Does requiring a government-issued picture I.D. to vote disenfranchise some?
Such was one of the topics on The Nightside (which is on KSL Radio in the evenings). In the past, all you needed to do was sign next to your name, but now a person must show the picture I.D.
Since some do not drive, riding the bus instead, there are many who simply do not have a driver's license. For the most part, those with out the I.D. are among the poorer of society.
Are we disenfranchising them?
Me thinks we are. Most people have no other government-issue picture I.D. than their driver's license, Without that, there is nothing. Now, you can argue that a person can get an I.D. other than a driver's license, and that they need some kind of I.D. to cash checks, and identify themselves, anyway, so the I.D. card is the thing they should get.
True. But some don't. Some are going to show up to vote, unaware of the new rule, and be turned away. Only a small number, it is true, but that does not make them expendable. We should provide a way for them to vote.
Just thinking on the spot, one thought would be to I.D. everyone who has I.D. and let those vote who don't have picture I.D. but allow their votes to listed where someone could contest them within the next few days. All those signatures would then have to be matched with the signature they signed with when registering to vote. Maybe there would be so few without I.D. that they all could have their signatures checked against their registration signatures, for that matter.
Fair is fair, but leaving someone out is not. Everyone who is eligible to vote should be allowed to do so.
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