Voting Rights
In order to check books out of a public library in Iowa, you have to get a library card. In order to do that, essentially you need a valid photo ID card, issued by an employer, school, or government, and proof of address—even as simple as a letter you got in the mail. If you’re a minor, a parent or guardian must show an ID and proof of address on your behalf. That’s to check out a book or DVD at a public library.
Back when there were video rental stores on every corner, you needed a valid ID in order to rent a video or a game…even if you paid with a credit card that revealed your identity, you still needed to show an ID.
That’s to gain temporary access to an item that might have cost the lender $25 or $30. After all, we have to know who you are to prevent fraud, or theft of that $25 or $30 book or DVD or game.
Yet when it comes to preserving the sanctity of the foundation of our system of government…representative democracy through casting a ballot at a governmental polling place…there are lots of folks who break out into hives whenever discussion turns to requiring a photo ID.
The SAVE Act pending before Congress…SAVE stands for “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility”…would require at minimum a photo ID to help verify the person is a legally qualified voter.
Opponents say that the law already prohibits non-citizens from voting. They say voters in every state already have to affirm or verify their citizenship status when registering.
But if those laws were all that were necessary, we wouldn’t have all the fraud that has been proven, especially in large cities, across the country.
Right now, we have laws to prohibit people without drivers licenses from driving; yet some still do. We have laws to prohibit all sorts of bad behavior; yet some still violate. When the punishment is enough to deter folks from breaking laws, fewer people break laws.
This would provide a uniform minimum requirement, with penalty of federal law thrown in, to make sure elections are fair, with only legal voters participating.
It makes you wonder why so many on one side of the political spectrum want more lenient requirements for voting than they do for checking a book out of the library…and are so passionate about it. Makes you wonder what the real issue is, and what they really want to “SAVE”.
