Does Requiring an I.D. Stop Non-Citizens from Voting?

  Should we require identification at the polls to curb the undocumented from fraudulently voting? Would this stop them?
   Consider what happens when someone shows up and the polls to vote, and an I.D. is required. They walk up to the table, the poll worker asks for the I.D., they show it -- and the poll worker looks down the list of registered voters and matches them against those in the registry.
   They already have to be in that registry -- or be using the name of someone who is -- or they cannot vote regardless whether they are required to show an I.D.
   And, whether you stop them depends on the I.D. you ask for. If you are asking for no more than a driver's license, that will not be enough, for a person here on a green card, on a temporary visa, can obtain a driver's licenses -- and obtain it legally. They are not citizens, but they can show I.D. As for the undocumented, will requiring them to show an I.D. stop them? A number of them probably have gone out and gotten driver's licenses, even if they went about it illegally.
   The time and place to stop the undocumented from being able to vote is when he (or she) registers to vote. If you didn't require I.D. at that time, you're late if you are just asking at the election. And, if you did, he must have showed it then, so he will be able to pull it out again and repeat the performance.
  Requiring I.D. such as a driver's license does prevent someone from impersonating another person. It doesn't screen out all the non-citizens, but it does do a pretty good job of preventing one person from impersonating another. That is what showing I.D. at the voting place is good for.
   So, as for it screening out the undocumented who would impersonate others, how does it do? It probably screens them rather well. The undocumented person shows up with the name of another registered voter -- perhaps someone who has died -- but then has to show a picture I.D. to verify he is that person.
    Here is something to consider, though: No one questions that the undocumented sometimes forge documents, milling false social security cards and such. If they want to vote all that bad, would some of them mill false driver's licenses? If they have already shown they will forge documents to get those something they want, then it is simply a matter of how much they want to vote.
   I'm guessing few -- if any at all -- want to vote that bad. But, who knows.
(Note: This blog was substantially rewritten about two hours after it was initially filed.)