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March 31, 2005
Voting Stuff
There is a good post over at sound politics about the failure of the Washington State government to prosecute admitted fraudulent voters:
For example, when non-citizens came to the elections office post-election and asked to have their registrations canceled, the elections office canceled their registrations and put the matter to rest. Never mind that two of these non-citizens actually voted, one of them 4 times. Even though it is a felony to register to vote (not to mention actually vote) when you know you are ineligible, the elections office didn't bother to inform the prosecutor of the non-citizen voters, as required by law.
In related news, several state legislatures are trying to enact one of my proposed reforms: requiring photo IDs for people to vote.
Legislation that would require voters to show photo identification before casting ballots has touched off fierce debate in three states, with opponents complaining the measures represent a return to the days of poll taxes and Jim Crow.
Opponents of the reform are comparing it to Jim Crow laws because some people do not have photo IDs because they are poor. There is an amazingly simple remedy for this: make state ID cards free. Or else we can go the Lamar Alexander route and have free national photo IDs which would also solve this problem.
Ed at Captain's Quarters has more related thoughts:
Excuse me for injecting a little common sense into this argument, but voting has its responsibilities as well as its rights. The voter should be responsible for properly registering in advance for an election. People who want to ensure that their votes count properly should welcome better polling security. After all, voter fraud dilutes the impact of legitimate votes. Just ask the people of Milwaukee, or the non-felons in Washington.Getting a photo ID in advance of an election should not present a difficult task for anyone with an address. For the homeless, a serious question of eligibility exists. If they do not have a residence, in which precinct and district should they vote? That isn't just a flippant question. Often, local initiatives are decided by a handful of votes in a community, and having transients vote with no stake in the result skews the democratic process. If states want to offer the homeless an option for voting by having them register using government buildings for addresses, why not simply allow them to get state photo IDs (not drivers' licenses) at those same addresses?
Posted by Pete at March 31, 2005 01:42 PM
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