Voter ID: Throwback to Bad Old Days?
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First there were poll taxes, then literacy tests, and now we propose requiring voters to present a photo identification.
If one element in the land has its way, the right to vote may change to the privilege to vote. The privilege will then go to people who vote the "right" way.
The days of the brutally segregated South are long gone, we like to believe, but now the focus of intimidation is directed toward new targets, depending on where you live and the existing prejudice.
For generations, the powers-that-be have promoted the folklore that the citizenry should fully understand the workings of federal, state and local governments in order to enter the polling booth. Often that understanding was interpreted as the responsibility of people who owned property and had money, as well as people who could read and write and were proficient in the fields of history, economics and science.
In other words, the voter was supposed to be reasonably affluent and, more important, know how to vote the way our leaders preferred.
I never suffered from those problems. It helped that I was born Caucasian and after passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution assuring women the right to vote. When I first registered to vote, I owned no real estate and didn't even have a car. My income was the $50-a-week salary a nondaily newspaper paid me as news editor, reporter and gofer.
I could read and write, which was helpful, but I probably did not vote entirely the way the registrar envisioned.
No doubt, voter fraud does exist. Perpetrators have been detected and dealt with. But today I see little evidence of widespread fraud in North Carolina, certainly none in Moore County or in Scotland County, where I live. For one thing, we remain a largely rural state, and poll workers are hired from the community and usually know and recognize the voters in their precincts.
All too well I remember the tricks pulled by white poll workers who went to great pains to discourage black residents from voting. Intimidation was not necessarily subtle in those days.
Much later, objections were raised against union sympathizers working in the South's industrial plants. The same plant managers who objected to union campaigners were often the same people who vigorously encouraged plant employees to register and vote according to management's wishes, a tactic that in some cases has since backfired.
Even today you occasionally run across elderly black men and women who are reluctant to vote because memories of intimidation at the polls in their youth are still all too vivid. These individuals may well be retired and no longer subject to the people for whom they worked for many years, but the memories are too sharp to be forgotten.
Yet these folks have knowledge and opinions of what they like in government. Ask them questions about candidates and elections, and you'll find them just as knowledgeable as many of your own relatives, friends and co-workers. They may be knowledgeable, but not necessarily in possession of a driver's license. A special ID card would be needed.
On the other hand, I've been appalled at the reaction of some people whom I considered to be well-educated, but who could not distinguish between the United States Congress and the North Carolina legislature. I could cite other examples but don't want to embarrass some very nice friends.
Requiring photo ID in order to vote would be expensive, cumbersome and unnecessary. It's just another tactic to discourage voters regarded as -undesirable by one segment of the -population.
Contact Florence Gilkeson at -florence@thepilot.com.
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Comments
nothingspecial 2 years, 3 months ago
Very perplexed by this commentary. There has indeed been voter fraud. What is the added cost for having to pull your photo ID out of your wallet or purse?! The only thing hard to understand is why they haven't required photo IDs to vote before now. Otherwise the voter fraud possibilities are endless.
This is an interesting, grass roots organization trying to ensure votes happen correctly: http://www.truethevote.org/
OldPilot 2 years, 3 months ago
Good column.
coffecreme 2 years, 3 months ago
Very good column.
not2us 2 years, 3 months ago
So what's wrong with asking elderly floks to get a "specail ID card?"
How are you certain that there is no voter fraud in Moore and Scotland Counties? I have lived at the same address for 17 years and did not know a single volunteer at my voter location this past November.
We already have people asking us to verify our name and address? Where is the added cost for those people to ask for ID?
If this is the strongest arguement that we have for anti-photo ID-voting, then there is no arguement.
cmcbhi 2 years, 3 months ago
This topic was hashed out over a month ago. I realize the author has a great number of events to opine about with all of her articles and columns, but could she not avoid re-plagerizing a previous Pilot editorial? Public comment on the previous column overwhelmingly supported the idea of photo ID cards to vote.
