Voter ID laws

Like many other states, WI conservative lawmakers have been trying to mandate that voters present a state-issed ID when they vote. At first I thought such a law was inoffensive and unproblematic. Who doesn't have a driver's license or state ID? I thought. Then my friend who is passionate about this issue explained that a lot of poor people who do not drive and rarely stray far outside their neighborhoods don't have IDs. I still couldn't quite understand not having some sort of ID because it's needed all over the place, but in this instance I needed to step out my own experiences for awhile, just like I encourage everyone else to do! I ended up agreeing with her that requiring an ID to vote seemed a bit biased against poor people.

On NPR today there was some talk of ensuring that acquiring an ID is free, but some said that processing paperwork could actually still remain pricey. No prices were quoted though. The commentator pointed out that neither side's argument can be substantially supported. There's been no widespread reports of "voter fraud" and there's not a lot to support that proponents of Voter ID want to oppress the poor. However, in Milwaukee last election, there were Republicans placing flyers in black, poor neighborhoods that said people can not vote if they have unpaid parking tickets. A stupid ploy, and yes, you have to be quite ill informed to believe that, but such a move does somewhat support those arguing against Voter ID. But then again, Democrats slashed Republican van tires so those people would have a harder time voting, so neither side is innocent.

I'm still a little unsure where I stand on this. Someone in favor of Voter ID tried to say on NPR that being required to show an ID brings a bit of "integrity" to the voting act that would entice more people to come out and vote. That made no fucking sense to me at all and of course he had nothing to back himself up. I just didn't buy it. And the general public aren't the ones engaging in voter fraud. Who the hell tries to vote more than once? It's the politicians that engage in the fraud. I say we just focus on paper trails and stop worrying about the IDs, I guess, even though I do think it's in anyone's best interest to have an official ID, just to have even in case the cops fuck with you. I mean a lot of poor people manage to wear designer clothes and stuff like that, so certainly getting an ID should be a priority. If this does go through, hopefully there will be groups educating the populations that would be most affected, and let them know there's another reason to get a damn ID!