U.S. Common Sense

Depending on where you live, you may or may not have to display a photo ID when you currently walk up to the polling station when you go to vote. If you live in Indiana, you will come this November, compliments of the Supreme Court. After hearing an argument by the ACLU, the court voted 6-3 in favor of the Indiana law, and I agree with them.

Al Capone is credited with saying, “Vote early and vote often.” This phrase is used often when suggestion of ballot and voter manipulation occurs, especially when records show individuals who have been dead before the election cast a ballot in person, or when voter turnout exceeds 100% in various precincts. It is reasons like this which cause activists and states to champion photo identification as a requirement as proof of identity at the polling station. Most people already use their driver’s license (issued by the state) as their proof of ID, but in other cases items such as electricity bills or birth certificates are all that are required.

It is easy to see how the last two options are used to manipulate an election. Someone just needs to gain access to a current bill or swipe a birth certificate from a relative and head to the polls. And with the volume of voters on that day, the odds are favorable for a person to slip in under someone else’s identity to vote without being questioned. Now many states (and the Indiana law) requires those who do vote in this fashion to return at a later date with some other form of identification to verify their vote before their numbers are certified. However, as we all know in modern media coverage, unofficial vote totals are reported within 24 hours and, in a close election, can cause a candidate to concede the election to their challenger prematurely.

A perfect example was Al Gore in the 2000 election and the results in Florida. After a long night of waiting for vote returns, and with a state that was bouncing back and forth between Gore and George W. Bush, Gore called Bush and conceded defeat and was heading to his election party to make a formal announcement. However, a doubt over some of the election results caused Gore to suspend the announcement and … well, the rest is history.

So, the need for a valid photo ID becomes necessary to reduce the fraudulent voting. So what about the poor and elderly who might not have a photo ID? Most states will issue these individuals a free ID, and in other states, non-profit groups will pick up the costs for them, so that aspect isn’t a problem. Now, they might have issues obtaining transportation to receive one of these IDs, or they might work two jobs that prevents them from reaching the facility during working hours. If we are close to the time of the election, these individuals might not receive an ID on time. In those instances, the states will still accept some form of identity (birth certificate, passport, etc) at the polls and return at a later date with a photo ID. However, when you are months out from the election, they should be able to find a few hours to obtain the identification cards.

So in close, I can only see this as a good thing for our citizens and the institution of voting within our Republic. While the chance for disenfranchisement might exist because of the law, the disenfranchisement of all voters due to fraud will decrease. Will we one day find a way to remove all fraud from the process while having everyone be able to vote without the need of a photo ID? I hope so. But until then, this is the next best thing.

For some additional reading, check out these sites:
Yahoo! News - “Supreme Court upholds photo ID law for voters in Indiana”
Associated Press - “Supreme Court says states can demand photo ID for voting”
Assocaited Press - “Advocates: Voter ID ruling may disenfranchise US voters”
Biloxi Sun Herald - “Miss. attempts at voter ID law have failed”
ABC 7 News - “Dems oppose id law”

For some additional reading across the web, check out these blogs:
Y’all Politics - “Supreme Court upholds photo ID law for voters in Indiana”
Future Majority - “Supreme Court upholds Indiana’s Bogus Photo ID Law”
La Shawn Barber’s Corner - “Supreme Court Upholds Voter Photo ID Law”
Dispatch Politics - “Supreme Court upholds Indiana’s photo ID law for voters”
Vote Trust USA - “Response to Supreme Court Ruling on Photo ID Law for Voters”