JimHeim 2 years, 3 months ago
I love this debate. Challenged to come up with a single case anywhere in the country of someone casting a vote by impersonating a registered voter in the precinct, they can find none - not a single one. Minnesota is debating a bill to require photo ID for voters and expects to spend $20 million implementing it. That's a lot of money to fix a conservative fantasy. I wonder how much it will cost the taxpayers if we do it here? In North Dakota, they do not even require voters to register. But it works.
informed 2 years, 3 months ago
It may not be a major issue in this area but that does not mean we don't have other areas in NC or the US that are affected by voter fraud. Voter fraud is actually a difficult crime to investigate and prosecute, which is why you won't find many instances of people being convicted of this offense. If you want to hear about voter fraud I recommend you talk to an adjudications officer with CIS. It is a common question poised to legal permanent residents who are applying for citizenship. Often they answer yes, they have voted in local, state, and national elections, which is typically a criminal offense (a small portion of local & state elections do not require the voter to be a citizen). Often this is done unwittingly, but since they aren't required to show proof of citizenship at time of voting it still counts. Illegal aliens do the same thing with no repercussions. I say make is mandatory, just like background checks for purchasing a firearm. In my opinion it's the greatest right a US citizen possesses, should be given to all US citizens, but is worth protecting with proper verification of a persons eligibility (no felons or non-citizens).
JimHeim 2 years, 3 months ago
Since there is no evidence of fraud at the polls, I see no reason to spend time and money on a fantasy.
JimHeim 2 years, 3 months ago
Because it works well enough for them that they haven't felt the need to begin the costly process of voter registration. Is there any evidence that North Dakota's elections are being affected by fraud?
M3rules 2 years, 3 months ago
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Ross 2 years, 3 months ago
Talk about a "tangent"........
M3rules 2 years, 3 months ago
And they are all potential voters for the Democrat party. How nice.
DaveyNC 2 years, 3 months ago
Wow. Where to start?
"... the right to vote may change to the privilege to vote." The right to vote in federal elections is nowhere to be found in the Constitution.
"In other words, the voter was supposed to be reasonably affluent and, more important, know how to vote the way our leaders preferred." No, the voter is supposed to be sufficiently informed so as to cast in informed vote.
"...I see little evidence of widespread fraud in North Carolina, certainly none in Moore County or in Scotland County, where I live." Well, that settles it. By the way, isn't the intent of fraud to be hidden from plain view?
"... poll workers are hired from the community and usually know and recognize the voters in their precincts." Entirely unreliable. I live in a rural part of the county and I guarantee that the poll workers out here neither know nor recognize me. There is nothing stopping me from travelling to surrounding counties, pulling a name and address out of the phone book and then presenting myself at the polls under that name and address in order to cast a vote against whomever I think you are voting for.
"All too well I remember the tricks pulled by white poll workers who went to great pains to discourage black residents from voting. Intimidation was not necessarily subtle in those days." I haven't seen a guard dog or an axe-handle at a polling place here, ever. Anybody? I've seen this, though: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neGbKH...
" A special ID card would be needed." Well, we already have one. Anyone can go to the DMV and for $10 get a picture ID. Or, for a few more dollars, get a passport.
"Requiring photo ID in order to vote would be expensive, cumbersome and unnecessary." Not so. See above.
"It's just another tactic to discourage voters regarded as -undesirable by one segment of the -population." Well, that's one way to look at it. Another, better way to look at it is that it is another tactic to ensure that we have fair, open and honest elections.
A few years ago, it came to light that it was pretty easy to get a driver's license in North Carolina and we tightened that up. Except, we did so after the horse was out of the barn. Here we have an opportunity to forestall one avenue of fraud and it seems a perfectly reasonable, low cost way to do so before we have a problem. I would be willing to bet that if we do this, we will immediately see a drop in total number of voters and it would be reasonable to expect that at least some of those voters were voting Chicago-style.
JimHeim 2 years, 3 months ago
Who said "federal elections?" There are no federal elections. There never have been federal elections. There is a constitutional right to vote in North Carolina.
fugitiveguy 2 years, 3 months ago
Only the party of Acorn would oppose picture ID at the voting place. This piece is about 98% pure fertilizer.
Ross 2 years, 3 months ago
"The danger is Dems who want to mask who they are and vote early and often so as to steal elections and get "benefits" paid for by other taxpayers"
whew........"glen beck jr." is at it again.
JimHeim 2 years, 3 months ago
The move for voter ID has one purpose and one purpose only - to prevent as many black people from voting as possible. All else is window dressing.
