The Supreme Court of the United States upheld an Indiana law requiring voters to produce a government issued photo ID before voting. Many are complaining that this law will disenfranchise voters, and is especially unfair to younger voters. While some voters might not have an acceptable form of ID, most do. Requiring this proof if identification is essential to preventing election fraud, and the inconvenience of having to produce a form of identification is a small price to pay.
Moreover, the law is not especially troublesome to younger voters. Students in particular tend to have an appropriate ID with them at all times. Students need these forms of ID to get around, to apply for credit cards, get into bars, and so much more. Younger voters need to be encouraged to vote, and everything should be done to ensure they get to the polls. This measure however, is in no way a roadblock to that.
What do you think?
April 28th, 2008 at 10:14 pm
Yeah, I didn’t get that supposedly students would be disenfranchised. What happened to student IDs? And what college kid doesn’t have a license?
April 28th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
I wholeheartedly support the need for ID’s. I think it especially important that we weed out illegal immigrants from the voting process. Though I can’t prove it, I believe a huge number of them are currently being allowed to vote because things are just way too loose.
April 28th, 2008 at 10:48 pm
The reason Indiana’s law passes constitutional muster is because the state provides IDs free of charge to those without driver’s licenses. It also allows voters without a photo ID to cast a provisional ballot, which counts, provided identification is produced within 10 days.
April 28th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
We should not only demand ID for voting, but insist on literacy tests, too.
And I am not kidding.
April 28th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
#4 Hamiltonian
April 28th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
I’m glad to see Indiana is providing ID free of charge to those without driver’s licenses.
April 28th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Nothing like good old Hoosier common sense. Which is exactly why they will be voting Republican in Novemember; common sense.
April 28th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
This is open for anyone to comment on: What prevents illegal immigrants from getting one of these ID’s and voting? If they can, then Republicans can be losing literally millions of votes that way each election cycle.
April 28th, 2008 at 11:58 pm
In response to number 8, I am assuming you need proof of citizenship to register to vote, and the IDs are just to verify identity.
April 29th, 2008 at 9:55 am
I am very much in the minority among Republicans, but I do not think a photo ID is necessary. I also don’t think voter fraud is not common. Who is going to risk going to jail to insure a candidate they like gets one extra vote? It is illogical, and who has time? A law requiring a photo ID would require non-drivers to purchase one, amounting to a poll tax. Having said all that, I do not see it as unconstitutional, and it is up to every individual state, so I agree with the 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court. However, I wish Republicans would just suck it up when we lose elections instead of saying, “If it wasn’t for the fraud, we would win.” There is little fraud.
April 29th, 2008 at 9:56 am
Doug Forrester, if Indiana is providing photo IDs to non-drivers free of charge, it would not be a poll tax and would be alright in my opinion. I don’t think a photo ID is necessary though as long as a person signs an affidavit under penalty of perjury that they are who they say they are and live where they say. That’s how it is in NH.
April 29th, 2008 at 10:16 am
What do you think?
I think that this is a very good and logical Court ruling. With regards to voter eligibility, etc., I have often wondered how many non-US citizens are on the “eligible” voter roles. In my state, Virginia, there seems to be little evidence of citizenship and legal eligibility required to register.
April 29th, 2008 at 10:19 am
Let’s not leave my #8 so quickly, ok? What makes you think that proof citizenship is being required? In Illinois, it seems to be that you just need your drivers license. I’m very concerned that many people are voting who are not citizens. Many apparently can get dirver’s licenses without proof of citizenship, so how can we be sure this is not widespread?
I think its a bigger problem than you believe CC. I could be wrong. What do others think?
April 29th, 2008 at 11:27 am
Amazes me that places like Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Iraq can require photo ID for their elections, and we even argue about it here. Like we have less sophisticated means to provide IDs than some of those countries.
April 29th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
I’m from Indiana and support this particular law. We have a large Amish portion of the population and they don’t have driver’s lisences – that’s why we have other forms of ID.