Opinion: Voter ID: A Good Idea
It has been argued that “granny” might not be able to vote if they make her have a voter ID. But seriously, why all the concern about taking the extra measure of a voter ID to make sure that every vote cast in a United States election is a legally qualified vote, including “granny’s”?
Worse than granny not getting to vote, without an ID she can’t even write a check. In fact, she can’t even open a bank account go get a checkbook anywhere without a photo ID. She can’t even buy Sudafed and other needed-meds at Walgreens without handing over a photo ID. And what if granny lives in a crime-ridden neighborhood where she needs a gun to scare away the bad guys? Forget it – granny can’t buy a gun either. We better hope that granny likes to walk because she’s not getting on an airplane without proof of who she is either. And watch out for grannies who smoke and look darn good for their age because they’ll be hitting you up for a cigarette now and then. Remember, she’ll be asked for a photo ID to buy tobacco – as well as liquor. Granny probably can’t even rent an apartment without proving who she is with some form of ID.
Do you honestly know any grannies who can’t prove who they are with an ID anyway? If you do, I bet they don’t have the right to vote in this country either.
Of course, there’s a study being mentioned via the media which claims that fraudulent voting isn’t a problem in this country anyway. What they aren’t broadcasting is the obvious: if a fraudulent vote is cast illegally-well, it doesn’t get caught! Or maybe people are supposed to believe that the survey-takers ask people as an exit poll: “Excuse me. Did you vote honestly?” Give me a break! There is no study that can positively detect the amount of voter fraud in this country. And another thing, anyone who believes voter fraud doesn’t exist has never been to Chicago on Election Day.
Getting back to granny, so why are there precautions for doing practically everything in this country except when it comes to allowing granny to vote? The reason is simple. It’s because some people on the “left” are pulling a fast one. Other than the alleged survey where people must allegedly admit voter fraud, the only nonsensical defense of not wanting a voter ID is that requiring granny to have an ID to vote is “picking on granny”.
Yet, these same people who claim “granny is being picked on” aren’t saying that when granny has to show an ID to get on a plane, cash a check or use a credit card at their businesses, buy a gun, enter a secured governmental building, and so much more.
The obvious reason granny needs a photo ID to vote is to make sure that granny is still alive when she’s voting – and that even if she is still alive, that the vote cast with her name is really hers.
By the current policy in most places in this country, someone could easily abuse granny’s good name and vote with it. Who would want to do such a thing? That’s easy to figure out. Someone who wants to stack votes for a candidate of their choice could show up at granny’s polling place and vote as they choose – using her name as well as showing up other places and using others’ names. People who are not American citizens with the right to vote could walk in a polling place, use granny’s name and vote for the candidate of their choice. Even the legal granny could try to get away with voting where she lived two months ago and then later in the day where she lives now. Let’s be honest: without an ID required, there are more ways to cheat than there are candidates on the ballot – for sure.
Quite unbelievably, all you have to do at most voting places is walk in, claim you are so-and-so, and vote. Can you imagine what would happen to a business in this country if the owner of a business were required to trust his customers’ use of checks and credit cards in the same manner we trust people to vote honestly? The nation’s sign-in-and-vote process is a joke.
There are people who tend to cheat at any given opportunity – and politics tends to draw the criminal nature out of such people all the more. Don’t trust granny – card her!
Let’s keep people who vote for dead people, illegal aliens, pets, and persons who like to multi-cast their votes from voting illegally so that our nation has a better chance of conducting legal elections.
I’m not in favor of any legislation that suppresses voting via restrictions regarding the days and times of voting. If a persons’ polling place has changed, make it the law to inform the person as to where the new polling place is well in advance of Election Day. Qualified voters need to have total access to the voting process. Limiting the voting process in any way is just as wrong as not asking people to simply prove that they are who they say they are before casting their ballots.
To trust everyone who simply shows up to vote on Election Day and says “I’m so-and-so; give me a ballot” is ridiculously naïve and a flawed method of conducting an honest election. The results can be much too easily skewed to be unrepresentative of what the people want the election’s outcome to be. Choosing our national lawmakers is far too serious an endeavor to not take the extra effort to guarantee that each voter is the person he says he is.
If a Party has to cheat to win, they shouldn’t even bother entering the contest!
About Scott Paulson
Scott Paulson writes political commentary for Examiner.com and teaches English at a community college in the Chicago area. The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of CBS Local.
