poll question ("Should voters be required to present identification to participate in elections?"), approximately 20 million voting-age Americans don't have photo identification. They cannot afford to buy liquor, go to a club, board an airplane or have a credit card. They don't have a bank account. They don't have or need, or can't afford a car, and so have no driver's license. There has never been a reported case of in-person fraud in America. Most voter fraud occurs with absentee ballots, and ID requirements do nothing to stop this fraud. Such requirements are not needed and disenfranchise several million Americans.

Until now, I thought there was no argument to be made against photo ID requirements for voting. I assumed that anyone who didn't have an ID was either a kid, a non-citizen, a criminal, or someone too out of touch with the outside world to vote.

But... no reported cases of in-person voter fraud in America? What system do we have in place that would prevent it from happening as it apparently has in other countries? I wonder if there are plenty of frauds that simply never get caught.

[Doc Sigma]

This is by my reading of the law, and isn't necessarily fact... but, Article 1 of the Constitution (which says that voting is a right), combined with the 14th Amendment (Equal Protection Clause), would seem to imply that requiring ID to vote would be illegal unless the government gives everybody the ID for free.

[Hanging Tree]

I guess by no cases of in person fraud they complety ignore voting practived prior to the 1900s. It use to be common practice it big cities to have people vote as many times as they had time for. Tammany Hall didn't controll New York city for pretty much all of the 1800s because they were honest hardworking politicians.

[rabid_fox]

I think Voter ID sounds like a very good idea.

Then again, I just think that voting sounds like a great idea. One day, I'll have the chance to vote in an election, I tells you. Democracy - sounds like a nice place, I'd love to visit!

[CodeCat]

I think ID is a good idea, but so is free ID.

[Zaaphod]