I went to the doctor the other day. They wanted to see my
ID even after I had shown them my insurance card. The doctor sent me to the
X-ray department for, you know, an X-ray. They asked for my ID after I showed
them my insurance card. I went to the bank the other day. You know, I actually
walked into the building. It was the same as I remembered it from a few years
ago. They asked to see my ID. I had an issue with my cable company. After I
gave them my phone number they wanted to see my ID.
I am not supposed to say this, but I am in favor of
requiring a valid ID to vote. Now, a valid ID can take many forms. Let
us start with the basic ones, a driver’s license or a state photo ID. The
liberals of the world will tell you that puts too much of a burden on poor
people and people in rural areas and just about anywhere else. I know I am on the
left end of the right wing or the right end of the left-wing, whatever, but I
can tell you that is hogwash. I am not sure what hogwash is, but that is what no-ID-to-vote
is.
In my state, people are registered to vote automatically
when they apply for a driver’s license or for a state photo ID. When they change
their name or address, they must notify the DMV to update their license which
automatically updates their voter information. The real point is that a person
must opt out of registering to vote, rather than opting in. Some states make
the registration process difficult, discouraging some folks from voting.
While at the medical center, ( I don’t want to be judgmental)
most folks did not appear to be living in the world of high-priced purses and yet
they all showed their photo IDs after showing their insurance card.
Liberals around the country tell us that it is too
difficult for poor people to get government-issued IDs. I don’t know about the
rest of the country, but what I see most days are people of all economic levels
who already have government-issued IDs. The liberals need to stop with the shibboleth. The conservatives worry that
non-citizens will pack the voting booths or that dead people will vote in
masses. No data proves that happens, except maybe in Chicago
where folklore tells us that voting early and often is a local mantra.
But that’s Chicago.
State legislatures have been on a tear in the last few years
looking for new ways and old ways to limit voting by folks who do not support
their ruling party. They started with Gerrymandering, moved on to exhaustive voter
registration processes, minimized voting hours in fewer and fewer locations,
and where it is against the law to offer water to those standing in line to
vote. They are really good at it.
But here is the rub. In our democracy, unbridled voting
sets us apart from those countries that use voting as a coverup for autocrats who
tell the people they are fighting for democracy, like Russia or Hungary. The
people gather periodically to cast a vote. The winner is the one with the most
votes, and we move on. To my mind, any attempt to jiggle that easy process is
undemocratic and a violation of American values. We are the nation that is
supposed to be the city on the hill, the bright light for others to follow. We
were that a few years ago. Today, not so much.
Why not have a national policy for who votes in national elections?
It is really easy to do. Everyone over the age of eighteen is automatically
registered to vote by the state DMV. Every registered voter is sent a ballot
that they return to vote-gathering locations close to home, bring to an
election center, or mail in. Full stop!
Why is this important? People need to have faith in our
election systems. If everyone is required to show their ID when they register to
vote or at the local vote center, more people will have trust in the process.
If our state legislatures would make voter registration easy but verifiable, we
would eliminate four years of people baying in the wind about a stolen election
that wasn’t.
I want to know that everyone who votes is a citizen with a
valid ID. I want to know that getting a valid ID is easy. It seems an
easy solution to a problem that shouldn’t exist in the first place.