It is easy to detect voter fraud at the polls. When you go in to vote, the fact that you voted is noted by the poll worker. Should someone else attempt to vote in you name, it would be discovered. The same happens in reverse. Have you ever gone in to vote and found that someone else had used your name? Of course not.
This is a bogus issue and one not worth the time and money.
madstork 2 years, 3 months ago
Heim, how is showing proper ID to vote preventing "as many black people from voting as possible"? Any specifics?
Mark106 2 years, 3 months ago
"People" have no problem showing an ID to cash their welfare checks!
JimHeim 2 years, 3 months ago
See, I told you.
JimHeim 2 years, 3 months ago
It has been noted in other states that poor and African-American communities have the highest concentration of people without photo IDs.
millerke6771 2 years, 3 months ago
I'm a Florida resident who has to go back there to vote or vote by absentee ballot. We've long had a requirement there to show a government-issued photo ID to vote and it's never been a problem. If you want to travel by air, you're required to show one and nobody has complained that their right to travel has been denied as a result, so why not require the same to elect people to public office. The idea that this is a way of denying Blacks or Hispanics legally entitled to vote is pure and simple hogwash! If they are legal residents, they probably already have ID and if not legal residents, they shouldn't be able to vote. That's America! There has been voter fraud and it hasn't always been caught and dealt with. A couple of simple inexpensive safeguards like showing ID and registering to vote is a commonsense way to ensure the validity and integrity of our election process. Heroes have died to protect this right - don't cheapen it or compromise it!
JimHeim 2 years, 3 months ago
How do you show a government-issued photo ID when you vote absentee?
teufelhunden 2 years, 3 months ago
Please answer that question Mr. Heim. What exactly are you saying about black people?
JimHeim 2 years, 3 months ago
I'm saying that the voter ID movement is about inconveniencing black people because they vote predominantly for Democrats. I hope that was plain enough.
madstork 2 years, 3 months ago
Heim? We wait..how does an ID stop only black voters?
JimHeim 2 years, 3 months ago
I did not say that.
drefleury 2 years, 3 months ago
I'm surprised to see the "right" in support of voter ID's. If you require an ID, you're requiring a person to petition the government for official recognition. If voting is a "fundamental right," it seems logical that the "right" would want less government interference with that process.
Sometimes it takes weeks for an ID to arrive, even once it's ordered, so should that person not be allowed to vote if they were simply waiting on the mail? How would you get the word out that this was required? What if someone didn't watch TV, listen to the radio, or read the paper? I would assume the Tea Party is against any voter ID initiative, for many reasons, but especially because ID's weren't required when the Constitution was drafted...
Am I missing something? This sounds quite anti-libertarian. Plus, now you're requiring people to spend money to buy an ID, which sounds a lot like raising taxes (although it's coded by saying "fees.")
madstork 2 years, 3 months ago
Dre...you are missing something...logical and deductive reasoning.
We are "ID'd" from the minute our birth certificate is filed with the local jurisdiction. Naturalized ID is a different process, but the process still captures your existence. Unless, of course, you choose not to be upfront with the process.
Identification is required for so many day-to-day operations in society that, without a form of legal ID, you don't get to drive, fly or buy certain consumables. Why would voting be exempt from such rigor?
fugitiveguy 2 years, 3 months ago
Just another shamless example of liberals using black people as a political prop.
Ross 2 years, 3 months ago
FG - what a silly clueless thing to say - grouping liberals like that.
If I said all republicans are idiots and close minded clowns - your panties would be all wet by now.
btw - only 'most' republicans fit the above description!
JimHeim 2 years, 3 months ago
A the end of the day it remains true that the voter ID movement cannot show a single case of fraudulent voting at the polls that would be avoided with photo IDs - not one. It is as frequent as unicorn sightings and just as important an issue for North Carolina. Our legislature has real problems to solve. This is not one of them.
fugitiveguy 2 years, 3 months ago
At the end of the day you cannot prove that showing a picture ID to vote in anyway keeps law abiding citizens of any color from voting. Its typical liberal schlock.
fugitiveguy 2 years, 3 months ago
"The move for voter ID has one purpose and one purpose only - to prevent as many black people from voting as possible."
As I said, a political prop, a shameless political prop.